Tuesday, November 26, 2013

[Mincome] The Swiss are thinking of giving everyone, rich and poor, a minimum income — mincome — and doing away with all welfare and social programs. If we did that here we could do away with H.U.D. welfare, housing vouchers, disability checks and food stamps. The downside is that there would be a massive disinterest to work.

The reason even the rich would receive the mincome instead of a tax break is because the poorest of us don’t pay taxes so the mincome would be fairer in that regard.

Manitoba Canada tried a test for a short period of time where all residents of a town received a guaranteed minimum income. About 1000 poor families got monthly checks to supplement their earnings. Poverty disappeared, high school completion rates went up and hospital rates went down. If you have a social program like this, community values themselves start to change.

This idea might sound zany, but it has merit if you think how much will be saved by closing those institutions that seal in welfare. It will be a de facto major tax break for all those that do pay taxes even though taxes would probably have to be raised slightly.

Monday’s postings included high praise for the BOCC’s decision to proceed with the Rowell’s Marina purchase. When I saw the phrase “that ship has sailed” when mentioning the grinder pump sewer design, I immediately attributed the post to Kevin Wilson who has used the same phrase in defending the shameful design before. He was the first one I suspected of posting high praise for his girlfriend’s pet project anyway. Yes, Kevin, that ship has sailed, but it is already afire and you are about to watch it sink like the cast iron grinder it is.

Please people, show your support by signing one of the petitions and contacting your representatives (two of whom are actually sympathetic) and awakening the uninformed and the snowbirds as they arrive.

[Idea] Can someone tell me why they don’t make monitor bases useful? like shaping it to be used as a thin shelf without raising the height of the monitor.

Why so many grinder pumps? Here is a link to the full Report to the Governor from Walt’s superb website on behalf of the Isaac Newton Coalition. It takes a long while to download as it is a 60mb file, but it is well worth the read- at least until the redundant letters that demonstrate that only legal action gets results when you have unresponsive “representatives” and “public servants”. Be astonished at the well documented evidence! Link

[“Phony seaplane pilot”] It was an M-Squared Breese 2 DS: Two seat aircraft designed for the US light-sport aircraft category, 64 hp (48 kW) Rotax 582.

Light sport is a mandatory pilots license requiring full FAA licensure without a class 3 medical. The aircraft requires mandatory FAA registration and full FAA requirements for flight. The individual who was flying it was in violation of all requirements.

Don’t believe everything some on the CT don’t know diddly about.

A third of all new supermarkets under construction are targeting Hispanic customers’ needs.

[“Grinder pump systems in Liberty Hill Texas”] The difference is that FKAA and the BOCC and engineers do have access to the right information and can make the choice to do the right thing, but they don’t. Dump the pumps.

[West Martello Tower–A Living Museum] Ring the Peace Bell, in the Community Peace Park at the top of the hill, when you go. Happy Thanksgiving!

“Eloise Pratt points out four Roseate Spoonbills winging above the “Peace Garden” on the hill where she’s working.” Link

Two found in apparent double suicide BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff  alinhardt@keysnews.com

BIG PINE KEY — Monroe County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating after two people were found dead in a car parked in wooded area Monday morning. The car was found at the end of Fifth Avenue at 8:15 a.m. with two people inside and a hose running from the car’s tailpipe to one of the windows, according to a sheriff’s office press release. The car was running when deputies arrived, said spokeswoman Becky Herrin. The circumstances of the deaths are still under investigation. Neither person appear to be from the Keys, according to information gathered early Monday. Detectives were working Monday morning to identify both and notify next of kin.

[“Stock Island will never upscale”] You must be new or haven’t been paying attention to all the changes over the years. Might I remind you what the Coral Island trailer park was like? Where else but Key West can you get a ship with a 15’ draft into the harbor? I wish I had bunches of money to buy property on the Stock Island waterfront when it was cheap 35 years ago and sat on it until now. I saw the value then and knew that someday it would be Gucci Island.

Lower Keys Property Owners Association Covered Dish And Members’ Meeting, Monday, December 2. 6:00 pm Join us and bring one of your favorite dishes to share. The Guest speaker will be Dave Lewis of Bluewater Plumbing. We are committed to helping in our community.  For more info Events

Fanci Seafood located at 22290 Overseas Hwy, Cudjoe Key has plenty of fresh stone crab for your Thanksgiving dinner.

The pilgrims celebrated the fall harvest and the bounty of the sea on that first Thanksgiving. You and your family can too.

When’s the last time you got a wedding invite with a legal disclaimer? 

[Russian Wine Opener] How to open a bottle of wine with your shoe. A very important skill to remember. Video

[Spies Like Us] NSA plants spyware on over 50,000 computer networks worldwide. Obviously this level of accompaniment could only be achieved with support from major tech companies. Connect to the Internet and you’re owned. Link

[Dog noise sparks slaughter] What can occur if ordinances are not enforced and people don’t control sources of irritating noise. Like dogs, bike mufflers, loud music, roosters, etc. Link

Here’s an interesting TV news report from a NY town with a grinder pump sewer system. (My guess is that the collector forcemain plugged up and will not clear- just like the one FKAA can’t clear in over a week this side of Layton.

It’s been almost one week since Carmen Kakakios has been able to use her toilet, shower or sinks. She and dozens of her neighbors at the Lake of the Pines private community near Marshalls Creek are all facing the same issue.

“Basically, our sewer is backed up and all the grinder pumps are not working. Everything was coming up through the grinder pumps. Sewage into the garage, into the bathrooms, inside the lower level,” said Kakakios.

Kakakios showed Newswatch 16 how she’s making sure her grinder pump, where all the house waste water goes, doesn’t overflow again. She has towels surrounding the pump, a shop vacuum nearby to get rid of excess liquid and bleach to get rid of the smell. Overall, she says this issue, stinks.

“Right now, it’s not bad cause I had to use three bottles of Clorox to get the stench out.” said Kakakios.

Kakakios isn’t alone. Sandy Cassidy, who lives a few homes away, is also dealing with the same sewage issue.

“We can run our water, but it’s not gonna go anywhere, so you can’t run it, cause it’s going to fill your tank,” said Cassidy. “We’ve purchased water for drinking, and our dishes are piling up, no showers. I’m trying not to smell. No showers, as far as going to the bathroom, unfortunately, it’s just sitting in the toilet,”.

“My kids had to poop in a bag, we had to close it up, put it in another bag, out on the deck,” said Kakakios.

The community manager says they’re working around the clock to resolve the situation. The Department of Environmental Protection is looking into the mess. They tell Newswatch 16 it’s likely the owners of the Lake of the Pines housing development with be issued a violation for not controlling its sewage.

25 Infuriating images that will trigger your OCD. Link

[Citizen of the Day Says] She loves the dog friendly atmosphere of Key West, the sunshine, living near the ocean and the lovely people.

The Death of TV: Even though cable TV has had its worst year ever, cable TV revenues are still rising because companies are charging the dwindling number of customers more in subscription fees. They did it to themselves. Link

When did we sign up for NAS’s unlimited data plan? (Ed: Someone asked me for an email address of a certain poster. I told them that it would be impossible as I delete the deleted posts for that very reason. I told them that they would have to ask the NSA for their copy of it.)

NOAA’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will hold a public meeting of the Sanctuary Advisory Council in Islamorada, Fla., on Tuesday, December 10 at The Islander Resort, 82100 Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL 33036

This meeting features presentations related to the sanctuary’s marine zoning and regulatory review. At 9:15 a.m., Ecosystem Protection working group co-chairs Sanctuary Superintendent Sean Morton will report on the progress of the working group to date. Beth Dieveney, Sanctuary deputy superintendent of science and policy, will present on the process for advisory council review and discussion at 11:15 a.m.

U.S. Department of Interior’s Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives, Shannon Estenoz, will present on current Everglades restoration activities. The public comment periods are 10:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  

To receive more information, or to request a meeting agenda, please contact … Events

A most unique clock. Men with too much time in their hands. Get the app for your iPhone. Link

[Cap Cloud] Such a Cap cloud is formed by air forced upwards by a mountain peak, with the air then cooling, saturating with moisture, and finally having its molecular water condense into cloud droplets. Such a bell-shaped cloud structure is unusual as air typically moves horizontally, making most clouds nearly flat across at the bottom. Vertical waves can also give additional lenticular cloud layers, as also seen above.

Property value loss and grinder pumps: Sarasota, FL. Link

Chelmsford grinder pump policy tabled, study committee approved. Notice the photo of picket signs the Chelmsford Sewer Fairness Alliance members. Link

[“Mongelli is a visionary in the restaurant biz”] Let’s just say he’s kept locals fed late night with real food, not McDonalds or KFC as you alluded to. He’s a smart Keys restaurateur. “Sunset Grill has pretty girls in the pool?” When? I no more want to share a pee-filled pool with the Joisy Gyrls than I want to share pee-filled current at Picnic Island.

From your post I’d say we don’t share the same taste in food or women, thankfully.

[A Key Wester in Provence] This last October William Welch debuted a one-person show in Arles France , the culmination of several stays in Province over the last few years. It featured 55 of his pastels, watercolors and oils all of subjects in southern France and Arles in particular. The CIRCA gallery in Arles hosted the opening and over twenty of the artists’ friends and family from the USA were in attendance .

The paintings were almost all done on location there and remained displayed through November. Sales were strong; especially satisfying were the French art buyers selections. ” I was so pleased with the reception and comments about my work from the Arles residents.” Says Bill. ” It is truly humbling to be in Van Gogh country, working and painting with scenes he painted or may have appreciated.”

[“Name That Bug”] It looks like a young Ireemhizanus Buthopper.

[Grinder Pumps at Rockridge, FL Following Hurricanes] When it came time to rebuild, the various agencies that looked at the system of grinder pumps all declared the system condemned.  They saw no need to repair a system so susceptible to power loss and prone to environmental nightmares.  The decision was made to install a new vacuum sewer system to serve the Rockridge  community.” Link

 Contact Us. Send us your comments and attach any stuff you want published to this email.  

[Captain Doom and Gloom] Email harvesting is the process of amassing lists of email addresses, almost always to spam them, using disreputable practices such as purchasing email lists in bulk from resellers, using giveaway/contest websites to harvest emails, or using harvesting bots to crawl web pages, forum and usenet posts, and other publicly accessible locations, looking for email addresses to add to the list.

Under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, it is illegal in the United States to use email addresses harvested automatically via harvesting bots or to distribute email lists without express permission of each email addressee.

Yeah right! Like this really stops the blood suckers. Use BCC on all email. (Ed: Why?)

I watched CSPAN this morning about immigration reform. The 3 calls I listened to from the Republican line mentioned violence. The 3 I listened to from the Democrat line all dealt rationally with the problem never even alluding to violence. I found that telling.

[Banks may charge interest on deposits] Due to the Federal Reserve having to print up $85 billion a month (actually IOUs it gives the Treasury Dept) to keep our Democrat botched economy afloat, banks may have to start charging interest instead of paying it. Link

[” No more hair brained Nancy Pelosi types?”] As compared to Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann?

[“Killing a 250 year old rule that permitted filibustering”] Really? what country was that? This one is only 237. Then again you might research on the filibuster history of this government. FTR, I’m ashamed at you. Your errors are getting worse.

[“Republicans are against anything that doesn’t make the rich richer.”] The favorite play of Democrats, playing upon class envy. The truth is Republicans like to make everyone richer, because then they will buy more things including a decent education and health care. They want people to apply themselves rather than take handouts, because then they are productive that benefits others and the economy in general. Taking from productive ones to give to the non-productive is the Democratic socialistic ideal, it’s basically jack booted government thuggery and it’s ruined economies before, just like Barney Frank and Frank Dodd ruined this economy in 2008 and Venezuela is being ruined now.

Many of the rich have incredible responsibility on their shoulders, contrary to what many think, many don’t sleep well at night because their decisions affect so many. The government forces them to invest their money in productive ways in the economy or face huge taxation or depreciation of their wealth. Their decision in what to invest in is what provides millions of jobs to others, it’s why one sees chains of hotels, or restaurants or billion dollar oil platforms. It’s why there are hospitals with the latest medical devices, it’s the desire to be rich and maintain that wealth that drives many to produce great things in our economy that benefit the entire world.

Having the economy micromanaged by a bunch of short term purchased partisan thieves in Congress who are not directly held accountable for their actions is absolute economic suicide.

The Obama administration keeps it’s promises.

I have read Websters definition of Socialism. Since the healthcare insurance people are buying is from companies not owned by the government or run by the government, but independent free market companies, in a free market economy, how exactly how does that mean its socialized medicine?

There are literally 100s of healthcare insurers and plans to choose from with no government ties at all. The government just sets the rules to make it a fair playing field. Like car insurance. Is car insurance a socialized system?

[“Iran is a secular state”] It is? then why is its supreme ruler a religious nut?

[Obamacare Satire] Wary about the effect bringing up the most polarizing political topic among your relatives and friends who likely span the blue-purple-red spectrum will have? Don’t be, because President Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action has launched a website with helpful tips about how to have “the talk.” (Here’s my first tip: If any adolescents or preteens are present, you might want to use a different phrase than “the talk” when broaching the subject if you don’t want an instant exodus.)

The tips including asking your family and guests coming over for the holiday to bring the information they’d need to sign up for Obamacare, because it’s absolutely not awkward at all to tell someone you’d like him to bring wine and oh, his social security number and annual salary, too. You’re advised to bring up Obamacare during “family time downtime, after meals or between holiday activities.” Perfect: When your family is curled up in chairs in a turkey/stuffing/pumpkin pie-induced stupor, you can cut off the idle reminisces about bygone days and football and kids saying the cutest things, and launch that super festive health-care conversation that’s sure to have everyone bursting into a rollicking round of kumbaya, despite that pesky little fact that poll after poll shows the country is sharply divided on this issue. Link

Over and over and over again we hear the left field chorus screaming that the Republicans are the vassals of big business. That simply is not true. One excellent example is Team Obama and the Democrats fevered push to change our immigration laws.

The stone cold fact is that many of the members of the business elite are pressuring the Democrats and Obama to change our immigration laws. Those Daddy Warbucks types are slavering at the prospect of having really cheap labor.

Obama has been working with top CEOs since summer to push the Senate’s immigration expansion that would welcome 30 million immigrants, plus millions of temporary guest workers, over the next decade.

That influx would import roughly one immigrant or guest-worker for every American aged 11 to 21, or one immigrant for every American teenager in 2012. Current law allows 1 million immigrants and 700,000 guest workers to enter the country each year.

The push is being supported by numerous billionaires, including New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Cheap labor. WHOOPPEE!

Since 2007, progressive and business groups have spent more than $1.5 billion on advocacy and lobbying to pass an immigration bill, despite massive unemployment and stalled salaries.

Business groups have been pressured by the federal government and progressives to provide rhetorical support for the push.

The Democrat alliance with the wealthy CEOs is mutually beneficial. The CEOs would gain because high immigration will lower many Americans’ salaries and boost shareholders’ value. Progressives would gain a lock on political power once immigration boosts the number of government-dependent voters. For Team Obama it is a win-win proposition.

Those “Evil, Rich People” that Democrats are always wailing about are actually – Democrats.

While accusing rich people as being “Evil” is inaccurate, and sophist, Democrats often make such accusations. It may surprise you but most people don’t realize is that the Top 3 “richest” people in the country are all Democrats. This list includes: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett & Larry Ellison are all Democrats. Together, they are worth at least $126 Billion Dollars.

An analysis of the Top 20 Richest People in America (from Forbes Top 100) reveals that a full 60% are actually Democrats. Furthermore, if you look at it from a “family” point of view and not as individuals, that ratio widens even further to:  25% Republican / 75% Democrat.

Deer Friends, please never forget that it is the Democrats who are the wealthiest amongst us.  Don’t get me wrong, having wealth is not a bad thing, but hypocrisy is. Democrats outweigh and out number Republicans. Not only in terms of the number of uber-millionaires, but also with their net worth. In this Top 20 group, Democrats have a combined net worth of $263.1 billion dollars while the Republicans have a combined net worth of only $143.9 billion dollars – almost half that of Democrats.

Our legislators must forcefully reject the notion espoused by the President and the Democrats, that a small cadre of CEOs can tailor the nation’s entire immigration policy to suit their narrow business interests.

America is not an oligarchy. Government is the servant of the governed.