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The Original Unsocial Media. Anonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition
 [Coconut Boater Alert!] A plan going to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s advisory council for review June 17 proposes to double the number of wildlife management areas in near shore waters. Regulations in the 27 existing wildlife areas typically limit boats to low speeds, require no-motor access or ban entry altogether to protect birds, sea grass and flats fish. The maps can be viewed here (have patience large file).
Coconut boaters, looking at these maps, it seems that we’ll all (from Key Largo to Key West) be at idle speed near most any island if we’re in water less than 9 feet because of “tarpon migration”. Nine feet or less?! That’s most of the water in the Keys! I’m all for protecting our Keys waters, but damn, it feels like they’re shoving us out an inch at a time. If you want to be heard on this, the Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting is June 17 at 9 a.m. at Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key.. If you’re a boater, you should read this Keynoter article and view the maps. Article Maps |
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| [WebQuery Failed: Couldn’t open data source Data truncated] I got this message from the Arrest Search Results by Name on the Monroe County Sheriff’s Website. I wonder what the heck is going on? Full Menu > Arrests and Mug Shots |
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 [Smelly Garbage] I wonder if the lower Keys will be following the lead of Key West and going to one trash pickup a week instead of the two we get now? I certainly hope not. |
| [Sewers] I was talking to my friend in the grocery store the other day and he opined that a lot of people do not worry or know about the grinder pump pressure sewer system and what it means to them — even if they have gravity or live in Key Largo. I suspect that some do not realize that this system is going to cost them more money no matter what; and potentially fail and flood their neighborhood or nearby waters with raw sewage. When there is a major storm and flooding grinder pumps will be toast and unusable. FKAA will have to hire a whole lot of new employees and buy new equipment just to keep this system alive until services are restored. Then the system will likely have to be replaced at further cost since it is so poorly designed. Guess who pays? |
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| [$15 an hour] That was a funny photo of the replacement for the drive thru restaurant employee. Unfortunately, it’s also true. There are restaurants that have the drive thru handled by call centers outside the US. I also can’t imagine it’s that hard to make a machine that makes burgers and fries. Maybe it’s expensive compared to the current approach with labor, but when the cost of labor goes up automation is a lot more affordable. The problem with government intervention is that it usually has unintended consequences. Remember the H1B Visa debacle (‘we don’t want foreigners coming to take American jobs’), that ended well, the jobs were sent to foreign lands instead. Supply and demand is the natural force. You can try to fight it, but if the skills you have aren’t in high demand, don’t expect to get paid a lot. If you don’t want the low skill job for a low salary, there’s lots of other ‘supply’ that’s available for companies. Bottom line, get an education, learn a trade, make yourself valuable and that will get you the better paying job. It isn’t going to happen by passing a law that sets minimum wage in Seattle (which just will move a ton of jobs to Oregon, or Canada, or automation, or…). |
 I think Daddy Bones BBQ would succeed if they got rid of that phony car’s rear end on the wall and put in a small bar where people could eat and drink and schmooze. It looks like a bar and rib joint already, all it needs is a bar. |
| Another day, another nut with a gun on a rampage – this time in Georgia. I can’t even begin to anticipate what silly-ass post the gun nuts will put up to say about why we need more guns. I bet if the gun nut crowd worked at the Coast Guard, they would say the problem with a sinking ship is that it doesn’t have enough water. |
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| [Faith] An individual’s religious belief should be strictly personal. There is no need to bicker over something that requires no empirical evidence. |
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 [Remembering D-Day and a bit more] I lost both my grandfathers and an uncle on the beaches of Normandy. All three were members of the first wave of soldiers hitting the beach under horrible enemy fire. (My father himself was badly wounded in the Korean conflict. ) Each year on major national holidays my father would proudly fly our nation’s flag in front of our home. He was especially somber on the anniversary of D-Day. As a young teenager, he told me about the courage of our American forces in the fight to defeat Hitler and the Japanese during WWII. On a trip to Arlington Cemetery I stood and watched the toughest SOB I ever knew, cry openly as he stood in front of his father’s grave. |
| In 1941 Japan had 10 aircraft carriers and the USA had only two. Didn’t the USA notice that? The oversight’s result was Pearl Harbor. |
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| [Gun spray vs pepper spray] The proper analysis is insane person uses a gun because it is an easy solution to their problems. Let’s focus on what is wrong with indivusls like this one. |
 Anchor winch. Manual, heavy duty, bronze made by A & B industries, Sausalita, Ca. One side rode – the other chain. $800, call 305-395-0495 Classified Ads > Boats |
| [Rampage of The Week] It looks like lady luck was shining on us in this latest gun incident at an American school. I mean pepper spray versus a shotgun? and in this case the pepper spray was able to stop it! Other qualified individuals with guns would of course been far more effective and quicker, but of course that would have entailed common sense, a commodity non existent in some quarters, but again at least we had pepper spray. That’s bad odds, but it prevailed this time. |
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| Sure female hurricanes are more violent, you’d be too if it took 30 years to get promoted to Category 5. ~Stephen Colbert |
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 [Cursor Cursing] The only bad thing about having three 23″ monitors is I can never find the damn cursor. Pressing the Ctrl key finds it with an animation of a diminishing circle around the cursor, but I still have to look for the circles. |
| Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, “It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.” |
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| Did you ever think that maybe Private Bergdahl went out the camp gate and made a wrong turn just like that ex-Marine that ended up in the Mexican jail claims he did? |
 [“Memorial Day”] World War Two veteran tells the Airborne Beer story that occurred while he was serving in the 101st Airborne Division at the Battle of the Bulge. The 101st Airborne was cutoff from the rest of the Army and was holding out in Bastogne when Vince was sent back to try and find some radio batteries for his company. As you see, he got a little sidetracked on his mission as he stopped to visit a wounded friend. Video |
| [Real gun found in toy dept.”] Someday, if the NRA gets it’s way, a loaded gun found in the kid’s toy department won’t raise one eyebrow. |
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| [Religious Nut] Blessed are the cracked, for they are the ones who let in the light. |
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 Move along, nothing to see, no juvenile humor here! |
| Genetically modified crops fueling decline of monarch butterflies. Link |
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| Micro aggression replaces political correctness as the hip term of the year. That might better describe the words we use. Many folks aren’t concerned with being politically correct, but it might raise their awareness what micro aggression is. |
 Modern numbers that will amaze you. |
| BP Oil Blues, or how they attempted to skirt blame for their Gulf disaster. Link |
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| Vote Medical Marijuana Campaign for South Florida. Link |
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 Free 1999 Toyota Camry for parts, Frame is rusted through. Elizabeth Classified Ads > Autos |
| [Sewers] Why aren’t more sewer contractors advertising on the CT for work to hook up our homes to the street lines? Something smells shiite about this scam! |
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| [Imagine Disaster] While in a pub in Key West the other day, I overheard people talking about what it would be like if all the lights went out because of politics. In other words if the government shut off all electricity everywhere. The thought was frightening, but their remarks were even more idiotic. One person said all he had to do was turn on his generator. Another said he had solar power. A third mentioned he had survival training in the Army. And lastly, he old guy said, ‘I would start digging my grave!’ The table fell silent and none asked him why. They knew why! |
 [Sloan Bashinsky June 6, 2014 At 8:30 am] I was one of many KW residents who worked to get the CRB on the referendum, and then we campaigned for its passage. The City Commission, Jimmy Weekley then was Mayor, and the KWPD strongly opposed having a CRB. The referendum passed overwhelmingly. The heavy hitter in bringing that about was Dennis Reeves Cooper and Key West the Newspaper, of which Dennis then was Publisher and Editor.
As time passed, I came to the same conclusion about the CRB as John Donnelly wrote. I attended several CRB meetings in the past maybe 6 months. Tom Milone, and to some extent Joe Pais, were the only CRB members who seemed to want the CRB to be proactive. We are not in a the CRB may investigate posture in either of the two high profile cases: Eimers and Murphy. We are in a the CRB MUST investigate posture. The CRB does not have the power to force KW police officers to come before it and testify. The CRB does not have the power to discipline KW police officers. The CRB does not have the power to make FDLE do anything. But, the CRB has the power to put the police officers involved in those two cases, and KWPD, and City Manager Bob Vitas, to whom Chief Lee answers, and the City Commission (mayor and city commissioners), to whom Vitas answers, and FDLE on the hot seat in the court of public opinion and in God’s Court, where the usual suspects, including the CRB, are on trial. In the video, Kurt, the white racist woman’s white boyfriend tells Arnaud and Naja that he tried to talk Murphy down: he told Murphy his girlfriend was drunk, let it pass, move along, but he was unable to talk Murphy down. The white racist woman’s white boyfriend tells Arnaud and Naja, he knew Murphy was going to hit him, and he would have hit Murphy first, but he saw the cop coming up on his bicycle. The white racist woman’s white boyfriend said Murphy hit him because he was a man, while his girlfriend was lying on top of her pit bull to protect it from Murphy, who did not see the cop approaching from up Duval Street, nor did the cop issue any warning or order for them to break it up: the cop shot Murphy in the back with the taser, and Murphy fell down on the sidewalk and began convulsing. He’s still paralyzed in a hospital three years later, and a KWPD wanted man. I again say, CBS should do an Eimers case follow up by reporting the Murphy case. America, and beyond, need to be told of the inhuman self-styled-paradise Key West they will not hear a peep about from Key West Conch Mayor Craig Cates, Key West Conch mayor candidate Margaret Romero, the city commissioners, several of whom are Key West Conchs, the KWPD, many of whom are Key West Conchs, the Key West Chamber of Commerce, many members of which are Key West Conchs, and the Florida Keys Tourist Development Council. And, I again say, I do not agree with arguments made by in last Friday’s issue, and by some of its readers, including John Donnelly, that Murphy had good cause to hit the white racist woman’s white boyfriend. I can’t imagine anyone with walking around sense wanting to be on lower Duval Street after the booze and other drugs get to flowing, and especially not at 4 a.m., when this horror occurred. |
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| [Theists vs. Atheists] Atheists are more intelligent, more charitable, less likely to divorce, more prone to criminal behavior, are the most distrusted and disliked group. Theists have lower stress and reduced anxiety, improved mental and physical health than Atheists, but are fatter and less intelligent. They are more likely to divorce also, with Baptists being the highest at 23%. Theists are in decline overall in the United States. Currently only 4 in 10 Americans believe the earth was created 10,000 years ago by God. Link |
Free 1999 Toyota Camry for parts. Car has a cracked frame. Big Pine Key Classified Ads > Free |
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 [Arrestee of the Day] Full Menu > Arrest Reports Mug Shots |
| [US Secret Service wants software to detect sarcasm on social media] This will end all blogs as we know them and probably email too. What a**holes we have hired to do our maintenance work? Fire them all! Link |
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| [Sewers] Now that all of the costs are known, including additional costs for alarm telemetry, generator hookups, electrical upgrades, additional flushing, increased generator backup, the LifeCycle cost of a pressure system with grinder pumps turns out to almost twice that of gravity. Why? While all sewage systems eventually fail, a gravity system lasts 60-100 years while the “engineering” estimates in the industry expects that a pressure system will need to be completely replaced after 25 years. (Our system was upgraded, ha ha, from the original fiberglass specifications to plastic. Do you know anyone who opts for a plastic boat rather than fiberglass, or a plastic dock box rather than fiberglass?) When one does the correct analysis, using “salvage value” to differentiate the differing lives, the per unit cost of a EDU with a pressure system is twice that of one with gravity.
As for leaks, George is correct that even the gravity systems has grinder pumps and there will be leaks. However., the lift stations he refers to have electronics that can create flow calculations, permitting the operators to use algorithms to determine when a leak has occurred between the lift station and the main transmission line. A gravity system also reduces the amount of unmeasured pressure sewage line by hundreds of miles. Leaks in gravity and vacuum are easily discovered and repaired. One last point, we used to call this a Low Pressure System (LPS). It is not!! In dead head situations, such as when power is out for a few hours, the starting pressures can reach 190 PSI, or more than the test pressure used during installation testing. There was a recent case in New England where after a power outage the connection at one house popped off, and over 10,000 gallons of raw sewage was forced into the house through every toilet, sink and shower, literally destroying the home. E-one, in a memo to a local official indicated that the check valves used to prevent this backup are only good for about five years. Imagine an unoccupied home on your street filling with sewage in our heat. This would be an apocalyptical nightmare!!! Why didn’t FKAA know about this failure potential. Maybe they did, or maybe E-one kept them in the dark. We got our information by holding in-depth conversations with localities that experienced problems and then contacting the “local” E-one distributor, who then provided pump curves, memos regarding failures, etc. This will all come out in the August 4th trial. Maybe the County should fund Dump the Pumps legal efforts since this organization is doing work our County Engineer should have done before he and the County Administrator approved this system. It will be interesting to see just what becomes public and who the culprit for this debacle really is. |
 The UFC has replaced boxing. I remember when I everyone could name all the heavyweight contenders and champs. Now I can’t even tell you the name of one! UFC fights are so much more exciting. |
| [Easier to disprove a myth than to prove one] Sure is because people are growing up and do not need the con games any longer. Next thing is to tax the religions. |
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| After they take our guns and anything else they deem a weapon, our computers will be next then they will burn our books like before. What will school be like after that? Ask Orwell. |
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 [Captain Doom and Gloom] How gullible can people be? The world has the most important invention since glass, the wheel, and the plow; the INTERNET and we the people are being dumbed down with it by the unscrupulous egomaniacs who want to control all and make their fortunes through it. Keep the Internet clean and open and let it give the world free knowledge without comment, propaganda, BS or cost, else lose all and just burn the freaking books now!
“Business Reality 102” Some might remember a commercial several years ago showing a hand full of young people at a computer desk hoping to get sales from their first company web page. They started to get orders with 10, then in a few minutes 100, then 1200, then 5000 then 150,000 sales appeared. The last image of the group was with faces of shock and confusion. Why? Because getting the sales was wonderful until they realized that now they have to bust their butts to try and fill those orders. They were overwhelmed. Reason it out. 150,000 sales per day divided by the working hours divided by the number of employees who could handle and package and ship that many items. Realistically it would take a few hundred people to get 150,000 items (let them be small products) unpacked from the bulk containers to the conveyor belt, to the boxing belt, to the sealing belt, to the shipping label belt, to the storage OUT area, to the delivery trucks, and that does not include the in-coming order department, the payroll department, the buying department, the finance department, the plant utility department, the management, and health and medical departments. What have I missed? You figure it out. Business is not always peaches and profit, especially if you are not trained to understand mass marketing and sales. I cannot imagine what it is like in the back offices of Amazon, Sears, Wal-Mart or any large distribution company. Without computers it would be a very slow mother earth we would be living on, but maybe a better one? |
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| National politics is back. Click on this link to send your national political post anonymously. No one will know your name or email address, [Well, maybe the NSA will] not even me. FTR is going to be the new national politics editor. Do not fear, FTR promised to post everything, even if he hates it, he’s that kind of guy. Your name and email address are not required. Please be civil. I Have Something To Say About National Politics–Click Here |
| The White House traded a Marine who deserted his unit, sympathized with the Taliban, professed belief in the Muslim jihad and collaborated with our enemy — the Taliban.
Our President, in violation of a law he himself signed into law requiring Congressional approval for such action, bowed to the Taliban enemy and released 5 high level Taliban jihadists to return to their cause and continue to murder anyone, anywhere who does not subscribe to their distorted and perverted belief system. This action was taken for the return of a Marine who deserted his unit and the search for him cost at least another 6 American lives in the hell hole of Afghanistan. This ill-conceived debacle of incredibly bad judgment and outright lack of reality serves to demonstrate the incompetence of the Obama regime and our so-call Commander in Chief. (His own writings as a radical college student document his contempt for the American military forces.) To my mind, our President is guilty of treason for releasing the 5 Taliban war criminals who have murdered tens of thousands and will return to their Jihadists brothers in arms and continue to kill. Obama deserves nothing short of impeachment for high crimes and ousted from office. (Not even to mention the other scandals that seem to come to light weekly about other White House cover-ups, outright lies, deceptions and denials. Meanwhile, a US Marine is being held in a Tijuana, Mexico jail just a few miles south of our border for mistakenly crossing the border with firearms. Over 180,000 signatures have been delivered to the White House requesting action. Petitions of 100,000 or more require, by statute, a response. So far, NOTHING! Not a word from our so-called President or Secretary of State Kerry. So, it seems that collaboration/cooperation with the Taliban murderous regime is O.K. in Obama’s play book but demanding the return of a US Marine from Tijuana is beyond his ability or concern. |
| Here is a smart take on Benghazi coming from one of Fox News’ top bananas for those of you who even remember the place. It’s amazing that they didn’t immediately waterboard Geraldo on that low table in front of “the couch” with the lovely Liz pouring. Link |
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| The strident voices of those who demonize guns and all who use them are growing tiresome. They refuse to even acknowledge the possibility that guns save many lives. They are dead set on squashing the Second Amendment. They bitch endlessly.
Personally I enjoy pistol shooting, some people like soft ball, some people shoot pool, some people play bocce, some people drive too fast, some people drive drunk, some people don’t do much of anything for fun. Please note that the primary tool used in each of those activities has the potential of being a deadly weapon. A gun only becomes a weapon when it is mishandled or purposefully used as a weapon. I shoot at the Big Coppit Key gun range, it’s comfortable, clean, and handy. And to tell the truth there often are pretty girls to ogle. Yeah, I know that I’m a dirty old man. Constructing a homemade outdoor shooting range in a well occupied residential neighborhood is a terrible idea, it’s just too dangerous. Shooting in a well populated residential area is mis-handling a gun in my not so humble opinion.. We know that the gun hater’s anger is directed at those us who enjoy shooting, but they never tell us just how they would scratch their itch. Yep to the 2nd Amendment bashers label all, and demonize all who enjoy shooting as “gun nuts” The bashers squint their eyes closed, put their fingers in their ears, and screech la-la-la-la when presented with facts that firearms save lives and tamp down crime. And so, I challenge any and all of you bashers to tell us just how you would go about killing the Second Amendment and ridding this great nation of guns possessed by civilians. How would you go about gathering up the guns that currently in the hands of honest and decent citizens? According to two sources there are between 270 and 310 million nonmilitary firearms in the USA. The rate of private gun ownership in the United States is about 90 firearms per 100 people. How would you disarm the criminals? Remember that as the rate of private ownership of firearms has increased, crime of all sorts has decreased. Part 2) Have you checked out the May jobs report? It’s yet another month of bad news for our economy. In April we created about 288k jobs, in May that number dropped to 218k. Deer Friends, that’s a 25% cut..that sucks. Add that to the fact that our national economy is in in decline bodes ill for all of us. Link In the first quarter of ’14, our GDP actually declined, if it declines again in the second quarter, we officially will be back in recession. At no time during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, did such a small percentage of the civilian non-institutional population either hold a job or at least actively seek one. The percentage of working age people who do not have a job and are not actively seeking one remained at a 36-year high in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Democrats have dragged us back to the days of Jimmy Carter. ————————————- A POSTER WROTE: “The reason that I only talked about the comparisson (sic) of the Taliban 5 to Nazi war criminals is because that’s the only real facts that are available. All that you are reporting on is rumor, hearsay and conjecture. You do not have a position in the United States government, you do not know the details of the deal, the reason for the deal or for that matter anything do with it. Once again you are allowing FOX to form your opinions. You seem to be intelligent and articulate. So I ask you, have you ever disagreed with either FOX or the GOP ? If yes please let us know what you disagreed about. If the answer is no perhaps you should reevaluate how your forming opinions and perhaps consider more input from other sources. I probably will not continue this convesation (sic) with you because once again you will undoubtly (sic) berate, belittle and ridicule this response. So please continue on preaching to your choir but at the same time realize we’ve all heard the song your singing and it would be nice to hear a new tune every once and a while.” FTR’S RESPONSE: It’s no surprise that the poster is wrong again. The items that I have written concerning Obama’s illegal prisoner trade were not totally sourced from Fox outlets. Sources included the Washington Times, NPR, Time digital mag, The New York Times, the SunSentinel, and several other news organizations. I would suggest that the poster might consider availing him/herself of the Fox news services as a balance the incredible left bias of most large news organs, after all Fox is the number one news source for Americans according to Gallup. I do not rely on Fox or any other entity for my opinions. They are mine alone. Have I disagreed with the GOP? Yes, on many subjects, and I’ve agreed with the Democrats on some subjects. I am firmly convinced that no political party has all the answers. I am equally convinced that the mess our economy and society currently endures is as a direct result of liberal philosophy, dogma, and action. I fully believe that the only way out of our current quagmire is for the Republicans to regain control of the Senate and the Presidency. As proof, I offer the State of Florida. Its previous Governor was Charlie Crist, who then claimed to be a Republican, but was not. Since then he has morphed from Republican to Independent to Democrat. How many remember the SF movie “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Charlie has come out of his pod. Now he is a fledgling Democrat candidate for the office that he ran away from 6 years ago for a Senate run. During his tenure Florida’s economy went on the rocks. Now with a Republican State House and a Republican Governor, Rick Scott, Florida leads the nation in the recovery. As of this month, the recession has been over for 5 years, yet our national economy remains in the doldrums and may actually be heading for another recession. Fewer new jobs were created last month than April, 25% fewer. Our GDP went negative in the first quarter, if it goes negative again next quarter we’re in a recession. The poster wrote that it would be “nice” if I were to sing a new tune. The poster may not like the tune, but I’m perfectly happy singing “God Bless America”, or “The Star Spangled Banner”, both are very popular tunes in Conservative circles. Part 3) Are you aware that in Europe banks are considering “negative interest”. Essentially that means charging you to deposit your money. It has just been reported that the same “negative interest” scheme is headed here to the US. Just think: your bank will charge you to keep your money. This will include CD’s…time for the coffee can buried in the back yard. Obamanomics at its finest. This with the blessing of the Federal Reserve Bank. Link |
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