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2014 May

Thursday, May 1, 2014

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The-Coconut-Telegraph-w-CoconutsThe Original Unsocial Media. Anonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition

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[Sugarloaf Light] I drive to Key West every day and I hate having to stop at that light.  Look at all the people who have died there already!
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Overseas Liquo
r’s new owners tore down the old cottages behind the place. My wife and I spent our wedding night in one of them thirty years ago (we barely had gas money to get from Key West to Marathon and back). We stayed in the cottage on the left. They were run down then, but I went back in 2011 and took this photo. We still refer to our honeymoon suite as the Bates Motel.
[Marathon Journal] As Marathon closes in on its 15th birthday this November, we must evaluate how our fair city has matured. Self-reliance is not only a word, but it is a blueprint for responsible government. We must bring legal and finance in house. There is more than enough money to set up these departments properly. After several years there may be tax savings as well.Our current legal team among other problems is too quick for litigation. Our finance team has personnel problems. No matter how you slice it up graft and corruption is possible at all levels of government and contractors.I say keep everything in house; keep the money and jobs in Marathon. This applies to city manager as well. Mike Puto must be allowed to put his hat into the ring, if we persist in wanting to do a useless city manager search outside the Florida Keys.Marathon’s Oceanfront Park is located between 98th and 97th Streets. The park is behind City Hall. It is a work in progress with handicapped parking along with restrooms. The boardwalk paths are very interesting. There are some wood chip paths as well. Of course, the kayak docks are a nice touch.

The question is whether the handicapped parking means there will be cars parking there. The other large question is whether dogs get to run leashed or unleashed. Whether there is an enclosed dog park or not.

The complaint that the Rotary Park dog enclosure is dirty and filthy and unusable is without merit. If that is the case, then the city needs to keep it clean and usable.

Having another “dog park” is not an unreasonable request provided the dogs are well controlled. Humans need to clean up after their dogs as well. Throughout the park there are plastic bags for picking up a dog’s business.

I’m not a dog person. I have cat companions, and we want to know when a cat park will be built. It is only reasonable. Outdoor enclosures for cats is actually possible. Just imagine 10, 15, 20 cats all frolicking together without fur flying. Ah, but it is just a dream.

Sports, sports, sports clog up the local venue and the TV schedule! Local baseball and softball. NHL, NBA, NASCAR, college baseball and spring football scrimmages, MLB, and Formula F1 in China, 2 AM live and 2 PM recorded for us anti-morning types. PGA and MLS and all those I didn’t think about.

The contact info follows directly from the Marathon city’s website: To email all council members, send email to: council@ci.marathon.fl.us; Email: ramsayd@ci.marathon.fl.us Phone: 305-289-1671; Email: bullc@ci.marathon.fl.us Phone: 305-731-3082; Email: keatingr@ci.marathon.fl.us Phone: 305-743-6654; Email: senmartinm@ci.marathon.fl.us Phone: 305-289-4120; and Email: bartusj@ci.marathon.fl.us Phone: 305-731-1177.

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spaghetti-anchovies-bread-crumbsSpaghetti With Garlicky Bread Crumbs and Anchovies
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
2 cans anchovies, chopped (Ed: I doubled the anchovies. the recipe only called for one can)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Black pepper and kosher salt, as needed
1 pound spaghetti
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsleyLemon wedges, for serving1. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add anchovies, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Season liberally with black pepper, and a little salt if needed.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions; drain well, reserving some of the pasta water (about 1/2 cup is plenty).
3. In a large, preferably warmed bowl, stir together egg yolks, fish sauce, hot sauce and 2 tablespoons pasta water. Add hot pasta and toss well, adding more pasta water if the mixture looks dry or unevenly yellow. You want the yolk to evenly coat the pasta but you don’t want it to be soupy. Add bread crumb mixture and parsley and toss well. Season with plenty of black pepper, and salt to taste. Drizzle pasta with more oil just before serving and serve with lemon wedges. 4 servings. Full Menu > Recipes
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sunflower smile blink[Tonight] Sunflower Festival & Concert. Grimal Grove is inviting you to the 1st Annual Sunflower Festival on Thursday, May 1st from 5-8:30 pm at the Grove. This event features a fabulous concert and good family fun. Scythian, the popular D.C.band is the headline performer and local favorite, The Love Lane Gang will open for them. A potluck spread with donations from local eateries will be served and “Grimal Grog” will also be available for sale by the glass. Exhibitors have been invited to meet potential volunteers and customers in the Keys. And yes, there will be sunflowers!Tickets are $10, children 12 and under are free, and will be sold in advance at these locations: Key West: Help Yourself Cafe; Big Pine, Good Food Conspiracy; Marathon: Food for Thought.

Bring a blanket, beach chairs and a dish to share in the community potluck. Off-site parking has been arranged.

On May 1, 1852 the adventurer and performer Calamity Jane was born. The myths and fabrications concerning the life of Calamity Jane are so numerous it is difficult to discover her true story. Link
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International Workers Day
is today. Everyone gets a raise! (Reality check: only the boss gets the raise.) Coincidentally, or not, Republicans just defeated a move to raise the minimum wage for the 99%.
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[Kiddie Gun Nuts] Today, a four-year-old shot and killed his one-year-old brother in Kansas. It was an “accident.” There are about 20,000 such “accidents” a year in this country; the blogKid Shootings tracks them. Hmmm, we wonder where all those “youth shooters” – as Keystone Sporting Arms, which sells an estimated 80,000 pink and blue Crickett and Chipmunk rifles that shoot small real bullets that can kill small real children – got their fascination with guns? Intrigued, Dutch photographer An-Sofie Kesteleyn offers a chilling glimpse of the kids in the America where these things happen. Link
The “Waterways” television show features Wading Birds of the Everglades and Benthic Studies in the Florida Keys. In the first segment, “Wading Birds of the Everglades,” Everglades National Park biologists discuss the importance of the habitat the park provides for 16 species of wading birds. Everglades protects the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America, including white ibis, egrets, herons, roseate spoonbills and federally endangered wood storks.  Decimated by plume hunters in the 1900s, populations of these and other wading birds are showing signs of rebounding, including moving back into historical nesting sites within the park. Link
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Exxon Mobil made 106 billion dollar profit just for the first quarter of this year. These are the people who cry ‘poor me’ because we won’t build the Keystone pipeline for them to ship Canadian oil overseas for still more obscene profits.
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Ghost – Alien – Angel
. How do you tell the difference?
The average grinder pump lifespan is 8 to 10 years. If the power goes out the grinder pump will not work. This is the system our County wants to use in an environmentally sensitive area. No regard for the citizens or what they want or what makes sense, only to have to do the whole thing again a few years down the line. Another great plan by Monroe County Florida. Link
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Could you please include today’s “event” at some park down Cunningham Rd that is today.  I caught a tidbit of it, when I turned on the radio a bit ago.  Bill Becker said there would be music & food for $10 per person.
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Crack smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to seek help for substance abuse. Link
[Meth Lab Busted] Four people were jailed Tuesday on suspicion of vari­ous drug possession offenses after deputies discovered a portable methamphetamine lab and other various illegal drugs inside a trailer at 6529 Maloney Ave. Detectives and Drug Enforcement Administration agents reported finding 5.3 grams of meth, two grams of cocaine, three grams of pow­dered amphetamine, and more than 50 prescription pills of various types after serving a search warrant just before 2 p.m.
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Happy Thursday from Springers Bar and Grill.
Today’s special is a pulled pork sandwich. It’s yum on a bun!!Have you heard the buzz? Happy hour is now 2-7 daily. So come for a cold one and cool off in the air conditioning or feel the sun on your face on our patio. Either way join us for the longest happy hour on the island.
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[Hot Coffee] The fantasy is the $3,000,000.00 cup of McDonald’s coffee.  The reality is that the civil justice system worked to compensate a victim of a wrongdoer’s conduct to prevent future harm.We have all read about the $3,000,000.00 cup of McDonald’s coffee, but have you heard of Mrs. Liebeck’s cup of coffee?  On February 27, 1992, Mrs. Liebeck ordered a cup of coffee at McDonald’s.  While holding the cup between her knees with one hand, trying to get the lid off, since there was no cup holder in her car, scalding coffee spilled into her lap.  The 170 degree coffee seared her skin, causing second and third degree burns.After seven days in the hospital and approximately three weeks of recuperation, she began to undergo painful skin grafts.  She was helped during the recuperation period by her daughter, who stayed off work to take care of Mrs. Liebeck.  In August, 1992, Mrs. Liebeck asked McDonald’s to turn down the temperature of their coffee and sought $2,000.00 in out-of-pocket expenses she incurred, plus her daughter’s lost wages while she was taking care of her.  McDonald’s response was $800.00.
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semicolon lightning[Bigpinekey Blanked] When I tried to get onto the Coconut Telegraph yesterday and today the message The Web Address that you entered could not be found.  Tried retypingbigpinekey.com and still nothing.  I hope it is just me, but please let me know.  I am starting to get the shakes from withdrawal already. (Ed: Thanks for letting me know. I called the tech support for my server and there was a semi colon missing from a line of code that was changed yesterday afternoon. A little damn semi colon! It’s always something.)
For those of you who have Amazon Prime their included streaming video service just got better. They added categories by network. You used to have to wade through thousands of titles to find a show you wanted, now you just scroll through the list of networks and their thumbnail images of their offerings. It’s very easy to find shows now.
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[Dump Free] Free disposal days are offered on the first Saturday of every month for hard-to-dis­pose-of items such as paint, stains, preservatives, pesticides, fertilizers, roofing compounds, waste oil (five gallons maximum), resins and solvents, adhesives and caulks, corro­sives and acids, cleaning products, and automotive fluids. No gasoline will be accepted. Old electronics can also be dropped off.
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Edwards Air Show
(2008) has some fine planes! Link
[Worst Pickup Line Department] “Hi, I’m Jeffrey Dahmer, would you like to stay for dinner?”
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“What, me worry?” Mad Magazine’s creator Al Feldstein died. He published the spoof comic for 28 years.
[Homeless Shelter] With each proposed option continually getting shot down, Key West city officials are getting creative in their quest to build a new overnight homeless shelter.Mayor Craig Cates is proposing to do a deal with the Land Authority, which collects a half-cent bed tax placed on Key West hotel, B&Bs and transient rental guests for every dollar they spend. The deal would involve selling property at 5224 College Road, currently jointly owned by the city and Monroe County, to the Land Authority. The Authority would then either offer the city a long-term lease or give the property back to the city outright, Cates said, and the city would use part of the money from the sale to build a new homeless shelter.The parcel currently houses the former Easter Seals building which is occupied by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District offices. The county animal control offices and animal shelter are also located on the property.
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Havana Cigar Factory
tour:  After the bales of tobacco are unloaded this young lady sorts the leaves for uniformity and quality.  Only the very best are used for Cohibas, Monte Cristo and Partagas brands.  The rest go to less known brands.
If Obama’s Asia trip wasn’t suspicious, why are all of his meetings taking place while Americans are asleep?  ~Stephen Colbert
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Wanted. Hammock stand good condition.  jerri.ve@gmail.com Classified Ads > Wanted
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[Captain Doom and Gloom] “You Fox Newsers and Tea Partiers better wake up” To the poster who wrote this: If you had any inkling of what the Tea Party is all about you would not write stupid statements like this. The Tea Party is defending our country, the constitution and your rights to write idiocies like you did. Amen to the Tea Party. Now for the Fox News thing, never believe anything from the media from any source!
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Benedict Arnold
: The Father of Our Country? His name is synonymous with the word traitor, yet, if things had gone a little differently, could this infinitely complex man been the hero of the American Revolution? Link
[Foreclosures] How bank watchdogs killed our last chance at justice for foreclosure victims. Link
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Brunei just announced they are converting to Islamic Law. Punishments include stoning, whippings and amputation.
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Kentucky Senator Rand Paul‘s summer break. Senator Paul is an Ophthalmologist as well as a U.S. Senator and he and a partner teamed up to do pro bono eye surgeries for the poor.  People who came to the surgery center, legally blind or much worse, were all seeing before they left.
AARP Calendar of events and happenings for May Full Menu > Ongoing Events
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ford spotlightFord made $42 billion in profit after 2009 when the other auto companies imploded and had to take Obama money to stay in business. Yeah Ford!
The Doobie Brothers are one of my favorite bands and I can’t wait to see them live in Key West. This is also a wonderful fundraiser for Homes For Veterans Inc., which delivered the keys to a new house for a deserving war hero. Link
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[“Why can’t we all get along”] Because it is people like you that are too weak to stand on your own feet and make your own life that need help from others. All you do is cry and bleed and that is why this earth is not going to make it! Useless eaters and breeders are what you are. Religious to, I bet!
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An Alzheimers and dementia caregivers support group will hold its first meeting at the Big Pine Key Senior Center (behind the fire station on Key Deer Blvd.) on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 3:30 pm. For additional information call Katie at (305) 766 – 8109. Events
Yesterday FTR pointed out that winter was still cold so there’s no global warming. Thank you for your Right Wing scientific observation.
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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
from the right
Very shortly after the Benghazi murders, long before Team Obama made any comments about it, e-mails were flying back and forth between Team Members. Those e-mails have been the subject of battle for many months between Team Obama and the Congressional committee investigating the incident. Finally, an on point email was given up by Team Obama.

bengazi11Team Member deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes wrote the following e-mail. It is a smoking gun that proves that Team Obama purposefully lied to the American public to shield them from the political consequences of Secretary of State Clinton’s abject failure to protect the consulate and Obama’s failure to subjugate AQI.

It is part of a conspiracy to fabricate a story about the facts surrounding the Benghazi murders. It clearly states that Team Obama had decided to lie and that Amb Rice’s story line must be that the attack was only a demonstration gone wrong, not a terrorist assault. Rhodes’ email was sent to several Obama administration officials, including White House press secretary Jay Carney, with the subject line,

It reads: “RE: PREP Call with Susan: Saturday at 4:00 pm ET.” Rhodes in the email said two of Rice’s objectives would be, “To underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy” and “To reinforce the President and Administration’s strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges.”

There will be much more to come. Ms. Clinton will most certainly rue her “What difference does it make!” outburst when she was questioned about the events in a Congressional hearing.

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GUNNY’S BACK, HE WROTE: “Ok. I read your post. I’m sorry to inform you that my claim is NOT “patently false” FTR. Let me fill you in on some truth yoi (sic) cannot deny. Until 1992 I was a registered Republican. A member of the United States Marine Corps and a father of two. When my child ‘came out’ I reflected on several things. I had to protect my child. The anti-gay rhetoric and revulsion was (and IS) rampant within the ‘conservative’ circles to include the GOP, the religious right, the ‘moral majority’ et al.

I was forced to end my relarionship with the GOP that year. It has been PROVEN that  Clinton  (DEM) was forced to compromise on what is known now as DADT. Not by DEMS, but by REPs.

Again Laura Bush has disclosed the fact that ‘anti-gay’ wedge issues to include the defense of marriage amendment was purposely used by the GOP in BOTH election cycles in which President GW Bush was elected.  Do you see where this is going? You can’t spin these facts/truths. The ending of DADT was accomplished with TWO Republican senators and EVERY Dem in the senate.what were the orher 45 GOP senators voting?

You posted a ‘story’ about the gay politician in San Diego. Please include your source link, as FOX news does NOT report unbiased stories. To end, I’d like you to tell me when the last time either the log cabin republicans or GoProud was welcomed to ANY ‘conservative’ political circles. I’ll tell you when the last time they were rejected.

There is northing (sic) in this post which is remotely uncivil. How much can you refute before you label me “patently false”?”

FTR’S RESPONSE: Just for the record, in 2000 the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed GWB. In ’08 the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed McCain/Palin. In the ’12 elections, the LCR endorsed Romney. In ’12 the conservative gay organization, GOPROUD endorsed Romney. Barney Frank called the groups “Uncle Toms.” In each instance the endorsements were welcomed with open arms.

It’s worth noting that there are 3 openly gay Republicans running for Congress this year (so far).

I suggest that Gunny and any another CT community members with an interest in this topic check out the bylaws and history of GOPROUD and the LOGCABIN Republicans.

McCain had an openly gay chief of staff. McCain believes that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. McCain’s wife and his gay daughter believe in same sex marriage. Is there any hate there, I think not.

Mary Cheney, daughter of Dick Cheney, is gay.  She is also an ardent Republican. Any hate there, nope?

Gunny may chose not to believe Fox’s reporting, but he is in the minority. Fox News is unquestionably the number one news outlet on cable TV, it slaughters MSNBC, CNN, etc. Often, Fox even beats the entertainment shows broadcast by the “big three”.  According to Gallup, Fox is, by far, the leading source of news in America.

What follows are some of the sources for my posting concerning Mr. Demaio, gay Republican candidate for Congress from San Diego, and the issue of gays and the Republican Party.  Link  Link  Link  Link

Permit me to again remind Gunny that the Democrat Party and Obama are newcomers to endorsing same sex marriage.  ’08 Presidential candidate Obama made it crystal clear that he opposed same sex marriage. By ’12 he had flipped flopped. That flip flop earned the enmity of many in the black community and especially black clergy. In ’12 there was a cadre of Democrat Congresspersons who either opposed same sex marriage or refused to take a stand on the issue.

Just for the record, I remain convinced that the Gunny’s statement that Republicans are “obsessed” with controlling the lives and ostracizing GLBT persons” is patent nonsense. I also remain convinced that Gunny’s claim is totally false, and that the charge has become standard, boilerplate propaganda from the left. The Republicans who oppose same sex marriage do not hate gays or yearn to control their lives, any more than Obama did in ’08.

It’s kind of sad that that a hard charging Marine like Gunny, quit the battlefield, stopped whatever efforts he may have been trying to make the GOP more inclusive, and just walked away. I wonder if Gunny still believes in the Republican commitment to defense, lean and mean government, adherence to our Constitution, low taxation, and American exceptionalism?

I hope that Gunny doesn’t just bitch, it’s beneath a proud man.

One more thing. This post was sent to our Deer Ed. last Wednesday evening at about 8:30 PM.

National Politics. Your name and email address are not required. Please be civil.  I Have Something To Say About National Politics–Click Here