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2013 September

Sunday, September 21, 2013

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[Dredging] I work for HTA [Conch Train, etc] and have not been intimidated in any way to vote for the study (it’s just a study, folks). But I am smart enough to know that we cannot double the number of cruise ships that come here (as the scaremongers keep shouting). We only have three docks and bigger ships cannot even use the Mallory dock. The fact remains, though, the channel needs to be widened in a very small area to accommodate the bigger designed ships. And, yes, if the cruise ships stop coming here it will be a big hit to our economy. There is nothing wrong in pointing out that companies who generously donate to local non-profits may not be able to be so generous if a huge chunk of the economy disappears. What is wrong with doing the study and getting the facts?

isaksen-flood 4.23.13
Who owns the FKAA and why is it not controlled by us taxpayers? 

lightening-islamorada

 

Cool picture from Islamorada.

[Dredging] I’m not concerned so much with the environmental damage dredging the channel will cause, I’m more concerned with the damage to our way of life if we allow the leviathan cruise ships to the city — doubling the already 800,000 t-shirt buying tourists. If you think KW is crowded now, just wait until those behemoths get here and dump their herds on our streets.

an_chili-green-hot[Party Food]  Dragon Tongues for football Sunday
24 Jalapenos (large and fresh, about 2 – 2 1/2inches long)
1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage (regular), cooked and drained very well, crumbled very small
1/2 cup Jack or Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce/1 egg, scrambled
1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs

Cut the top off the peppers. Clean out the jalapeno seeds and some of the white veins. (Use disposable kitchen latex gloves for this step. If you don’t use the gloves do not touch face or eyes for the rest of the day) Scramble the egg and mix with all other ingredients. Stuff peppers with mixture. A disposable pastry bag makes it easy. (Cut a bit off of the bottom of the pepper to leave a hole for any excess grease to drain), Place peppers on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and bake @ 350° for about 30-40 minutes.

Serve with a cool dipping sauce like Ranch or Bleu Cheese.  And, of course, tortilla chips and salsa. Guacamole is an added plus if it’s home made and not the tastless packaged crap from the market. These are very popular. Great to take to a party but not for wimps. Serve also with a Mexican beer like dark Dos Equis, Negro Modelo or Tacate. Your party friends will thank and compliment you on the great, spicy snack during the party but will curse you in the morning. Some people keep a quart of ice cream on hand to wipe with the next day. (Plain vanilla, no Chunky Monkey!)

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was  just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.”   ~Stephen Colbert

an star wars montageWhat’s your Star Wars name? To find out, follow these steps.
For your first name: Take the first three letters of your last name. Add the first two letters of your first name.
For your last name: Take the first two letters of your mothers last name. Add the first three letters of the city in which you were born.

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Genetically Altered Mosquitoes coming to a Key near you. Link     

boat-ladder

 

Boat ladder (not dive platform) 1 year old stainless steel 2 step ladder. $25. Classified Ads > Boats

Crane Point Eco Canopy Tour and Zipline. Let’s hear your support for or against?  Link

springers-ad12.30.12
[Butterfly Population Dwindling] No Mosquito Control spraying on BPK until 2014. Link                   

dog22.13

 

Found dog email me if he is yours. Classified Ads > Lost and Found

Uses for an old PC. Link

editor 2 monitors

[Bad Editor] I don’t post that often, but when I do, my posts are accurate. If I had a grammatical error, I would appreciate the editor cleaning it up for me. Keep up the good work! (Ed: Thanks for defending me, but I did really change the complainer’s post. When I realized I did, I got sidetracked and forgot to change it back. The Complainer was to complain, I was wrong.)

[Sewers] With the lawsuit from Mr. Drabinski there likely isn’t any need for any lower Keys resident to be concerned about sewers coming to a street near them for a long time. Perhaps the BOCC can use the following months or years until this suit is determined by the court, to acquire funding for whatever sewerage decision is made – someday – maybe – perhaps – eventually.

johnsons-ad-7.25.13

Red Dawn 2012 is about North Korea invading Detroit (where it was filmed).  There are some areas there that I would advise them to definitely not try and invade.

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yoda sabre argue not

[“good it is for ours safety only”]  Yoda is posting!  CT read on Dagobah! 

Living on an Island” boat tour of house for sale on Cedar Drive. I hope to meet YOU in the Keys real soon! Video
Sincerely, Nira

nira tocco realtor 9.12

[Gulfstream?] Is there someplace where I can find out how close to the island the Gulf stream is running each day?

meatloaf22

 

Bacon wrapped macaroni and cheese meatloaf balls.

Greed had nothing to do with low life druggies stealing from your yard sale. As the great philosopher Rick James once said, “Cocaine is a powerful drug.” These folks would steal from anyone to get money for their next high. 
fancy8.16.13

[No Bug System] I have found a way to sit outside in the evenings and not be bothered by the Mosquitos and noseeums. I bought a cheap waist high charcoal grill. I start the charcoal (about 50 cents worth) right before sunset. Sometimes I don’t even bother cooking anything on it. After the coals stop flaming, I put a coconut or two on it. They burn slow, don’t stink up the place and all the flying insects disappear. I move the grill around on its wheels so the breeze rids the bugs around anywhere I want to sit.

I have a Pelican plant in my yard that is full of butterfly’s and it does not bother them at all. Mysteriously, the endangered butterflies that they say are only a few hundred of, cover my vines daily. If I count them during the day, there are always about 25. I guess the same people that counted less than 700 homeless people in our county were the same people that counted less than 200 butterflies.

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lemonade22

 

Welcome back Easton you have a beautiful family. How many remember Easton selling Lemonade at the No Name bridge? I always knew he would turn out to be a fine man. Thank you for your service to our country.

[Getting Involved] Things are improving.  Lately it seems, judging by a few of the posts on this site,  there are at least 4 or 5 people down here who are paying attention to how the BOCC and other local governments are proposing to spend our tax money.  Who knows what the other 80,000 County residents have on their minds, if anything at all of significance. I am sure the Commissions love it this way.

tarps bungee cords

[Bad Editor] I have had words changed, but mostly for the better. Thank you Deer Ed for what you do. I appreciate your toil with the, um, crap you must deal with daily. One poster hit the nail on the head with good advice,  that being, if you post, sleep on it, re-read your post and if you still feel it’s what you want to say — then — press the send key.

Smile, it improves your face value. 

sombrero-lighthouse00

 

I’d like to dive Sombrero Light, but don’t know where to launch my 21’ boat in Marathon. Is there a good public ramp at Sombrero Beach? 

[Absent absentee ballot concern] Being conscientious citizens of Key West, my husband and I want to vote in the upcoming elections, even though personal business is keeping us out of state at that time. We dutifully used the website provided for requesting absentee ballots and an Aug. 22 email response confirmed that our requests were received as we intended.

Since the Oct. 1 election is approaching, and we have not received our ballots, I went back to the website to check on my status. I was shocked and appalled to see that, while we were entered as receiving absentee ballots for the November runoffs, we were not scheduled to receive ballots for the Oct.1 election!

I have called the Supervisor of Elections Office to demand ballots and written my complaints to Ms. Griffin. I am not only concerned about my own ballot, but I am concerned that there may be many more voters who have been disenfranchised. This is an issue that should be investigated and, if voter turnout via absentee ballot is low, the results of that election should be called into question. That there is a very controversial issue on the ballot could make one very suspicious of how something like this can happen.

I urge everyone who has requested an absentee ballot to immediately check their own election status.

ad-manley-deboer6.27.13

[The 1998 $2,464 Gateway] Today your $500 cell phone has a 1,000 times the power! Link

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HotSeller

 

[Grinder Pumps] I talked to a friend in the sewer business and she said the grinder pumps are not only a bad move but are actually dangerous if they short out. What does this mean? Can I get electrocuted on the toilet? Ouch! 

[Wind Insurance] FIRM recently secured funding for a wind risk analysis that will be submitted to hopefully mitigate wind insurance costs in the Florida Keys. That said, beginning the first week of November, Citizens Insurance will begin shedding half of their policy holders and offering them alternative insurance choices. Citizens received approval for a 6.3 percent average increase on standard homeowners premiums last week; an increase that follows two years of double-digit increases for the same policies.

There are also changes within the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, flood insurance rates will rise about 20 percent annually beginning Oct. 1 for homes in older, flood-zone areas that have previously enjoyed subsidized rate. The rate increases will continue until their premiums reflect the full market risk. (source: eden.lsu.edu)

Gov. Rick Scott is urging Florida’s senators to push for a delay and an extension in the federal subsidies. He recently wrote in a letter to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio “In cases where new maps move a property into a flood zone, homeowners may find it impossible to sell their properties to a new owner who will be shocked with the massive premium increases required to secure a mortgage, this unfair consequence could devastate parts of Florida’s real estate market, stymie Florida’s economic recovery, and diminish the state’s tax base.” (Quote: Miami Herald)

It is important if you’re a current Monroe County resident, property owner or looking to be a property owner in paradise, that you educate yourself and visit this website to see how you’ll be affected. If you can offer FIRM volunteer time, expertise or monetary support they’d greatly appreciate it. Link

advert-accurate-home-insp8.14.13

Why goats feasting on rat urine makes sense. Link

Volunteer your time to help in the Fla. Keys, on your next vacation. Link

Fat-Motorcycle-Biker-17

 

This picture is a subtle reminder that the voluptuous Jersey Girls are on their way south. I think I saw a couple of similar riders on US1 yesterday. (Ed: She reminds me of the Bacon Grease Lady of yesteryear.)

[Wind Insurance] 200,000 policyholders may be dropped. The head of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. announced Friday that as many as 200,000 customers from across the state could be moved over to eight private insurers in December if state regulators sign off on the plan. This move comes shortly after state regulators quietly agreed last month to let 10 different insurance companies absorb nearly 400,000 Citizens policyholders this November. (Note the word “quietly”. Shhhh … this move is a secret.)

Citizens is currently the state’s largest residential property insurer in the state with 1.2 million policyholders. Several companies that previously absorbed Citizens policies went belly-up, although Citizens officials point out that hasn’t happened in the past three years. When will the people of Monroe wake up? Half of Citizens insured policy holders are being dumped. Join FIRM. It’s free and you can help. Link 

advert-dennis-ward8.16.13

[Key Largo Sewer Corruption] What kind of taste does it leave in ratepayers mouth or how does your paycheck cover your bills when you elect a Key Largo Wastewater District Commissioner making $300 a meeting, which usually includes 3 meetings a month, which totals up to $900 a month and KLWTD has 5 Commissioners, which totals up to $4500 a month?   KLWTD’s budget is $23 million this year, and has less than 14,000 residents in Key Largo.  Yet the BOCC has an operating budget of $286.7 million for 2014 fiscal year with close to 74,000 residents and meets only once a month to do all of Unincorporated Monroe County’s business.

The KLWTD Commissioners are now going to get a check cut out of the ratepayers’ bank account for over $51,000 for back pay for cost of living!  Do you want to know where this money will be coming from since it was not budgeted for this fiscal year? Can your household make up an amount like this if not budgeted?  Most households in Key Largo would be in a hurt.  State Rep. Holly Raschein suggested the bill had better chance of passing if back pay was omitted.  The pay increase was signed by Gov. Scott.

These elected officials knew what the job paid when they were elected.  Do you think it is wise to take the back pay when we have a $21 million dollar loan due in a few years? One ratepayer asked the KLWTD Commissioners at the last meeting, “At what point do you become good fiscal conservatives with your customers’ money?”

There are three Commissioners that are up for re-election next year.  The KLWTD attorney has opined the Commissioners have to take the back pay.  He is salaried, so another ratepayer emailed me with one of his concerns, ”Is the attorney scratching the Commissioners backs?” Is this the attorney we want to work for us and watch out for the ratepayers’ monies?

The same three Commissioners are saying they will take the back pay from your savings account.  One of the newly elected Commissioner is wondering where the money will come

from, (it will come out of ratepayers’ pockets) but he is short of saying he will take a position against taking the money.

These Commissioners can make the choice of leaving it for a financial credit towards the $21 million debt or taking the money. They may have to pay taxes on the money, according to the attorney. Commissioners, by not taking the back pay, that would be giving back to the very people that voted for you and supported you in your elections. –fiscal responsibility?

Next year I hope to hear a ratepayer ask a candidate if they choose to run again, “Why did you take the money”.  Commissioner’s, voters do have a good memory.

buddies-1

 

Buddies … for now!

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[Sewers] Will No Name Key get sewers too and at what cost? when? what type? 
Radio Shack Ad pixlr9.16.13
I can hear the motorcycles going back up north on US1 this morning from 3 miles away. Sounds cool!

gate00

 

[Swimming Hole Good News] The BOCC is planning to take over the Old Swimming Hole on US1 and turn it into a combination boat ramp and passive park.

[Pay Toilets] There is a rumor going around that the sewer company will issue ration cards. True or false?
direcTV-ad-4.26

nails22

 

Nails. Stanley. Assorted clipped head angle “galvanized” nails for old style pressure treated wood. Fits Bostich S-80 gun and many others. $25. Classified Ads > Tools

[“Bad Editor–Ed: I think I know the post he’s referring to and I did get carried away,”] So why don’t you re-post it unedited?  He has a point.  I would rather hear what people are really saying than a censored version.  We get enough of that from the main stream media. (Ed: If I knew what it was or where to find it I would.)

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hawaii22

 

[Captain Doom and Gloom] A movie all you religious nuts should see and hopefully realize it is all BS! Happy Sunday. 

Hey editor, hack away at anything you want. I enjoy y your work. Thanks.

religion politics zone

[Terror] I pity those Muslims, Jews and Christians who are so blinded by religion they have lost all humanity, kill for their myths and hurt people because of insanity. Why? Are there too many people? Too many sick leaders who want all the power? Too many little nobodies who want notoriety? Or is it simply a physical disease, virus or mutation from radiation, bad foods, chemicals, or all the rays going through us every day? Will we ever control ourselves?

For those of you who claim to be in favor of Obamacare please inform the rest of us why Congress and staff, the President and staff, and many union officials have either gotten out of Obamacare or requested to be excluded from  Obamacare. Being an observer I can only conclude that something is wrong when a law is passed and those who voted for the law, want to be excluded from it’s implementation. Now I note that many of you are in favor of the law as passed. If it is so “damn” good, let’s all enjoy it. Every last one of us.

At this point, I would like to paraphrase Nancy Pelosi and say, “We have to pass the law to find out what is in it.” Excuse me, I find that very degrading coming from a leader in Congress, even if in jest.

[FTR: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could get some good news about our economy”] There’s good news every quarter, but extremists are too blinded by hate to see it.

[“Efforts to deny health insurance to us”]  Only the health insurance company can do that.  I just refuse to pay for mine and yours both.  Buy your own. 
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It really pisses me off that the Muslims are hitting people in malls and public places, but are too chicken-Shiite to fight real troops, or police. This terrorist crap has to stop.

[The Right’s Definition of Politically Correct]  A doctrine or belief system, fostered by the delusional and illogical left wing liberals, and fostered by the mainstream media, which holds that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end!

[Syria] Well it seems our country’s intelligence was spot on. Until our President threatened action against Syria they have been denying they even had chemical weapons. Now all of a sudden they are not only openly admitting it they have already given an estimated count of their arsenal. Of course this info will have to be verified but for the first time ever it gives the world a starting point. As for Assad staying in power that works out perfectly for our Israeli allies that have said openly they don’t want to see a regime change is Syria. They agree with the motto “better the enemy you know”. One of the most interesting things is that now after leaving the attack threat on the table Iran wants to have talks with us for the first time in many years. Iran who is a staunch ally with Syria have said they are against chemical weapons being used against Syrias own people by their government. That’s a huge step Im sure Putin didn’t plan on.

You can hate our President if you wish and admire the love affair with Russias leader Putin like our Conservative friends are having but in the end President Obama is standing very strong and tough against Americas enemies. Its not surprising that our Countrys conservatives love Putin. G.W.Bush had a “special moment” shall we say when he said he looked into Putins eyes and talked of his heart. Made me want to puke at the time. But the Conservatives man crush on Putin continues to grow since that special moment.

Republicans, get a grip. You lost the Obamacare debate, now let’s pull together as a nation and get it to work .

The Right will do almost anything, well actually they will do anything to stop Americans from getting health insurance, they’ll even shut down the government causing untold misery to those affected just so Americans can continue to lose their homes and life savings due to medical bills. Shame on Senator Cruz and his other wealthy conspirators who are in the pockets of the healthcare industry. Americans, wake up! This is the best thing that happened since Social Security.

The latest predictions from Obama’s own administration have the Affordable Car Act now insuring only half the number initially expected. That’s OK because the costs have doubled so it all evens out. Link

from the right

I’ve got to admit that I’m flattered by all the attention that the critics give to these humble postings. It’s especially pleasing to note that not a single one of Friday’s critics even tried to present evidence to contradict my opinions, and the facts that have been presented. That clearly adds credence to my opinion that our economy and our nation is suffering terribly from Democrat governance.

an_cadimusAt least one of the critics wrote that Republicans are dead set on denying healthcare to the masses. Nothing could be further from the truth. All the available evidence shows that Obamacare will diminish the quality and quantity of healthcare while at the same time increasing its cost.

Don’t kid yourself, Obamacare does not mean free healthcare. Free healthcare is and has been available for years for people who qualify based on their incomes. Or, you can purchase your own health care insurance. Or you can pay as you go. In many cases the cost of Obamacare is substantially higher than the current health insurance rates. It’s no secret that most hospitals provide steeply reduced rates for people who have no health insurance. That includes Fisherman’s.

Republicans oppose Obamacare for a number of reasons. First, because it will diminish the quality and quantity of health care available to Americans. Second, it is an economy and job wrecker. The news is full of businesses cutting jobs, cutting hours, and being granted waivers from Obamacare.  Just yesterday, even the Cleveland Clinic, a premier healthcare provider that Obama called one of the world’s best, is cutting thousands of jobs because of Obamacare. Deer Friends, just think about that, Obamacare is resulting in a reduction in the number of health care providers but at the same time it is requiring the addition of thousands of IRS bureaurcats. Third, it will add to our national debt. Fourth, it will require Americans to purchase a product that they may not want or need.

Then there is the fact that Obamacare has already robbed Medicare of $750 billion. That cut of Medicare funding has already begun to rob seniors of the quality of health care. I personally have seen it.

Obamacare is possibly the most unfair item of legislation that has ever been inflicted on the American public. Unions, Congress, the President and his employees, are all exempt from it.  When/if it goes into effect you will have no choice, you will have to buy into it, and you will have to pay, pay big-time. The problem is simple, starkly simple, Obamacare does not a damned thing to bring down the cost of the delivery of healthcare. Nothing. The tragic fact is that it is certain to increase the costs of the delivery of healthcare.

The Republicans are doing the will of the people. Poll after poll after poll shows that a majority of American are against Obamacare. The only reason it ever became law was because the Democrats had overwhelming control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency.

The claim that the Republicans are “trying to shut down the government” in order to halt Obamacare is absolutely false. It’s absurd. Obama refuses to negotiate any part of the Obamacare mess. One temp measure would be to delay the individual mandate for a year. The same year that businesses have already been given.  The program is so screwed up that their multimillion dollar computer program is unable to figure out what the costs to the individual will be. They just don’t know.  No matter the costs or how screwed up it is, Obama demands that it go forward immediately. Obama’s ego knows no bounds.

The debt ceiling crisis is about two weeks away and the Republican controlled House has just passed a bill that will temporarily fund the government even though after more than 4 years there has been no budget. A part of that bill will require defunding Obamacare.

The stone cold truth is that Obama and the Democrats are the ones who are ready to shut down the government.  In all likelihood the Democrat controlled Senate will not even consider the Republican funding bill, and even if it passes the Senate, Obama will veto it. Obama and the Democrats have decided that they are ready to wreck our country in order to force Obama’s vanity upon us. The Republicans are ready to negotiate, the Democrats say “NO!”

Part 2) Deer Friends, please think about the facts that the Republicans are working their butts off to cut government spending, to reform welfare, to reform food stamps, and other entitlement programs. While all of that is going on, the Congressional Democrats are resisting by crying poor, saying that the economy is so screwed up that reforming any entitlement program would be cruel. But, at the same time Obama is traveling the country bragging about how well the economy is growing. The disconnect is really jarring.

Hate-SpeechPart 3) The chances are that you have never heard of Allan Bauer. He is a heavy hitter in the Democrat Party in California. He’s the Communications Chair of the Sacramento County Democrat party.  He recently emailed a message to a key staffer for Republican Senator Ted Cruz: Bauer wrote: “May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases.”

Incredibly there is an even more hateful liberal pronouncement to think about.  A University of Kansas journalism professor, David Guth, seems to the new face of the left. His Twitter ID is David Guth@DWGuth, and in the wake of the Navy Yard tragedy he Twittered: “#NavyYardShooting The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you.” The University of Kansas put Gunth on admin leave, but he remains unapologetic. The University refuses to disclose if he continues to be paid.  I sure hope that the current spate of wishing for the painful death of the children of right fielders is only a passing liberal fad.

We see a great deal of hate speech here from our left fielders, but the scope and intensity seems to be increasing. Thank God that most of them hate guns. Link

CLIMATE CHANGE

Next week, those who made dire predictions of ruinous climate change face their own inconvenient truth.  The summary of the fifth assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be published, showing that global temperatures are refusing to follow the path which was predicted for them by almost all climatic models. Since its first report in 1990, the IPCC has been predicting that global temperatures would be rising at an average of 0.2° Celsius per decade. Now, the IPCC acknowledges that there has been no statistically significant rise at all over the past 16 years.

As things have worked out, carbon emissions in the rich world have been falling anyway — not due to green taxes but to better technology, like fracking. Sanity is returning to the environmental debate. Let us hope that, before too long, it also returns to American energy policy.