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2013 February

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

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If the Pope quits his job, is he still infallible? 

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The defunct Parrotdise on Little Torch apparently has a buyer.  Hopefully he/she will come to the operation with a solid background in the bar/restaurant business and make it a success.  (Advice to the new owner: This is the Lower Keys not Miami Beach.  Keep it simple and affordable, pour a good drink, keep the prices fair and as reasonable as possible. Cater to the locals, they are the ones who will keep you alive during the off season. Serve only FRESH, local seafood, no frozen or imported junk. If it’s not FRESH and locally harvested, don’t serve it. Florida lobster and stone crab in season, Key West Pink Shrimp, Snapper, Grouper and Hogfish. If we wanted Maine Lobster we would go to Maine) 

Best of luck to this new owner.  Can’t wait for the opening, but, if the County starts stomping on his genitals as they usually do to a small businessman it could be awhile)

truffle13[Fine dining in the Keys] A local eatery has started offering, of all things in the Lower Keys, trufflled potato chips and other truffled stuff.  Truffled this and that.  Truffles?  In a bar in the Keys?  Yo mon, WTF!  Most people don’t even know what a truffle is much less what it tastes like. 

Customer:  What’s this truffle stuff? 

Server:  It’s a gourmet addition to fine food. 

Customer:  Yeah but what is it exactly?. 

Server: (Trying to be honest) replies, Truffles are a fungus that grows under the roots of trees in Europe and gets sniffed out by pigs. 

Customer:  Sounds great, gimme six and a Miller Lite! 

Server: Sir, you don’t understand, we don’t use actual whole truffles, we use a truffle oil for flavor 

Customer: What, like truffle juice? 

Server:  Ah, yes, sort of. 

Customer:  Yeah O.K., so gimme a shot of the juice, the Miller and back me up with a shot of Curevo Gold.  The folks back home in Alabama won’t believe I drank fungus juice, can you take my picture? 

Server:  Sure (knowing she will be getting a whopping 3% tip).

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[Springer’s on Big Pine]  Good food, reasonable prices, excellent bar/wait staff and a decent happy hour.  The Philly Cheese is quite good as is their Pot Pies, Pizza, Meat Loaf and Country Fried Chicken with White Gravy.  And don’t miss the Beignets (pronounced ben-yeas).  Just like the original from Cafe’ du Monde on Jackson Square in New Orleans.  Especially good with the Jack Daniels Dipping Sauce.  Thanks to Springer for a great new venue!

A History of Ramrod Key. Link 

The raccoons are in trouble and so are we!

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Back in the 1970s a zoo keeper from Miami lived on Ramrod Key with his wife. They had coyotes, a black panther, wildcats and various assorted animals. In the end some of the animals died in their cages and others escaped. One time I had a wildcat bust the kitchen window and come into the bedroom and bust a full size wall mirror. I jumped up and stepped on broken glass. I don’t know who was more afraid, my pets and me or the wildcat as it ran back into the wilds. 

[Expensive Restaurants] the cheapos in the Lower Keys complain about everything including the cost of eating out. They don’t take into consideration the high cost of food. Grouper is about $20 a pound and a tomato is about a dollar apiece. A restaurant has to charge at least three times the cost of the food to succeed. So that dollar tomato has to sell for three.

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[No Name Electric] No Henney-Penny, there will not be federal lawsuits from permitting No Name power. There are letters on file from the two federal agencies who have legitimate interest in this; with both agencies stating they don’t care if utilities are there.

The Department of the Interior (Coastal Barrier Resources Act Department) stated that provided no federal funds were used to install a/the/any utility, they do not take issue with it. It is not their job to regulate utilities, just to see that no federal funds are used to install them.

US Fish and Wildlife Services provided a letter of concurrence stating they didn’t expect death or injury to any listed species due to the installation of electrical utility lines. It is not their job to regulate utilities, just to assure that installations will have no ill effects on federally listed species of concern. 

They no more care about No Name electricity than they do about Big Pine sewers.

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[Valentines Day] I know that roses are expensive but $120 for a dozen? That’s a lot of money for a plant you can’t smoke.

[Restaurant Sampler] There are very few affordable places to dine out anymore in the Keys. The traditional high volume, decent food/price places like Big Pine Restaurant, Mangrove Mama’s, and Bobalu’s all have gone chasing the higher end crowd and wonder why their restaurants are nearly empty, especially when the snowbirds flee. 

Some other restaurant owners (none mentioned) secretly don’t like locals because they consider them problematic, or they themselves have *cough* rotational hiring practices, or push a fish menu which they don’t use what they are supposed to use and since fish is so light, often people order more food like desert. 

Some owners cater to locals in the off season, then right after Christmas, raise prices and chase them off only to coo to them again come May. Many restaurant owners enjoy only serving tourons as they will eat perhaps a couple of times and be gone out of their hair forever, they see regulars as a threat or even suggest them of spying for another restaurant or stealing employees to insult them that they would want to leave.

Locals like familiar company, a well rounded menu and prices that they can pretty much make the restaurant their daily eating location. They like to get to know everyone as family and they know the proper taste of the fish. They come more often and spend less, can require a bit more handling, but it’s consistent money coming in nearly all year round, which the locals will tip well and many tourists will not, especially Europeans unless it’s factored into their bill, then they will scream if do.

On the other hand, business is doing really well at supermarkets, McDonalds and some other mainland chains like Denny’s, not at Burger King, Checkers or Wendy’s, (poor food and service), not at IHop (seats are too tight), Subway (11″ foot long meatless subs leaves one still hungry)

Problem with many Keys restaurants is they are too small in seating capacity and their costs are high, thus they can’t do volume and likely unfortunately forces them out of the locals market price range.

What would solve this is taking advantage of economies of scale, a large restaurant in the right location near a large population with a huge amount of parking/seating that then can afford to have cheaper prices as they make up for it in volume or alcohol sales. Almost like the Sunset Grill for example which is a stunning success story. (A restaurant with a pool below the bridge? Awesome!)

Zaza’s failed because it’s too high end and specialized for that location, they do have the parking and the volume of seats though. A new restaurant/owner with a substantial downgrade to better fit the Lodge area environment, make it a charming unique restaurant that appeals to the locals, the guests of the Lodge and from drive by tourists to get a fast, decent, reasonably priced, nutritious varied selection dinner before they get to their hotel rooms and a good fast breakfast on the way up out the keys. The problem with the front of the restaurant at the Lodge is it doesn’t seem like one from the road. Perhaps the entire face can be extended out, left and right more and be remodeled with window seating. People seeing people eating will invite more people to eat.

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[‘Coons] If you’re offended by ‘coons then you’ll just hate South Park.  

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[Defending Zaza’s] After reading the comments on Zaza’s, it seems there are several hate mongers who would like for all of our neighborhood bars and restaurants to serve cheap food and drinks and are envious of their neighbors who can afford to dine at more upscale restaurants. It is obvious that these critics have not dined at Zaza’s lately and perhaps never. 

We love Zaza’s and eat there at least 2 or 3 times a week. It is a beautiful restaurant that serves excellent food and has one of the best views on US1. I would like to address the comments made on Sunday, Feb. 10th:
1. “Fare” – Prices were slashed a long time ago and are perfectly in line for the food quality. Breakfast is cheap; lunch is very reasonable and dinner prices are reasonable.
2. The owner frequently greets guests. However, he is usually in the kitchen cooking. He does make rounds to tables to talk to patrons. Your comment re: “pretty face hostesses” is absurd. Would you prefer a robot to greet and seat customers?
3. The font and crowded menu issue was resolved a long time ago and there is an insert advertising daily/nightly specials.
4. Your comment re: “a straight male” bartender being more likely to bring return clientele “because women are the ones who bring in their counterparts” and “women do not like competition behind the bar and are also leery of their mates going there on their own.” Absurd! First, the bartenders at Zaza’s are to your liking, “straight males.” There have been a couple of female bartenders months ago. I don’t known which establishments you patronize in the Keys, but the majority I patronize have mostly female or gay bartenders. I am a woman and find this comment disgusting. I don’t care what the bartender’s sex or sexual preference is as long as he/she is a good bartender. If a woman is leery of her mate going to a bar that employs a female bartender without her, she has bigger problems than the bartender.
5. Zaza’s has a happy hour for all patrons every day, beginning at 4:00 PM. I don’t believe additional discounts for ladies is necessary. Discounts are often published in our local papers.
6. Square Grouper is also one of my favorite restaurants and I believe they are successful because Lynn has done everything right. She offers a diverse menu with excellent cuisine that is always consistent and she has a staff that is professional, highly trained, knowledgeable and provides excellent service. Zaza’s prices are in line with Square Grouper. If Zaza’s would concentrate on the reasons behind Square Grouper’s success, I believe they would also be successful. The all Italian menu is a hard sale here (there are steak and veal entrees) and if Zaza’s would focus on the issues I’ve described, it would be in business for a long time. 

Your criticism of Zaza’s is inaccurate and elementary and misleading to readers.

an boo

 

[TV Station Hacker Warns of Zombies] A Montana television station’s regular programming was interrupted by news of a zombie apocalypse. The Montana Television Network says hackers broke into the Emergency Alert System of Great Falls affiliate KRTV and its CW station on Monday. KRTV says on its website the hackers broadcast that “dead bodies are rising from their graves” in several Montana counties.

The alert claimed the bodies were “attacking the living” and warned people not to “approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous.” The network says there is no emergency and its engineers are investigating. A call to KRTV was referred to a Montana Television Network executive in Bozeman. Jon Saunders didn’t immediately return a call for comment (were they dead?)

[Discount Food] We had lunch at Mangrove Mama’s yesterday. Everything was top-notch. They even gave us the 10% locals discount with no hassle. Stop badmouthing a business and people that are working hard and providing a great service.

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[Pig Roast] Saturday, February 23,2pm 8th Annual Port Pine Heights Property Owners Association Pig Roast. Key Deer Park at Kyle and Joyce. $5 PPHPOA members, children under 12 free, $15 Guests and non-members, 50/50 drawing, bring your own chair. RSVP & tickets: Bulletin Board

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Springers-Prime-Rib00     Doerfels-at-Springers

Prime Rib Dinner    Live Music

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[Monroe County Hotline Complaints] If you see someone stealing a County iPad email psellers@monroeclerk.com  or call 305-295-3190. Business directory > Government

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[Coconut’s Rocking You Right Party] We are giving all the funds from our food, draft beer, soda, bottle water and raffles to the Boys & Girls Club. That’s not after cost –all means all! We hope to put some nice change together for them. Bulletin board

It only took one post to reinforce what I’ve read on CT over and over. A post from a person claiming to be from the NY/Boston area who rated the restaurants on BPK a 2, and then pitched Springer’s as the pace to go for Happy Hour.

So tell me Mr./Mizz Moved Here From Somewhere Else, where are you used to eating in the NY/Boston area and what type of food are you comparing it to? Seafood? Yeah, I know. Hogfish just can’t hold up to scrod, cod and flounder. East River Sea Bass over locally caught grouper? Have you eaten anywhere when it’s not Happy Hour, my relocated retiree friend? Sounds like you’re part of the problem in paradise. If you don’t like the food, there’s a lot more of you on the mainland of Florida who came here for the weather. Perhaps Century Village, Boca or The Villages would suit you better.

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Mangrove Mamas Friday. Night another didgeridoo band. How many Aussie Bands can we take down here?

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[Free Movie] On Tuesday, February 19, Sanctuary Friends Foundation of the Florida Keys will be featuring Play Again, a documentary capturing the helplessness of a generation hooked on virtual life, and the freedom children taste when that cord is cut, even momentarily. The free monthly film series is located at the Marathon Power Squadron Building, 52nd St. Gulf on Loggerhead Lane. Doors open at 6:30p.  Free popcorn, with drinks available for a small donation.  For more information on upcoming events, please visit Bulletin Board

Is there really a leopard in Ramrod?

Genetically engineered trees for Bio-energy pose major threat to Southern forests. Link

an_neon red$100 for a two people to eat dinner? No way! Daddy Bones was opened to supply an American food place where you feel good after eating and be reasonably priced. We do not sell frozen food we are not a chain. Hell, one owner does the cooking and kitchen duties and the other does the front of house stuff. If you don’t think we are reasonably priced check out our website WWW.kwbbq.com and also check our reviews.

Remember that we won the local rib cook off. Pat Croce’s people got 3 invites to compete and they did not show. Guess they were scared. Hell, I would be scared to cook against us too. We aren’t like Mr Croce — all hat, not cattle. We actually do know BBQ and do it right. Dinner for four is usually a little under a hundred dollars with a bucket of beer or a bottle of wine. 

How to cook a frog and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s thinking. Link

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Monroe County is a great place for fishing, diving, kayaking, and relaxing in the sun. To Bostonians and New Yorkers who are looking for 5 star dining and corporate perks, you need to go back up north.

[Kill the Cats, Save the Rats]  It is all part of Agenda 21 of the United Nations, also called the comprehensive land use plan or growth management.  Yep they have pulled the wool over our eyes once again. See Link

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Plant Native species for your area. In history, Hemp promoted good soil & was planted in-between crops to help with wind erosion of crop soil. Link

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[‘Coon] The Europeans often call them “wash bears” from their habit of washing their food, and they are distantly related to bears.

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Here is the link to the video for Springer’s Bar & Grill. Video 

[Raccoons in your attic] Raccoons like to make their home in your attic; they rip a hole in your roof and set up camp.  Once inside, they can really trash the place and cause extensive damage. They will usually rip up the duct work, tear the insulation off of pipes, rip up wires, trample or pull up the insulation, rip off any paper lining, and sometimes even damage wood joists.  Get out your check book because the repairs are going to cost a whole lot of cash.

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Kenny Chesney’s “Pirate Flag”.  “I spent my whole life running around; Still let the wind kinda blow me around. Well, I dropped a note in a bottle, to a long-legged model. And I traded it in for a whole ‘nother world, a pirate flag, and an island girl.” Music video

County residents can County residents can report fraud via hotline. Link

How to Be a Comedian Link

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Key West Cemetery Tour honors black history month. Link 

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Last Monday we went to a Glenn Miller concert in Marathon (is he still dead?). Definitely a sea of old farts, more white caps in the audience than the seas in a 30K wind. It was a great show.

To the new Big Pine resident, thanks for speaking out about the restaurants on Big Pine, sadly, your recommendations are falling on deaf ears and keep in mind that you are living in Big Pine, yuck. I think you selected the wrong Key to move to because for years now some of us have tried to suggest improvements to this dismal Key, all for not [naught].

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Valentines Day entertaining ideas. Link 

At the last board meeting of the Iguana Killers Club it was decided by unanimous vote the raccoons would be added to the Dead Right There (DTR) list. The vote went to rule that raccoons are a threat to the fragile echo systems of the Florida Keys and should be executed on sight. The standard rules of engagement and disposal will be strictly followed by all members of the IKC.

WindUpHeart[Captain Doom and Gloom] “Stupid Speed Limit 35 MPH at night” Wasn’t that an experiment in the 80’s to see which dimwits would only read the Black Signs and ignore the White Signs. Sort of like Texting and not concentrating?

“More places for good, affordable food””Just delete the low renters and useless food holes from the Keys and let real humans run the place. Little minds have little ideas, and big minds destroy all for profit. Thank God we have shallow water!

DEF: Hotdog  n. An imaginary food source for inept humans that has the nourishment of a toothpick and the taste of something dead.

 DEF: Hamburger n.  A ground meat (sometimes) product engineered to inflict health issues so doctors can tell you to stop eating them, for a large fee.

 DEF: B.S.  n. A repulsive substance excreted from a hamburger with legs.

                  adj.  A semi-logical lecture from a bar patron at Happy Hour.

                   v.   A threat to the bartender over a wrongly made drink.

 DEF: President  n. The fraudulent apparatus at the end of a speaker cable presented to the public. See: Mouthpiece

 DEF: Entertainer n. A person trained to distract you while another sneaks up behind you with a commercial.

 DEF: Actor n. A person who fakes biting into a product so they can entice you to buy it even though it makes them nauseous.

 DEF: Commercial n. The time period between episodes of a movie when you can make dinner, wash your cloths, walk the dog, go shopping and repair the roof, before the next movie part continues.

DEF: National Debt n. A idiot proof system to keep one’s peasants from getting rich and educated enough to push you off the top of the ladder! See: French Revolution, Russian Revolution, Vietnam, Argentina Revolution, and the Miami Beach Wars of 2014

Being a sole Independent and reading this blog daily it blows my mind how the Demos always bitch and moan about the Repubs, always putting them down, but never advancing any ideas to fix things. Is that all you D People do is piss and bitch and let others do the maintenance? Grow up and come out!

“GMM, Genetically engineered meat” If you cannot handle it now, ever take a tour through a hot dog plant or lunch meat company! You will never eat that stuff again!

“Coon — I and others are offended” Lady, you would be offended by anything even a mirror!  Grow up!

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FTR on Rubio “… has the stuff that rock stars are made of.” I don’t want a rock star in Washington. And you let out the part about him being under criminal investigation by the FBI.  Below are the online comments under the story about him doing the post address speech.  He can be as fancy as you like, but he’s still a crook.  Of course, most Republicans seem to be forgiving or ignoring that trait lately 

“In honor of Marco Rubio giving the Republican response to the State of the Union” How is that Rubio IRS investigation going?

“The ‘GOP hopeful’ reveal their true nature and get hammered down by their own vices.”

“This Rubio guy is turning out to be a real crook, that should look good on his resume for any Republican political position.”

“Rubio has lips like a fish. He’s a sneak. Florida voters should wake-up and get a grip quick.”

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[No Warrants] I wish for the good old days when all we had to worry about was the government listening to phone conversations from the Middle East. Now we have drones coming that not only listen in to everyone but can send a Hell Fire Missile up our asses and kill whole families. All this without the bother of warrants.

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I agree that Republicans shouldn’t “peck away” at poor Mr. Obama. Americans should be raising hell and demanding honest answers to what did or did not occur in Benghazi! There can be no doubt that high ranking members of the administration were aware of the incident in real time, and refused to act. It’s a sad sign of our times that some individual belittled the incident as being “dredged up” and used the well-worn “Bush did it” on the day one of those heroes was buried. But then again, maybe there’s no foul since you probably didn’t hear about it on national news.

FTR:”It’s likely that very few members of the CT community were even aware that Obama and Biden recently attended the National Prayer Day breakfast.”

Your insults aren’t gaining you any respect, actually the opposite! You sure like to insult the intelligence of CT readers. What a sad person you must be. (Ed: this same post was sent 3 times today)

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1 Advice and comments from the right concerning Marco Rubio were that he was Young, handsome and charming. Gee, he is Presidential material and when he threw in hes rock star material I guess hes qualified. Who wouldnt want Steven Tyler as President?

2. Its just a matter of days im sure that Republicans will call the decision to pull our troops from Afghanistan after 10 years of war a surrender. I call it a very wise decision and a victory for our fallen and serving troops.

3. As a Democrat I applaud the use of drones to kill American turncoats waging war on America from overseas. Why is the right so upset about killing traitors? I think its a sound war policy.

4. O.K. Obama if you want to put funds into Americas Infrastructure I want to know where every penny is coming from. 

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Look at the 22 GOP men who voted against the Violence against Women Act. Including Senator Marco Rubio. Link

If it wasn’t for guns we’d still be British.

FROM THE RIGHT

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an_scale_jitteryPart 1) Yesterday a left fielder posted a laundry list of accusations against Governor Rick Scott. I hope that you read them and thought about them. Now I ask you think about this: The accusations date back to the 1990’s.  Scott left Columbia/HCA in 1997.  Please note that Bill Clinton was then President, and Janet Reno was Attorney General.  Reno had been the States Attorney in Miami prior to being picked by Bubba to be AG.  Reno is/was a totally and completely dedicated and honest public servant. I had dealings with her on several occasions. Reno is/was completely dedicated to her job, but the overarching character trait of Reno to keep in mind is/was that she was a fierce liberal and was totally committed to Democrat principles and ideals.  After Bubba left office, GWB’s Justice Department finished what Reno had started and prosecuted Columbia/HCA. The investigation of Columbia/HCA spanned to administrations and was extraordinarily thorough.

The accusations against Columbia/HCA were fully and totally investigated by Bubba/Reno’s  and GWB’svJustice Department. The FBI led the charge. Their investigation discovered improprieties and crimes on part of Columbia/HCA and some of their employees, but found no evidence whatsoever linking Rick Scott with any of the improprieties or crimes. Had there been evidence, Scott would have been charged.  Scott was not charged. Butt, and it is a huge butt, two of Scott’s subordinates, managers were charged, they were convicted.

Reno’s and GWB’s Justice Department did an excellent investigation and subsequent prosecution of the company. The Department of Justice presented no evidence that Scott had any knowledge or complicity in the scheme. That’s because there was no evidence. Nonetheless, Scott resigned in 1997. He resigned, stating that he was the CEO, and some of the offenses occurred on his watch and therefore he was ultimately responsible. It’s kind of like a Navy ship that a helmsman screws up and steers the ship onto a reef. The Captain of ship would ultimately bear the stigma, and would probably resign.

GWB’s  Justice Department ultimately won $1.7 billion in fines and penalties. But, still there was no evidence that Scott had any part in the fraud.

The primary whistle blower was Jerre  Frazier. Frazier, a health care attorney hired in 1996 as Columbia/HCA’s director of compliance.  Frazier said he saw no evidence that Scott told his employees to defraud the government.

“I’m not saying that Rick Scott was lying, cheating and stealing, but there was a lot of that going on at his company,” Frazier said. “He certainly didn’t say, ‘We’re not going to be compliant.’ I never heard him say, ‘We want people to do things that are improper or illegal.’’

Scott and a partner bought two hospitals in 1987. Scott grew those two hospitals and bought dozens more. Scott named the enterprise Columbia Hospitals. That is called success. Then in 1994, Scotts firm, Columbia, acquired Health Care of America (HCA). The merged companies became Columbia Health Care. At its peak, Columbia/HCA owned more than 300 hospitals and employed nearly 300,000 people.

The Scott knocker wrote of Columbia/HCA keeping two sets of books. That is partially true according to another whistle blower who shared a one million dollar reward with yet another whistle blower.  That’s interesting, but it had nothing to do with Scott because it happened 4 years before Scott came on board.

Our leftist friends are desperate to vilify and smear each and every Republican candidate or office holder. To some extent that’s understandable, because Republican public servants keep their promises and get good things done.

 

an_listPart 2).  Speaking of “getting things done”. Let’s review our Democrat President Obama’s record for the last 4 years.  Gasoline costs more than twice as much as it did 4 years ago.  The North Koreans have exploded yet another new and improved nuclear weapon. The N.K.’s have demonstrated to us that they have ballistic missiles now capable of reaching the shores of the USA.  North Korean military ambitions are a “serious threat” to the US, outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has said.

Our national debt is exploring the stratosphere, going where no national debt has gone before.

Obamacare is not yet in operation, yet the Obamacare taxes are in place, and the price of personal health insurance has skyrocketed. We now know that it’s likely that contrary to Obama’s promise we won’t be able to keep our preferred Doctor. Today, after  6 years of the Democrat/Obama governance, there are fewer jobs than there were when the Democrats took control of Congress. Nearly 3 million fewer. Just yesterday we learned that China has now surpassed the USA as being the world’s biggest trading nation.

Since Obama has been in office, 65.4 million new guns have been purchased, very nearly twice as many as during the first 4 years of GB. By the way, do you remember Mr. Obama promising to half the deficit by the end of his first term? How did that go?

We now owe China more money than any other nation. If we found that we had to go to war with China, we’d have to borrow the money from them to go to war. Today, Muslim fundamentalism, AQI and its clones are more powerful than ever. Obama failed to keep an American military presence in Iraq and now the country is rapidly heading into the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. We are losing in Afghanistan and Obama plans to retreat next year. Iran is more powerful and is spreading its brand of terror throughout the Mid East and northern Africa.

Deer Friends, there’s many more horror stories attendant to our Democrat rulers, much more later.

Part 3) Nothing new in the President’s State of the Union message. He told us, once again, that the only way to prosperity is to tax more, spend more, and borrow more.  Seems to me that we’ve been doing that for at least the last four years, and hells bells, our economy actually contracted in the last quarter. We’re going backward.

Senator Marco Rubio’s response was fabulous; he hit the ball out of the park.  He is passionate, articulate, and credible. Certainly by the time you read this there will be a web video.  The man is remarkable. The man is genuine. It’s worth noting that he didn’t need a teleprompter.

Respectfully submitted; FTR@bellsouth.net