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2013 December

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

CT-Banner7.3.13No Saturday Edition

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penny[Bait and Switch] When the 1 percent sales tax referendum was passed to fund sewering the Florida Keys, it was clear that all of that tax money would go to sewering the Keys, and none of that money would go to anything else until the Keys were sewered. The County Commission’s view is that the second and cheaper FKAA plan (grinder pumps) for sewering the lower Keys is fully funded, so any of the 1 cent sales tax collected over and above that can be used to repair bridges, such as Seven Mile Bridge, buy marinas, such as Rowell’s on Key Largo.

The BOCC found a cheaper way of sewering the area (grinder pumps) so that they could use the tax money to buy other things. The money is there for a gravity sewer system, the voters approved the tax thinking we were getting a gravity system, but the County wants the money for other projects and that is why we are in the state we are in. They say the sewers are now fully funded (with the cheaper, lousy grinder pumps) so they can use the tax money for other things they like.

When we approved an extension to the 1 cent sales tax we all thought it was for gravity sewers not the troublesome grinder pumps.

Bluewater-Ad

Outsourcing of American labor is getting out of hand. For instance, this post was written by a 14 year old girl in Sri Lanka.

elves-tree

 

Revelers festoon tree on the old 7 Mile Bridge. Link

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[FuelPerks] Alcohol and tobacco don’t count for the $50 total that gives you additional fuel points, but if you’ll walk down the wine aisle, you’ll see some items clearly marked with individual perks per item or sometimes multiple bottle purchases.

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[Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys] Does anyone remember the name of the band that played at the Midsummer’s Night party in the KW Botanical Garden last year? We were talking this weekend and just remember the one song ‘A pretty girl, some money, and a Cadillac’. I hope they play the area again.

both thumbs up

 

Bill Becker is still a very good guy in my book. Just because he wouldn’t take up your witch hunt, doesn’t make him a bad guy for us. I prefer my news to be unbiased. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

[Conspiracy] The grinder pump question scheduled for next Wednesday in Marathon has been taken off the agenda (a big turnout was expected) and the next opportunity to address the issue will be in another three weeks in Key West. This delaying tactic seems to be designed to allow so much of the, already in progress, grinder pump construction to continue to the point of no return when it will be too costly to reverse course.

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liar10[Types] People who cannot miss a drink or regularly drink to excess are called alcoholics. They are alcoholics for life and can’t or shouldn’t take a drink.

People who lie are called liars. Since these people have told lies before, one cannot believe them. To believe that “this time I’m telling to truth” is cause to review one’s sanity.

[Sewers] I came home last night to find out I had no water because the sewer people ignored the water people and dug where they were told not to. Great, more s**t to deal with.

Does anyone know what the 4″ pipes are on the side of SR4 on Little Torch? Are they for moving the water line or is this the infamous sewer pipe that we are paying millions for?

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[Conspiracy] Wednesday’s Grinder Pump agenda item has mysteriously been removed from the BOCC’s agenda because they say they don’t know how much it will cost to use gravity system instead of the pumps. I don’t believe them because they were given the two options before they made their initial decision and they had the costs then. Did the cost analysis mysteriously disappear now that there’s a question of using all the 1 cent sales tax money for the sewers instead of spending it on the BOCC’s wish list?

house lights toy factory

 

[Light Up The Lower Keys] Get in the holiday spirit and decorate your home or business for the holidays — you could win a prize! “Turn in” your friend, your neighbor, your boss — anyone who proudly displays their holiday spirit. Call Holly at 872-0106 to enter. Judging by our panel of holiday lighting lovers will take place Monday, December 16 between 6 pm and 9 pm — with judging conducted between Big Pine and Sugarloaf. Events

[For Sale] 1996 Honda Accord. Four door, five speed, with power moon roof. Very good condition. Recently serviced including new front tires and radiator. No air. $850 firm. Classified Ads > Auto

chamber-ad10.17.13

Although Android devices dominate the field, Facebook ads shown on the iPhone generate a whopping 1790% more return on investment than ads shown on Android devices. I wonder why?

hef10

 

When Hugh Heffner dies no one will say he’s in a better place now.

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computer worms

[Phishing Expedition] Dear bank account holder, A domestic bank Wire transaction, sent to your company, was rejected by the FedWire. Transaction ID: 99089911. Please review the transaction report by clicking the link below.

(Sure, and your computer will explode or close to it!)

[Spies Like Us] Tech giants launch group aimed at government surveillance reform. Let’s all thanks Snowden and drop all charges on him for being the ultimate patriot in exposing our governments evil practice in defiance of the 4th Amendment. Link

nira tocco realtor 9.12

comma_comma

 

Boy George is tired of all this comma talk.

If Chinese spam won’t work Bing Translator helps a little. Link

isaksen-flood-roof 4.23.13

boat lighted

 

[Lower Keys Lighted Boat Parade] Saturday, December 14. All boats welcome to enter. If it floats, decorate it and join the fun! Pine Channel Causeway. Show starts at 7 P.M. Santa and Mrs Claus will be in attendance. Prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Call Holly at 872-0106 or 879-6824 to sign up. Events

[Citizen Of The Day Says] I love Key West, the weather, community, everything.

ron-burgundy10

 

So far the list for Air Force One to Mandela’s funeral is Barack and Michelle, George W. and Laura Bush, Hillary and Bill Clinton and Ron Burgundy.

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fanci-11-2-13

garbage10

 

[Litter Bugs] The National Key Deer Refuge would like to thank the volunteers who showed up for a community cleanup on Big Pine Key on Saturday, Sept. 7th.  Volunteers collected over 750 lbs of garbage from the Winn Dixie shopping complex area and surrounding public lands.  We thank our Friends group, FAVOR-Florida Keys and partner Reef Relief for sponsoring this event.  Thanks to all the volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to help make Big Pine beautiful for the people, and safer for our wildlife!

I needed to buy fuel for boating tomorrow. Dolphin Marina on Little Torch has up to the dock parking, no waiting, friendly attendant, and a pleasant “Thank you!” I will return.

toll Matecumbe Key00[Toll] You Old Seven Mile Bridge fanatics get real. Start charging $1.75 for each visitor who wants to walk or ride that bridge, if your figures are right that would give you about $385,000 a year to contribute towards the maintenance cost of $334,822 per year, plus a little left for the non-profit that runs it.  I am willing to bet that about 60% of the 220,000 visits were from locals.  Dress up that area, make it attractive and charge tourists $1.75 to walk the bridge, they will see it as a bargain and happily pay it.  You could also sell annual passes or accept contributions (impact fees) from locals that want to exercise or ride their bikes on the bridge, or people that want to film there.  Consider an Old Seven toll, just like the Rickenbacker Causeway.  We’ve got to stop running Monroe County like a charitable organization, otherwise we can change the county’s name to Monroe Detroit County.

Flea-Market-ad10.9.13

County Commission meetings in the middle of the day so the working class residency can not attend. One more reason not to vote for an incumbent.

mean cat face

 

You shall not pass, dog! Video

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grill10

 

A wood pellet fired smoker grill or pizza oven is vastly superior to wood or charcoal type. Almost all pellet devices self feed via a computer controlled auger system. They are still burning wood, only they do not require Willy The Wino or Bubba Six Pack to remember to load more wood. The higher end ovens run close to $20 upwards to $40k and are worth every penny. The Fast Eddy Cookshack models are taking over BBQ competition in TX and OK and I can tell you from experience the Cookshack line really works great! Link

ad-manley-deboer6.27.13

Alcohol and tobacco products don’t count toward Fuel Perks. told you that, genius? You’re confusing FuelPerks with food stamps. Have you ever seen the 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent bonus money on wine and beer? I got a buck off gas last month just because I’m a wino!

whaler10

 

[For  Sale] 1995 Boston Whaler, Dauntless 17. Dual Console.Updated with a 2005 Johnson 115 HP 4 stroke engine. New Continental Trailer A1830B purchased in 2013. Bow cushions, Sun top w/boot, Cockpit/bow covers, Fishing station, Folding cockpit table, Lowrance Elite 5M GPS, Eagle fish finder – Fish Mark 640c, Ritchie compass, ICOM VHF Marine Transceiver IC-M412, Jensen Marine audio system MSR 3007 w/Bose speakers. $12,000. Classified Ads > Boats

[Old Seven Mile Bridge] Good grief, what next can we throw a never ending amount of money at? We all pay taxes, whether to the feds, state, county or city, so now we are going to pay (the first estimates) 77.5 million dollars for a walk on a bridge. You have got to be kidding me. Gosh, it is wonderful that the economy is booming so in America that we can burn money this way. Will there be a charge for walking on the bridge? Do we charge for taking pictures? Where is the return? You can stand on a bridge just about anywhere in America and we have several fishing bridges that are also bike bridges in the Keys where you can see the sunset, take photos, etc.

30 years at 77.5 million is 2.58 million a year and you have not begun to maintain, clean up, take the trash off, etc. $2.58 million a year estimate/////////// and we all know how they all go up. All this for being able to walk or bike on a piece of defunct bridge. You can bike the new Seven Mile Bridge for nothing. You can walk the new bridge for nothing. Why don’t we all go up to Tallahassee and have a big bonfire and just burn the tax dollars. There are hundreds of real, in use, in state of disrepair bridges to fix. We are fixing a bridge not being used for commerce, there is no return (I can’t wait for the return reports on Rowell’s Marina and now we can’t even get tax real estate dollars for it)

Keep skipping down the bridge to bankruptcy, because we cannot keep throwing money away like this. 

ad-island-art-festival11.22.13

Today in 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received the Nobel Peace Prize.

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block10[‘Prompts’ App for Writer’s Block] An inspirational and motivational tool for writers and non-writers alike. Hundreds of free prompts to help inspire you to write. Whether you’re a professional writer with writer’s block, a non-writer that wants to get into writing, someone that just wants to start writing for fun, or anyone looking to sit down and write for any reason, this app can be a useful and fun tool to find something to write about.

There are prompts in multiple genres, ranging from personal journal-like prompts to science-fiction story starters.Pick a category, or find random prompts in any category. Use the exact wording of the prompt to start a story, or use the idea to spark a new creative flow. We give you the random creative thought. You do the rest. Link

[“Doubt”] An interesting course I took in college was “Religious Belief and Philosophical Thought”. If a person sets out to empirically prove that either God exists or does not, you find that this is a matter of personal belief. Significantly, one finds that there are many paths to God, no matter how one chooses to define the path and God. We make our choices and then live with and modify those choices as we mature.

advert-accurate-home-insp8.14.13

Shrimp fishing banned in Gulf of Maine due to ocean warming. Link

glass10

 

[Glass Ceiling Smashed] General Motors has it’s first woman CEO. 

[“Duped into supporting those who claim holiness and do not work for a living”] Do you  mean those who wait in the charity line saying “God will provide”?

advert-dennis-ward8.16.13
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wet10

 

I know that a lot of work has gone into our sewer project and want to believe it is well intentioned and competent, but what happens if we are wrong about these grinder pumps? There seems to be a lot of evidence of problems with this type of system.  It also appears that given the maintenance and expected failure /replacement  of the pumps over the next 5  to 10 years that  the alternative gravity system would be as cost effective and much less troublesome to our kids who will inherit the system. I hope the County Commission will revisit this issue and halt further work until all doubts are resolved.

[“What happened to the logical and adult posts that were the majority”] You must be new here and joined the CT before the days of the three S’s, Sandy, Sloan and Sal. Those three were weapons-grade crazy.

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[Sewers] I am going to make lots of friends so I can go over to their digs and use their ‘facilities’ instead of busting my grinder pump and having to pay through the nose for repairs. This’ll help with my seven kids too!

big-fix-documentary

 

The Big Fix on Netflix is about the corruption of the 2010 oil spill.

[Captain Doom and Gloom] DEF: Tooth Fairy n, A hit man in Key West!
DEF: Grinder Pump n, A faulty apparatus engineered to fail for profit.
DEF: Grinder Pump Pimp n, One who designs, sells, installs, or supports the use of useless mechanisms. SEE: Politico
DEF: Politico n, Any person, human or not, who pleads for a official position to get paid for breathing and bull shitting.
DEF: Snowbimbos n, A naive lass that thinks Paradise is heaven with a 25 to 1 male to bimbo ratio.
DEF: NJ Fat Chick n, A large useless eater capable of devouring food fit for a kennel endlessly.
DEF: Snow Storm n, A over abundance of questionable substances which reduces the street price below equity!

party man

 

[Christmas Party] The Southernmost Coconut Castaways, the official “Friend” Club of Howard Livingston & The MM24 Band, will have their annual Christmas party, Saturday, December 14th at Pincher’s Crab Shack, located at 712 Duval Street.  They will be in the downstairs bar area from 2:00-5:00.  This way you can attend the party and still enjoy the lighted boat parade later in the evening. Eats & drinks specials, fun holiday music, holiday movies, too!!

religion politics zone

Empower yourself by opting out of Obamacare. Visit http://optout.org for more information.

Let’s say somebody were in the White House and they wanted to destroy this nation. I would create division among the people, encourage a culture of ridicule for basic morality and the principles that made and sustained the country, undermine the financial stability of the nation, and weaken and destroy the military. It appears coincidentally that those are the very things that are happening right now.

[“Go to a gun show and be surrounded by 10,000, people with guns that are the best behaved and even tempered folks that you are likely to ever meet”] Go into a viper pit if you’re a viper and all is well, but let a mouse enter and — whack! Yes, they are well behaved until you say something in support of our government, then watch the fireworks. You’ll never see so many un-Americans in one place except at a Tea Party rally. They like to call themselves patriots yet all they do is try to bring down the government. You surround yourself with those kinds of people and think it’s normal, while the rest of us are trying to make America work, you’re trying to stop it.

Black conservative leaders discuss how the NRA was created to protect freed slaves. Video

[Regressive Hypocrisy #24] Speaker Boehner and FOX News eagerly reported that poor Cornelius Kelly from Long Island, NY was told that his 18 month old baby would not be covered by Obamacare. “One more example of the ACA train wreck”, Boehner said. Sean Hannity was so excited to report this tidbit, he could hardly contain himself!

CNN did the research, and Mr. Kelly, in filling out his application, accidentally put down 3 children instead of 4. Egg on faces once again.

[“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”] What a great quote.  One of the best things about this Country is that I don’t have to do or say anything patriotic if I don’t feel like it — or be afraid not to. Nobody can try and make me — so far.  However that could all change if enough of those right-wing-NRA-GOP-tea-party -type-Christian-anti-science-kooks come to power.  We’ve seen this type of thing happen in other advanced “civilized” “patriotic” countries in the past.  Remember WW2?   Now that’s what I call a scary thought.

[Dopes] Democrats – speed, Republicans – downers.

[“Patriots and Tea partiers scare you”] Excuse me, but “our liberty is at risk”? Whose liberty? Yours or mine? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Their (tea party) Constitution is way different than the one I defended for 22 years. Mine says “All” and there isn’t any definition of who gets to be called ‘all’.

If there ever is an armed revolt it will be the tea partiers and the other “patriots” like the militias and gun nuts. Yes, they are ‘revolting’! They spout ‘Constitution’ bla bla, but it’s only the second amendment they mean. The 4th doesn’t matter to them. Pick and choose. I choose them all.

I saw a bunch of Tea Party nuts on the highway yesterday with impeach Obama signs. Don’t you have to have a good reason to impeach a President besides being a liberal?

[“Affordable” Obamacare] There’s nothing affordable about it. My company is dropping my benefits after the first of the year, and they were sure that I could get something comparable on Obamacare. Bullsh..to get coverage like I have right now, my premiums are going to be over $1100 per month, and there will be a fairly high deductible. That is more than $10,000 more per year that I will be paying, unless I go with less coverage.

And did anyone notice that the rates have gone up? When I first went on the website to get an estimate, it said I would pay somewhere between $720 and $780 for the same coverage as I have now, but now it is saying $1100 and up! So did they raise the rates to pay for the fixing of the website? I can’t afford these “affordable” rates.

[“Patriots will die doing it”] Please do. Thank you. Anyone who decides who is, or is not one, based on their own values deserves their wishes to come true.

The Government that brought us a website that could not function properly. Is now going to take care of our health care. Just think about that for a minute or two. Any sane person, Democrat, Republican or Independent should be very afraid. Very afraid indeed.

scott10Heres Rick Scott the side you never hear about on the C.T.: The Georgia Pacific plywood plant that closed its doors putting 400 employees out of work. The loss of 49,163 jobs at companies with more then 100 employees between 2011 and 2013. A loss of 1,097,092 total private sector jobs between Jan. 2011 and December 2012 according to Dunn and Bradstreet. Companies expanding less and contracting more than other states between 2011/2012. There were about 127,905 fewer companies expanded during that time than they did in 2009/2010. Another loss of 37,736 jobs lost at companies with fewer than 9 employees and the closing of 32,240 self employed businesses between 2011/2012. According to youreconomy.org.

Scott ran on the promise of creating 700,000 jobs in 7 years while the states projected job growth was at 1 million new jobs. Its kind of funny that we all hear about Obamas promises yet Scotts promises seem to slip by myopic rhetoric that make Scotts excuses for him. Yes, just like our Presidents people do. No difference.

Theres more. More than 5,300 lost jobs came from manufacturing industries. Another 250 workers from Swisher International that is sending the jobs to the Dominican Republic. Another company Melrose laid off 129 jobs so it can relocate. 170 more high paying corporate jobs are moving from Orlando to Atlanta from the CHEP USA. Homeserve USA closed their Miami office. British defense supplier Cobham also sent home another 141 employees. Digital Risk received $2 million from Scotts Quick Action Closing Fund then they ditched 129 employees. Darden Restaurants received more then $175,000 last year and only created 75 jobs. Then they turned around and laid off 85 employees. Northrop Grumman is going to receive $19,000,000 in cash and tax breaks yet is laying off 85 employees. Florida lost 33% of its manufacturing jobs it had in 2000 by 2012 and 29 percent of its construction jobs during the same time.

Scott gets 100% credit for positives yet I have a strong feeling these losses will all be blamed on our President. Its expected. A pretty bow and ribbon will be tied around the rhetoric, but its will be the same old excuse that’s been used for a few years. Good news is because of Republicans’ bad news means it’s all Obamas fault. We get it. 

from the right

The Florida’s governor’s race will be a part of the midterm elections in November 2014.  It’s probable that Charlie Crist will be the Democrat candidate for governor. Let’s review just a few of the highpoints of Christ’s governorship.  

switch10Christ, when elected governor claimed to be a Republican. At the end of his term he decided to run for the U.S. Senate.  He initially ran as a Republican against Marco Rubio.  Crist was walloped in the polls so he decided to abandon the Republican label and to become an Independent. He did so even after vowing not to do so on national TV. It didn’t work, he got his head handed to him.  Rick Scott became our Governor. Crist recently decided that he was not really an Independent, but that he is a Democrat. So now he is running for the governor’s office as a Democrat. Just imagine how many times he could change his mind if he had more than three choices, perhaps he could be the front runner in the “Bronzed Tan, Feel Good Party”. Crist has no firm beliefs, his rhetoric will follow whatever wind seems to be in his favor. He is not to be trusted.

An excellent example of Crist’s scorn for the wellbeing.