[Pier House Sold] Ashford Hospitality Trust a Texas-based real estate firm made the $90 million purchase that translates to $634,000  per room for the resort  that recently completed a $12  million renovation. The resort  also includes the Caribbean  Spa, meeting rooms, a private  beach, three restaurants and  the legendary Chart Room  Bar. It’s rumored that they will closed the Caribbean Spa and reopen it at the proposed spa at the Top of the LaConcha Hotel, another of their hotels.

[Mosquito Control] I think they provide a great service. Wait and see what it is like if you force mosquito control to stop doing their job. Mosquitoes do carry disease and spread it from warm bloods to warm bloods. In my opinion, mosquito control is the best value for our tax dollar. Keep up the good work and thank you.

Just a little background info on NRA – Republican darling Ted “Nutso” Nugent. Link

Hi everybody, I have a beautiful house for sale in Eden Pines. Please watch this Video. ~Nira Tocco

[Tornadoes] Why does the tornado guy write about tornadoes every day? Now, if it were hurricanes or floods then I’d be interested.

[Justice] Jodi Arias has been found guilty of First Degree Murder qualifying her for the death penalty. She says she’d prefer death to life in prison.

The Florida legislature turned their backs on no one. The people of this state refused to bow down to an authoritative and increasingly despotic federal government. this administration is holding our children and our elderly hostage in their ruthless pursuit of power. They absolutely intend to hurt those most vulnerable if we refuse to submit. It is the people’s of Florida’s money not the Federal governments. The only way to be sure it stays in our state is to not give it to them in the first place

Reynold’s Law: What ever politicians control they will use against you to get what they want

Blue water and a bull shark sighting out at Looe Key on Tuesday morning and blue water with lots of pretty fish out at American Shoal on Wednesday.

Why are there no buoys to tie off to at American Shoal around the lighthouse? I’d rather pay a little more in my taxes for them rather than having anchors dropped. Who would I call or politely petition the idea of buoys at American Shoal to?

[Tornadoes] This graph looks at F0 tornadoes only. By dissecting the data previously, looking at only EF3-EF5 tornadoes, one leaves out the EF0-EF2 tornadoes. For those of us hit by these, it is not insignificant.

That is all besides the point. Datum is just a single data point and it is by looking at many points after much time trends are understood. I cannot say with any authority that there is or is not a linkage of tornadic activity to climate change. We all as citizens have a responsibility to look at the data in full and appreciate the biases of those who make an interpretation. We would not have moved to the Keys if we did not have faith in the future. I suggest we should also have better faith in each other, and have meaningful and learned discourse on what we can glean from data. Link

[Knee Job] All you have to do is move her knees up a little. 

I love my home state but if Mark Sanford was the best candidate the state of South Carolina had for the job, we are truly lost.

[Los Patriots] Hispanics in Florida voted at a much higher rate than those nationwide in last year’s presidential election, and they also voted at a rate that exceeded other states with large Latino populations. Slightly more than 62 percent of  Hispanic citizens in Florida voted in the 2012 presidential contest — significantly higher than the nationwide rate of 48 percent

[God’s Will] To the intolerant atheist, who felt compelled to pick apart the language of a woman expressing her gratitude in a common way you found so offensive…really? Really? Is your life that empty that you feel compelled to make some silly point out of the earth-shattering events affecting others?

I’m referring to the aunt of the kidnapped Cleveland woman who said, “God works in mysterious ways” and “Thank God!”. Of course, that prompted your insipid comment; “Yea, God was looking out for them for the last ten missing years of their lives.”

I’m not a theologian. I guess you’re not either. But for some of us the God of our understanding isn’t a Santa Claus keeping track of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice; or even who’s suffering and who’s rejoicing. It’s more complicated than that, but I get the feeling you don’t care anyway. So I’ll stop right now.  

[Fear] I was watching TV and in the background I saw someone’s embassy somewhere. There were sandbags protecting the entrance. It got me thinking. We can’t get near the White House anymore, Number 10 Downing Street is blocked off, there are blast walls fronting important buildings. Power stations and utilities have security now and many places I used to go are now prohibited.

All this extra security around the world is to protect us from Muslims. How awful that we have to go through all this because their prophet was mentally ill.

The next workshop of our computer club is coming up this Saturday, May 11, 10 am at the senior center.  Hope to see you there. Bulletin Board

[Immigrants] Another example of immigrants enriching our culture:  Last week I went to the jail to get fingerprinted for a license I’m applying for.  There were ten people in the there waiting to visit inmates.  Eight of the ten were speaking Spanish.

Only in America would we spray paint the grass green.

[Redux] Lisa Druckemiller of Monroe County gets arrested for iTheft. I’ve never seen anyone so happy to be arrested. Video

[Genetically Modified Foods] A grassroots international March Against Monsanto to be held in over 300 locations in 30 countries worldwide on May 25th at 2 PM EST to raise education and awareness about the dangers of Monsanto and GMO foods. Marchers will meet at the Marathon Community Park, 9805 Overseas Hwy, Marathon Saturday May 25th 2PM and march to the 7 Mile Bridge.

We need to unite and take a stand to protect our food supply. Link    Bulletin Board

The difference between cats and dogs. Video

[Climate Fail] Too cold for a cold one? Big beer companies blame mother nature for slumping sales. Does bad weather correlate with less drinking? Well, perhaps it does with certain kinds of drinking. Unseasonably cold weather in Brazil, Europe and the U.S. is being blamed as one of the reasons sales are down in early 2013 for Bud Light, Miller Lite, Heineken and other mass-produced brews favored at picnics and tailgates. Link

[Muslims] For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know. This is one time our elected leaders should pay attention to the advice of Vladimir Putin….how scary is that?

On February 4th, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma, (Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia: “In Russia live Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws.

If they prefer Sharia Law, then we advise them to go to those places where that’s the state law. Russia does not need minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell ‘discrimination’.

We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of most minorities. When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the national interest first, observing that the minorities are not Russians.

The politicians in the Duma gave Putin a five minute standing ovation.

[Pigeon Key] We should not even be thinking about using public funds for a road going to the privately owned island known as Pigeon Key.  Leave the historic railroad bridge as is, and people wanting to go to the island could very well pay their own fare on a privately run ferry.

Why is that in the FTR world when Florida or any other state loses jobs it’s all Obama’s fault? But when Florida gains jobs, its Rick Scotts doings? Talk about swilling the kool aid by the gallons!

[Benghazi] Somehow it always rings true, the biggest complainers seem to be those who believe they and their opinions trump all others. I don’t agree with FTR, Fox News, or all the Rght’s positions, but I do believe some kind of underhanded action was involved in the Benghazi debacle

Four Americans were killed and help was available. I would guess the CP contributors who slander FTR will ignore the testimony being given yesterday in Congress. Come on folks, if we do not have an open mind then the America we love, is doomed to follow Egypt, Rome, England, and Russia as relic’s on history’s dung heap.

[The FTR guy thinks the President of the United States doesn’t like America because he speaks the truth.]   Really?  I don’t believe Obama has spoken a whole truth since he ran his first campaign.  Bill Clinton was a consummate liar but mostly about his personal escapades.  Every time Obama steps before a microphone my bullshit meter maxes out.

If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until you see what “Free” health care is going to cost you.

[Chronological Order of Muslim Attacks] I remembered each happening, but when it is laid out in chronological

order – wow! A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves. Pause a moment, reflect back. These events are actual events from history. They really happened. Do you remember?

1. In 1968, Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male. 2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim males. 3. In 1972 a Pan Am 747 was hijacked and eventually diverted to Cairo where a fuse was lit on final approach and it was blown up shortly after landing by Muslim males. 4. In 1973 a Pan Am 707 was destroyed in Rome, with 33 people killed, when it was attacked with grenades by Muslim > males. 5. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim males. 6. During the 1980’s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim males. 7. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim males. 8. In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim males. 9. In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim males. 10. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim males. 11. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim males. 12. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim males. 13. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim males. 14. In 2002, the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim males. 15. In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded by—you guessed it—Muslim males

Do you see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. Absolutely No Profiling. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President’s security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males alone lest they be guilty of profiling. Have the American people completely lost their Minds ,(Correction  the American Government. Well, we put them in office so I guess it is the American people) or just their power of reason? Do any of you people get it yet it is not a religion of love. 

FROM THE RIGHT

Is it possible for Democrats and Republicans to agree that in order to have jobs we must have businesses?  In order to increase the number of jobs we must grow existing businesses and attract new businesses to Florida. In order to do that Florida must present an environment that is not hostile to business. Deer Friends, under Republican governance Florida is becoming more and more attractive to business start-ups.  Chief Executive Magazine just released its rankings of the 10 best states in which to do business. Florida placed Number 2, just behind Texas. That’s damned good news.  Business means jobs, it means tax revenue, and it means progress. Did I mention that each of the top ten business friendly states has a Republican Governor? No surprise there!

Part 2) Let’s think about a couple of Democrat shibboleths. The first is the oft repeated charge, meant to be a pejorative,: “Republicans are angry old white men”.  Deer Friends I submit that there is nothing wrong with being old, white, or angry at the terrible state of our current governance. Further, the many young Republican women office holders throughout our nation prove that to be false. Young Republican women are Mayors, Governors, and legislators. The second canard is that Republicans are determined to cut Social Security and Medicare.  Somehow Democrats have convinced themselves that Republicans, acting on some sort of evil scheme, are anxious to wreck SS and Medicare. Even worse, they want you to swallow that crap sandwich.

Their propaganda doesn’t make any sense. Why on earth would a gaggle of old folks set out to kill a program that is of great import to each and every one of them. The fact is that we Republicans are dead set on reforming both programs so that they can continue to exist and provide for the benefit of today’s old farts and tomorrows old farts. Unless we have the stones to reform SS, Medicare, and Medicaid, they will stall crash and burn (that’s aviator jargon). Tomorrows old farts will be sh#t out of luck and quality medical care unless the Democrats start thinking and quit delaying the reform.

Personally, I am well aware of the benefits provided by Medicare. First, please be reminded that I have made payroll contributions each and every pay period from the time that Medicare came into being. In addition, like most conservative folks, I also paid for health insurance for my family. Very recently, since the specter of Obamacare, we have just seen a big, very big increases in our Medicare secondary medical insurance premiums.

There is no doubt about, Republican’s, especially old ones, really like Medicare.   Most sentient folks do like it. Without Medicare my quality of life would be substantially degraded. So far, under Medicare, I’ve had to have both hips replaced with prosthesis’s. I’ve had to have my right knee replaced with a prosthesis. If you read this about noon Thursday, I should be in the recovery room at a Ft. Lauderdale hospital with a brand spanking new left knee prosthesis.  Without Medicare I would be a functional cripple. So, if you think that “angry old white men”, or any Republican of any age or gender, or mood,  especially this happy old fart, are dead set on cutting or harming Medicare, you are spectacularly wrong.

And so, I’ll be out of school for a few days, hopefully just a few. But I look forward to reading CT on my phone.  All the best…..

Respectfully submitted: FTR@bellsouth.net

No Name Key Electric

Power up No Name and get this over with.  The main whiner is probably back way up in Canada for the summer by now  anyway.