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2014 November

Thursday, November 6, 2014

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The-Coconut-Telegraph-w-CoconutsSince 2002. Anonymous Letters to the Editor with pictures. Published Monday through Friday by Noon.

gator6
[Gator] I thought you may like to see this picture. We saw this guy on Watson Blvd here in BPK the other day. This was a first for us outside of the ones over at the Blue Hole.
Phil-Goodman11.5.14
[Election Review] I did not pull the lever in the U.S. House of Representatives race between incumbent Democrat Joe Garcia and Tea Party Republican challenger Carlos Curbelo. Besides both of them having dirty laundry, neither favor lifting the US embargo against Cuba and moving toward burying that hatchet and normalizing relations.

Curbelo squeaked out a win over Garcia, after both of them spent a whole lot of money maligning each others’ unmalineable characters – by definition, politician’s malign their own characters. Garcia did great in Key West, and okay up through Big Pine Key, and less okay above there. Overall, Garcia got 52 percent of the Florida Keys (Monroe County) votes in that race, while Curbelo did better in the Dade County part of that federal voting district.

Amendment 1, which I felt was the most important item on the ballot, passed with about 80 percent of the voters in favor. Monroe County voted 79 percent in favor. In a nutshell, as I understood Amendment 1, it requires the Florida Legislature to actually spend funds allocated to environmental protection, on environmental protection. In the past, the politicos had habitually raided the environmental protection funds for other projects. Now, as I understand it, the politicos no longer can do that.

Thanks to a massive Republican effort and advertising, the state-wide medical marijuana referendum  went down, but not badly, getting just shy of the needed 60 percent of the votes. Amendment 2 got 70 percent yes votes in Key West, with that percentage declining up the Keys, but still passing by 56 percent in the Republican Elysium, Ocean Reef Club at the Atlantic end of upper Key Largo.

When someone asked me last night how I felt about the Florida  governor’s race?, I said something like, “Well, it’s like this. On the on hand, we have a right-wing Christian Republican incumbent who perfected taking the Fifth Amendment before he was elected governor, and on the other hand, we have a former Republican governor, who became an Independent, then a Democrat, New Age snake oil salesman. And I had met and talked twice with the Libertarian candidate, and could not bring myself to pull the lever for any of them.”

Governor Scott, the Fifth Amendment specialist, squeaked out a 47 to 46 percent win over the snail oil salesman, Charlie Crist. In the Keys, the snake oil salesman squeaked out 50 to 46 percent, doing better in Key West and progressively poorer moving up the Keys, to getting just 17 percent of the votes in the Republican Elysium, Ocean Reef Club.

Locally, 4-term professional bureaucrat Republican county commissioner George Neugent took about 58.5 percent of the vote against Democrat political newcomer Eleanor Adams, who got about 41.5 percent of the votes. Looking this morning at the Supervisor of Elections home page, Eleanor carried Key West handily, and lost in the other county voting districts, including George’s voting district headquarted on Big Pine Key. Eleanor showed poorest in Marathon, where George lives, and above there, Islamorada and Key Largo. In the Republican Elysium, Ocean Reef Club, George got 89.6 percent vs. Eleanor’s 11.4 percent. I suppose those 11.4 were live-in maids, nannies, yard workers, deck hands, golf course greens keepers, etc.

Given registered Democrat and Independent voters outnumber registered Republican voters about 9-5 in the Florida Keys, I take how that race ended as saying, as a group, Democrats and Independents oppose term limits and like professional bureaucrats in office, even if they are Republicans.  ~Sloan Bashinsky, former candidate for everything

hawk6
I watched a hawk or falcon snatch a little bird in flight, then land on a pole and start immediately eating it.(Shivers) I think it might be a Broad Winged Hawk but am not sure. This was on the Cudjoe transfer station access road. I attached his photo in hopes of a positive identification. He is looking up from his meal in this shot, and no doubt annoyed at me.
[Out of Touch] Emails to government are public information of course. Here is a downloadable copy of an email from George Neugent to all the government officials we have been pleading with to enforce the minimum standards (at least) on our sewer system. Do you feel fairly represented by this attempt to negatively influence responsible government? Link
gangster shooting
[Wiseguy
] Henry Hill, Jr. (June 11, 1943 — June 12, 2012) was a New York City mobster. Between 1955 and 1980, Hill was associated with the Lucchese crime family. After he turned FBI informant in 1980, Hill testified against Lucchese captain Paul Vario and James Burke, both of whom were convicted on multiple charges. Hill’s life story was documented in the true crime book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi. Video
[Milkweed problems] Milkweeds are pretty easy to grow, but we watch out for the following things. Link
Coconuts-sign-ad-750w
The unintended consequence of the round house discussion is that everyone now knows where Cudjoe Key’s Colson Drive is.
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dropbox logo[Backing Up is a Pain in the HDD] I’ve got 2 -1TB HDDs in my PC, 1TB external HDD for backup, 1 Cloud service for backup, and the occasional (less and less) Blue Ray disk backup. That’s all ridiculous. (I only have 191GB of stuff and I still have 740GB available on just the one HDD.)

For a hundred dollars a year I can get 1TB of very useful storage space in Dropbox. (One of the practical uses is posting stuff that anyone can access. I got this email today that had a link to a file in Dropbox for the public to see. Formerly you had to have a website to post a file you wanted many to see.)

I’m thinking of syncing my C: drive to Dropbox. Syncing replaces backup because it’s in real time. I’ll be able to click on an icon on whatever other device I’m using and there will be every file I own — videos, music, records, letters, etc– on every device be they mine or someone else’s device.

I get Dropbox on all devices already. It’s very handy being able to open my password file when I’m somewhere else and need one of my passwords.

I can get rid of the 2d internal HDD, the online backup service, and the burning of discs and save myself a ton of tech time and even some money. My smartphone already automatically uploads photos to Dropbox whenever it is in wifi range of my house. On most modern devices when you save something the Dropbox icon is right in the list of available places to save stuff.

The big downside is I’m giving up my files no matter what they say and how much security they say they have.

I do think the benefits outweigh that one negative. I base this opinion on the fact that Eric Snowden told us they were watching us anyway. I don’t think our PCs are really private anymore. I don’t think we’re really placing our files in danger of going public on the cloud any more than we are on our PCs. The security we can make on our PCs is a joke to the NSA. They have placed ‘back doors’ on most software and apps already. If your home computer is connected to a network the NSA can already see what’s on your PC. So what am I protecting by not using the cloud and Dropbox?

[“Wharf Restaurant sold?”] Already confirmed & reported: Sold for $1,250,000 Prudential Realty KW represented buyer and seller. What’s still yet to be confirmed is who bought it. Rumor is that it’s the same owners of the Hurricane Hole & Looe Key Resort.
Springers-ad-750w
[Sick Society] The Baltimore kidnapper was convicted of six violent felonies and was wanted for a seventh in addition to this week’s kidnapping (eighth) when he was caught yesterday. I find it ironic that he’s walking the streets and if I’m caught with an ounce of pot I go to jail!
birthday party join us
[Semper Fidelis] 239th United States Marine Corps Birthday celebration to be held at The American Legion Post 333, in Key Largo on November 10th, at 6pm.

All are welcome. Please join us for a magnificent blend of sumptuous food, extraordinary cake, spectacular music and some dirty dancing. If you can handle a truly enjoyable evening, please be our guest. Come join us at the American Legion Post, 2 Seagate Blvd, Key Largo. For further information call us at 305.900.7530. We hope to see you there. Events

[Marine Radio Channel 16] I think when you hear “Pan, pan, pan” over the marine radio it means important information will follow. And when you hear “Mayday, mayday, mayday” someone is in a life threatening situation.
johnsons-7.9.14
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dion6
Dion and the Belmonts
The Wanderer which came around 1962 (and a song I always disliked). I tried to post a link to I Wonder Why with no luck. Here it is Video
[Sick Society] The NFL is struggling to write new domestic violence guidelines for the league. They wanted to suspend a player for one game for his first conviction, but that was quickly rejected because of the propensity of black players to use violence against their woman and children.
hareens-hats10.19.14
I want to congratulate Mr. Neugent on his win for office, and I wish him and his wife the best of health. ~Eleanor McAdams former Democratic Candidate for County Commission Dist 2
dayglo6
Seriously man. Dayglo was founded in Cleveland, Ohio! I didn’t even know they took drugs in Cleveland.
Bill Maher certainly isn’t confused about Islam. At least he has the courage, unlike many, to call a spade a spade. Of course, folks will bash him for doing so because he’s Jewish. But then again, folks always bash those who dare buck the trend. Islam is the malignancy and not Bill to be sure.
bluewater-750w
If some of my email never gets to people or I never get email or data files from others, then how the hell can I depend on hospitals, government, cops, or anything coming and going from one computer to another? Scary thought, but what if they change my blood type, or gender or social security number? Perish the thought, but what if?
kesey-bus6
Ken Kesey
’s Merry Prankster bus. Link
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pink-ribbon5
Key West PD will show support for cancer awareness this month by repainting the letters “Police” in pink on six patrol cars, yet will immediately and eagerly arrest anyone using marijuana to alleviate the pain caused from cancer. Since cancer patients can easily go through an ounce per month, there’s a good chance anyone using it for pain relief will face felony charges if arrested. KWPD cancer support = five years in prison. What hypocrisy!
Prescription painkiller deaths fall in medical marijuana states. Link
Nira-Tocco-6.14
I think quality concrete work is mostly about the concrete mix itself and what is going on beneath the concrete surface where the  eye can’t reach after the job is finished.  Time and moisture will tell the truth.
koehn_dingys00
[“Can’t find a place on the water to have a beer”] Try the end of Kohen at the kayak ramp. There’s usually a few bums you can share a Bud with. The ramp at the end of Blimp Road is a good place too. PS I know what you meant about waterfront places all having homes on them.
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bahia-honda-bay
Bahia Honda
bay area from atop the old bridge.
Okay, animal lovers, here’s an easy way to ask your senators and representatives to support the PAST Act. You don’t have to guess who to send it to, the petition site will know from your zip code. Thank you! Link
accurate-home-insp-750w
“The Wanderer” by Dion and the Belmonts was every teen aged boy’s favorite song in 1958.
lock6
The best way to ‘ground’ a modern kid. Lock their XBox!
I think medical marijuana failed in Florida because there are so many old people here who still think pot is as bad as heroine. Also the last minute influx of commercials paid for the casino owner really killed the amendment. Can you find the humor in an immoral casino owner who takes poor people’s money and stacks the odds against them fighting against pot on moral grounds?
fanci10-16-14
[Weed Makes You Stupid] If you smoke weed you are too stupid to even know how stupid you are. Why do you think they call it dope?
jerrerson6
[“Ironic that they voted in the party of the rich”] Let me clarify my statement of yesterday. The Party of the Rich means they only pass legislation that is favorable to the rich. My statement might be confused as saying only Republicans are rich. Not true. All politicians are rich, if not now, they will be when they leave office be they Dems or Repubs.
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happy birthday dinosoaur
Springer’s Bar & Grill 2nd Anniversary
. This Sunday, November 9th. Join Us for this Special Day – Celebrate our 2nd Anniversary

Free Jello Shots, 50 Cents Wings, $10 Pepperoni Pizza, Lots of Giveaways, Happy Hour from 2pm – 6 pm

We’ll see you at 31251 Avenue A on Big Pine Key.

I want to thank Eleanor McAdams for providing us with an alternative to George Neugent
Radio-Shack10.31.14
floating beer6To the guy that can’t find a place on the water to have a beer. I apologize. I have lived here a long time. I forgot that everybody’s not a pirate. Well, to start with we have this really cool road here called US1. You can pull off just about anywhere there’s not a park. As long as there aren’t any signs saying no alcohol, you’re cool. There’s a cool place in Sugarloaf. Go past the end of the road on Geiger, just remember occasionally there’s someone who takes people’s clothes off out there.
If you want to ease into a little pirate life you can try Veterans park, the horseshoe, or maybe the swimming hole. If you’re in the water shore rules don’t matter.
I purposely didn’t tell you where these places are because it gives you more time to drink while you’re trying to find them. You might just become a pirate on your journey, or if you have enough beer there’s a chance somebody along your journey will want to hang out with you and take you to their water front property. Who knows anything is possible.
So join the Moose get your free ice. Pack up your cooler. Head out on that funny road that cars seem to keep going over and who knows you just might find that mysterious person I keep calling God. I know he wants you to meet him. Go and have a blessed day, pirate!
Did George Neugent win his own district 2? He usually loses in his own district.
happiness6[Happiness] My Question: When is enough enough? The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and the Banker

An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it. The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.” The banker then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.” Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15-20 years.” “But what then?” asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.” “Millions, señor? Then what?” To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you. Happy is entirely up to you and always has been.. Have a Grand,Glorious & Blessed everything my friends.

Who was the grammarian that came up with “went missing”, as in she went missing. It’s not went missing, it’s she is missing. Thank you.
lower-keys-boat-rental11.4.14
The deposition testimony of Dump the Pumps’ Professional Electrical Engineer is now available to read or download from the following Dropbox link. This is expert testimony as to the illegality of residential E/One grinder pumps in neighborhood lift stations- as are now being constructed in defiance of national life safety codes and Florida law. This transcript is of the FDEP and FKAA attorneys trying to fault or discredit the PE’s professional opinion. This well qualified PE also questions the safety of these pumps in residential applications in the manner being implemented here. Link (The link to the other depositions is on Monday’s CT)
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ray6
Too bad for Garcia that he got caught picking his nose on camera that time.  There should be a lesson in that for all politicians. You can pick your friends, but not your nose!
Isaksen11.5.14
[Contractor] Jim Rutherford is an a plus guy. If you want it done legal and right, hook yourself up! Couldn’t say it better after 40k spent on spalling.
Engelbert-humperdinck6
[“Engelbert Talks Sideburns”] Talking of his image, Engelbert wants to set the record straight about Elvis. “He didn’t copy my image at all. The truth of the matter is this: I put my sideburns on in 1965…that’s prior to Elvis, he did it in about 1972,” says Humperdinck, who like Elvis was an important mainstay of Las Vegas clubs.
He pinpoints the source of the confusion: “When he finally wore that famous white jumpsuit of his, an artist sketched him in it and presented it to him on a TV show…and he said, ‘Hell, that’s not me, that’s Engelbert Humperdinck.'”
Elvis put his sideburns on in 1972? He’s got to be kidding! And that is a film called That’s The Way It Is and not a TV show.
Deer Ed. Yikes!! You forgot to put the “from the right” warning label up today. I unwittingly ventured into the vitriol. I feel dirty now, and am going to take a shower. Please have mercy on us going forward and don’t forget the warning label. Thanks.
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red baron crash plane
[The Red Baron’s Final Flight
] Just under 6 minutes of fascinating air combat, and a bit of history. Interesting computer generated combat
film of Manfred Von Richthofen’s demise. Video
[“To live and let live”] Life is about choices. If it makes you happy to spend the rest of your life being miserable about things you can’t change then enjoy living your life your way. If it bothers you either move or move on. Life’s about choices. I’ve chosen to disregard the bad and focus on the good. Even in the worst of times there’s always something that’s good. That’s what I focus on. You can make your own choices
BP-Flea-Market10.10.14
Thanks to the poster who also grew up poor, and is grateful for all the good Lord has bestowed on us so that we could live here in the awesome Florida Keys! Be happy, and do good things.  I love it!
This election year has definitely proved that we have the best government money can buy.
cure
Why we still need newspapers.
Dion & the Belmonts were 4 Italian guys from the Bronx. The Wanderer is a song about a gigolo (male whore).
I hear all the winners of this election have ordered larger safe deposit boxes in their banks? I wonder why?
manley-deboer-7.11.14
That odd-ball round house on Cudjoe Key is going to be a tourist attraction and the person building that mess should pay his neighbors for the discomfort and the lack of privacy they will get . That street had a low cost reputation, but now those homes are half a million to three million, until that atrocity is finished, then no body will want to move there! I live near an odd house and real estate agents have a heck of a time trying to sell properties near it. Can you imagine that thing going up in Old Town Key West?
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computer pirate sword
The next meeting of our Big Pine Computer Club is coming up this Saturday, November 8, 10 am at the senior center.  Hope to see you there. Events
Captain Doom and Gloom, do you actually think its different anywhere else? welcome to the 21st century American political machine!
politics-zone-750w
Maybe now the house and senate can get back to the reason that we sent them to D.C. in the first place, seeing we have put the children to bed and brought out the adults.
FTR, even the GOP said it was NOT a “wave”.. so knock off the hype. Secondly, I wonder WHY gasoline is not falling in the LOWER keys, it DAMN SURE is from Marathon going north.. lets hear your excuse.
[Government For The Rich] Exit polls showed that 67% of voters think that government is rigged to benefit the rich. I find it ironic that they voted in the party of the rich.]
And I find it ironic that Democrats can fill a venue at a $30,000 a plate fundraiser dinner, cater to Hollywood stars and super-athletes, and still consider Republicans the party of the rich. Republicans are the party of personal responsibility. If hard work and commitment make you rich, congratulations. Just remember your handouts come from the working man’s taxes. And most of us never reach that rich status no matter how long we work. We keep at it because we feel responsible for our own destiny. Sincerely, a Republican who works multiple jobs to merely put food on the table. And on yours, too. You’re welcome.
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(Government for the rich). Show me one Democrat that holds office and is poor? Your thinking is delusional, typical democrat. The democrats have had the senate and the presidency, what do they have to show for it? Thought so.
New GOP majority drafts bill to keep women in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.
from the right
woman jumping off shipOne of the most important factors in the drubbing that the Democrats received Tuesday was a wholesale mass of women jumping from the Democrat ship.

Exit polling showed that Dems only got about 5% more of the female vote than did the Reps. That is far short of the large double digit share of female votes that they needed.

Historically women voters prefer Democrat to Republican. Not in this cycle, women walked away from Democrat candidates in droves. It’s likely that the women will not return to the Democrat folds.

There were a number of factors in play. I believe that Democrat women are simply tired of being patronized by the Dem hierarchy. They resent the obvious, the Dem leaders expecting them to believe propaganda which is so obviously hypocritically false. The Dem shibboleth about the Republican “war on women” is recognized as being nothing more than hollow hypocrisy.

Social issues such as abortion and free contraception did not resonate among women because of the myriad other challenges facing us. They focused on our economy, they focused of the fact that the middle class is declining while the rich are getting richer, issues that the Dems had promised to address. Women focused of the appalling failures of Democrat foreign policy and the threats to our national security they have spawned.

In the Colorado Senate race, long time Dem Senator Udall seemed compelled to harp on female reproductive issues to the exclusion of other compelling issues. He earned the sobriquet “ Senator Uterus.” His defeat by Republican Cory Gardner was stunning to the Democrats.

Democrat and Republican women are incensed that the Democrats seem committed to throwing our borders open and the massive drag that a tsunami of immigrants will place on our economy. There is no upside to massive, unbridled immigration that Obama and the Democrats are apparently determined to impose on us. Women and men realize that immigration policies recently floated by Obama and the Democrats will increase competition for the few jobs available, will hugely increase social services costs, and will even further drag down the middle class.

The Republican philosophy is now much more attractive to women. That is demonstrated by the results of Tuesday’s election and by the impressive number and quality of Republican women candidates. We now have America’s first black female Congressperson, Mia Love. She is a Republican and brands herself as being “a nightmare for the Democrat Party”. Jodi Ernst, a woman combat veteran and a Republican is now Iowa’s first female Senator…the list goes on and on.

rubio6Part 2) Senator Marco Rubio has just released the following announcement. “If you are having an issue with Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Affairs benefits, immigration, the IRS or any federal agency, a member of Senator Rubio’s staff will be available to meet with you. Please plan to attend to meet your local staff and find out the services Senator Rubio’s Office offers his constituents.”

Monroe County Constituent Service Hours: Marathon Library: 3251 Overseas Hwy, Marathon: Thursday – November 6, 2014 4:30pm -6:00pm
Key West: Friday, November 7, 2014. San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval St. 12:00pm – 2:00pm

For more information, please call Senator Rubio’s South Florida Regional Office at (305) 418-8553