Categories
2013 January

Thursday, January 24, 2013

card120h[School Complaints Hidden] Complaints came via the district’s whistle-blower hotline, which Gentile put into place and had complaints against him sent to an employee’s email box instead of to the School Board. Larry Murry has been trying to get those complaints since October and has been stonewalled by Gentile from getting those public documents.

The School Board’s EthicsPoint reports concerning employee Ken Gentile only came to light this week, after months of dithering by the district. Schools watchdog Larry Murray put in a public records request in October, but claims he was stonewalled by Gentile, who instead sent him summaries of the complaints, rather than the actual raw data files. Under the threat of a lawsuit by Murray’s lawyer, former State Attorney Dennis Ward, five of 10 missing files, called “orphans” by EthicsPoint, were finally handed over by the district to Murray, with Boart attorney Smits acting as an intermediary. Murray, who once served as an appointed member of the district’s Audit and Finance Committee, expects to receive the final missing files in the next few days.

[Unhappy Women] Something is wrong these days. I believe that women are not very happy, I don’t know why. Why can’t happiness in marriage be like it is supposed to be, setting up a household, raising a family, doing family things. I feel that women are not satisfied anymore and they keep it pent up inside until they can’t hold back and vent it upon the family. My son is getting a divorce. The women he married 9 years ago is completely different than she was at the beginning, absolutely 180 degree changed, mind boggling changed. She destroyed his family and tore my son up inside. I just do not understand. 

an_swivel

I suggest all the “line of sight radar” commentors should Google “over the horizon radar”.

[Privacy] Town halls and other public bodies still have up to 1,400 different powers to enter a private home despite a Coalition move to curb snooping. Link

foodstamp24

 

 

Read the last line after she lost $800 cash

[Eternal Peace] Pearl Harbor after visiting hours. There is still some honor and dignity left on this planet. Link

Thank you for your email regarding the legalization of medical marijuana. I appreciate your interest in this issue.

Marijuana (defined in U.S. Code as “all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa”) is currently a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law (the Controlled Substances Act of 1970) and Florida law (893.03(1), F.S.). In California, voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996 to legalize the cultivation and possession of marijuana for medical use. The Federal Government, however, challenged the law and prevailed in the United States Supreme Court in 2001 and again in 2005.

While other states have recently approved ballot initiatives to decriminalize marijuana at the state level, federal law still applies.

Today, our state faces a number of challenges: unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, broken systems, and burdensome regulation. It is my responsibility as a legislator and as Speaker to address these challenges with my full attention and all my energy.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please let me know if I may be of assistance in any matter.

Sincerely, 

Will W. Weatherford
Speaker

obama_2013_inauguration_art-550x696

 

 

A painting of a nude Obama feeding his unicorn pancakes. There are some seriously messed up people out there!

Military has to decide which combat jobs are for women. Sure gives new meaning to “put your big girl panties on & deal with it! ” Support the troops. Link

an_avacado

Add splash to Super Bowl guacamole. Link

Drug-tracking Fat Albert getting deflated. Link 

Radio-Shack-Ad-1.2.13
Money wont buy you happiness, but neither will poverty. 

prime_rib24[Ah, Prime Rib] Maybe you’d consider me a flaky old fart, but I’ve enjoyed prime rib maybe twice a year at a restaurant since my Dad got my taste buds into it about 50 years ago. Twice a year if I’m really loaded with bucks, but more often only once a year I splurge my meager finances and go for it. Big time spender I’m not. A 10-ounce cut of prime rib doesn’t get my business. Too thin and where’s the rib? Any butcher worth his notch will tell you a standing rib roast is good to the 6th rib for a prime cut. The 7th rib is out of bounds. So what do I know about carving beef? Nothing at all, so I take their professional word for it and enjoy my twice (or once) a year splurge on a 16-ouncer and take a bit home for lunch tomorrow. Well, sometimes I do pig out and eat the whole thing. Yawn, bottom line is a restaurant’s teeny prime rib ad won’t attract me. But they have other great things going on too, not slamming them, just giving my old fart’s opinion, I’ve earned it and I’m old enough to say so. Ha!

[Sanctuary Rules Change] Three advisory working groups taking the lead on possible rule changes for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary plan to convene their first meetings within a few weeks. Link

my-new-guard-dog

I’ve accidentally swallowed some Scrabble tiles. My next shit could spell disaster.

ad-daddy-bones11.18.12

[Unions in Decline] The nation’s labor unions suffered sharp declines in membership last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday, led by losses in the public sector as cash-strapped state and local governments laid off workers and — in some cases — limited collective bargaining rights.

uniform24

Woman always say they love a man in uniform, but when I go clubbing in my McDonald’s outfit they wont even talk to me.

[Best Burger – Rum Barrel”]  Yes! It is awesome and much better than any other I’ve had in the Keys. I still need to try Shula Burger though. I hear they’re going to offer a pretzel roll option too.

How many Pineys are left that remember Flipper Eddy? I’m writing the book Characters I Have Known–rough draft chapters are dispersed at Link

an_love-pc2

 

The next meeting of our computer club is coming up this Saturday, January 26, 10 am at the senior center. Hope to see you there. Bulletin Board

[Lift that bag, tote that bale] Say what you want about slavery. It did get stuff done.

flea-market-ad1.14.13

[Slavery] The post yesterday about slaves wearing the same  rags until they died reminded me of when I worked for IBM!

honestmoney24

 

 

Written by Dr. Gary North 25 years ago, Honest Money has become a classic in basic economics. However, time has not made the lessons of Honest Money any less important; if anything, it has made them more important. Like all truth, the principles taught in Honest Money are relevant and needed for the simple reason that they are true. Truth does not change, nor does it ever become unnecessary.

For a limited time, we are offering honest money to you as a free download. Link

[Religious Whackos] “Our suggestions to women not to use mobile phones, wear tight clothing, or mingle with the opposite sex is based on ground realities. We are not anti-women and have no intention to curb their freedom but we have seen girls and boys taking to each other at odd times and fixing dates on mobiles, which in many cases have led to rapes We believe that individuals from opposite genders should not mingle too much. If they do, its like sprinkling petrol on fire,” he said.  Believe it or not, we have religions in the US who also blame the female for the male’s lack of self control. Link

fine-woodworking-ad 1.7.13

[Your Honor, my client is an idiot] William Cook Jr., 27, was arrested after a manager at a Wendy’s restaurant in Rome, Ga., complained that Cook was acting strange and disturbing customers, and when police asked for his ID, he provided bogus information. In a search, officers found a note in his pocket, reading, “How Bill Cook intends to rob the Wendy’s on Martha Berry Ave and get away with it,” followed by lists labeled “Plan A” and “Plan B.”

an_las-vegas-welcomeLas Vegas and international gambling executives will be in for a long wait in their quest to get Florida lawmakers to open the doors for glitzy resort casinos. A key lawmaker in the debate Tuesday said it could 13 to 18 months before he and his colleagues even begin work on substantive legislation that could determine the future of gambling in the state of Florida.

The Florida Senate, in connection with the House, plans to make a “request for proposals” in a bid to commission an independent study on the economic and social impact of gambling expansion on the state. Several gambling companies in the past few years have put forth their own studies on expansion, but they have been criticized as being overly favorable to the industry.

Dammit Tallahassee!

Keys aviation history preserved at Marathon airport museum. Link

Blimp history. Link

an wings dip

 

Just what we need, 91 chicken wing recipes. Link

[Seafood Fraud On The Rise] Before you order seafood down here, walk past the dumpster at the place you’re at and look for the empty boxes that say Thailand and China.  If it isn’t all Keys, it isn’t fresh. Link

Springers-Prime-Rib00     Doerfels-at-Springers

Prime Rib Dinner    Live Music

springers-ad12.30.12

All Keys canals are being surveyed for water quality. I hope the results will be available to us canal dwellers. Link

an_HoneyMost honey sold in U.S. grocery stores not worthy of its name. Among the findings:
~No pollen was found in 76 percent of samples from grocery stores including TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers.
~No pollen was found in 100 percent of samples from drugstores including Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy.
~The anticipated amount of pollen was found in samples bought at farmers markets, co-ops and stores like PCC and Trader Joe’s.

Why does it matter where your honey comes from? An earlier Food Safety News investigation found that at least a third of all the honey consumed in the United States was likely smuggled from China and could be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals. Link (Ed: Not our very own Fl Keys Bees & Honey!)

[Ladies of Manure]  Calendar girls get down & dirty for compost charity.  Fertile Earth’s last fundraiser was a cook off to bring attention to invasive, non-native species in S. Fla.  The winning dish consisted of Python Chili, Wild Boar Sliders, and Snakehead Fish Slaw. Link

[Confident] Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.   — Marie Curie

bullettray24

 

 

Large capacity bullet ice cube tray.

[Crooks] See the front page of today’s Citizen. You can get away with anything in Monroe County as long as you have the right name, including 2nd degree felony manslaughter. Even if you’re an adult, and let a drunk teenager with a learners permit drive at night with you. Does anyone in this county of trailer trash believe in personal responsibility anymore? It’s no wonder Zecca asked for a trial after getting caught soliciting murder. From the looks of things, his chances are pretty good. 

an_mattressFree king size mattress and box springs. Good condition. Must bring truck and 2 people to carry it. 734-637-2744. Located in PortPineHeights, Big Pine Key. Classified Ads

[Switching ISP’s to Comcast] Data from Scarborough Research from August 2010 through July 2011 showed the market shares of cable satellite providers as: Comcast, 58 percent; DirectTV, 17 percent; AT&T U-verse, 10 percent; and Dish, 6 percent.

Cable has the advantage that it’s a shielded cable with a wide broadband ability coming directly into house. This better protects the signal from interference and thus provides a more reliable experience.

Phone lines have the disadvantage of being too thin and no shielding. Satellite/dish systems has the disadvantages of being blocked in cloudy conditions or have issues getting a good mounting position for the dish in line with the satellites in orbit.

What is needed is for the Federal government to invest in nationwide fiber optical cable, put tens of thousand of people to work, then reap the rewards and eventually sell off portions to new corporations to innovate further on. Yea I know, good luck with that approach. he looks of things, his chances are pretty good.

fanci1-1-13
Did that slavery book that you claim to have read have a title/author?

an_valentine_candy_red

 

Moose Sweetheart Dinner Dance, February 9, 6pm Prime rib, twice baked potato, Caesar salad, Wonderful raspberry cheese cake. $18. Entertainment by Jim & Anita of Venture Out fame. Funds will help our senior’s at Moosehaven. Members and qualified guest, thank you. Tickets go on sale 1/26/12 at the bar see Donna A. Sargent. Big Pine Moose Lodge Wilder Rd, Big Pine Key. For more info Bulletin Board

[Tis the Season’ Blues] Did anyone ever think of maybe offering a little help or helpful advice to someone who might not be so adapt at backing up a trailer. Sometimes it helps to be a little helpful instead of complaining. 
football24

religion-politics-zone

obamacare24

[“Obama will set up the GOP as a party of obstructionism”] FTR still doesn’t get it. The GOP are the party of obstruction already. Didn’t he see the elections? Yesterday’s poster nailed it when he said something about a radical having only one view.

ball24

4 years ago during the Inauguration, the GOP held a meeting to stop Obama by wrecking the economy. It almost worked, so they’re doing it again.

FROM THE RIGHT
right only grey

Yesterday an FTR critic wrote: “The news reports did mention that the corrupt Nagin was a Democrat. Arguing with FTR is useless. The problem with arguing with an extremist or fanatic is that they can only see one opinion.”  That critic is wrong on the facts, flat wrong. And, please note that he/she could not resist attempting to demonize me.

If you are interested in the truth, I suggest that you use the search term “Ray Nagin indicted”. If you do you will find that the following news outlets did not mention that Nagin was a Democrat.  All of the stories were dated on or about 1/18.   USA TODAY 1/18, LA Times, CNN, ABC, CBS (identifies Nagin as “progressive”), NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC.  Nor did the Miami Herald, and as far as I can tell, the Key West Citizen didn’t even bother to print it. 

Look, the purpose of the preceding paragraph is not to try to convince you that I’m infallible, I damned sure ain’t. But rather it is to try to get every single member of the CT community to begin to think about the blatantly partisan nature of most of the media.  Have no doubt about it; most of the media is liberal, progressive, left wing and Democrat. They overwhelmingly are registered Democrats.  90+% of journalists self identify as being liberal, progressive, or Democrat. Their contributions to Republican candidates are chump change when compared to Democrat contributions.  Their politics are their business, but it becomes everybody’s business when they inject their politics into their reporting.

Believe it or not there actually is a Society of Professional Journalists. And believe it or not the actually have a code of ethics. According to their web site   (Link) they believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation  of democracy.  They say that the duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and by providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. They say that conscientious journalists from all media and specialties should strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. They say that professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility. They claim that members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society’s principles and standards of practice. According to the “code”, ethical journalism requires that journalists examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.   

Here’s a glaring and outrageous example of journalism devoid of ethics: CBS has a Political Editor. His name is John Dickerson. A couple of days ago he published an article in SLATE that was entitled: “GO FOR THE THROAT! Why if he wants to transform American politics, Obama must declare war on the Republican Party.” Deer Friends, Dickerson is THE political editor for CBS.  Wouldn’t you think that network broadcasting on public airways should be nonpartisan?  What of the Code of Professional Journalism? Dickerson’s comments were meant to be instructive to Obama.

Dickerson is anything but nonpartisan.  In his article he clearly urges Obama to pulverize and destroy the Republicans. Here’s a quote from the SLATE article: “The president who came into office speaking in lofty terms about bipartisanship and cooperation can only cement his legacy if he destroys the GOP. If he wants to transform American politics, he must go for the throat.   Whether he succeeds in passing legislation or not, given his ambitions, his goal should be to delegitimize his opponents”. 

It strikes me that Dickerson is coming late to the festivities, because that tactic has been standard Democrat practice since Senator Obama began lusting to be President Obama.

Dickerson wrote: “If he (Obama) wants to transform American politics, he must go for the throat.   Whether he succeeds in passing legislation or not, given his ambitions, his goal should be to delegitimize his opponents.”  Think of that, Dickerson, Political Editor for CBS gives not a shit if Obama is unable to pass legislation so long as Obama succeeds in “delegitimizes” Republicans. I urge you to read his article at Link Marvelous, just marvelous.

an_repubPart 2) Deer Friends, lets reflect on some of what I see as the bedrock principles of Republicanism.

We believe that that the government that governs least, governs best.  We believe that government’s prime role is to protect us from threats internal and external.

We believe in our Bill of Rights and our Constitution. We believe that those documents, as written, are as valid today as they were at the end of the 18thcentury.

We believe in the principal that each of us is responsible for making our own way in society. We do not believe in guaranteed outcomes, but rather only equal opportunity.

We believe in a social safety net. We do not believe in a government funded hammock. We believe that our entitlement programs have gutted ambition from far too many Americans.  We believe that our entitlement programs, as currently structured, encourage sloth and discourage effort. We believe that our entitlement programs, as currently structured, are gutting our economy. Entitlements now account for about 62% of our Federal spending.

We believe that Social Security and Medicare cannot continue on their present course without going bankrupt.  We believe that when that happens, benefits will have to be slashed. The pain wil be beyond description. We believe that both programs must be rethought and reformed.

We believe that the Obama administrations fiscal policy will be ruinous to our future. We believe that our government should not spend more than it receives in revenue. We believe that the government must pass balanced budgets.

We believe that the notion that any nation, or any entity, can spend and borrow itself into true prosperity is farcical.

While we believe in reasonable taxation, we believe that the money that you earn is your money. We believe that all wealth and treasure belongs to the individual and is not on loan from the government.

Republicans Believe that the United States were founded on the fundamental principle that individuals have certain rights and freedoms which cannot be infringed upon and may be restricted only to the degree necessary to preserve the rights of others.

Republicans Believe the traditional family and the values it fosters are the foundation of American society and their preservation is essential to our Nation’s continued success.

Many Republicans abjure abortion on moral/religious grounds, but few would demand outlawing abortion. One of the reasons some object to abortion is that far more infants of American/African ancestry are killed than from any other ethnic group. Most Republicans accept contraception, but are against public funding for abortion or contraception.

That’s just the short list, but you get the idea.  It’s very difficult for this Olde Fart to find anything evil, or threatening in any of that.