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The Original Unsocial Media. Anonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition
[Full Moon High Tide] Mosquito breeding ground at the Bat Tower? |
Phil Goodman of Cudjoe Key, a member of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Auxiliary in Key West, was recently appointed Staff Officer responsible for all Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Activities in District 7 (D7). Headquartered in Miami, D7 encompasses The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and most of Georgia and Florida, including the Florida Keys. Environmental Protection of our waterways is a rapidly expanding mission of the USCG and Auxiliary.Goodman’s promotion to this position was made by Commodore Joel Tyson, Commander USCG Auxiliary, D7. This was prompted by Goodman’s successful development and execution of innovations to help the USCG and other emergency responders in long term preparations to protect the fragile environment in the Keys. For the past four years Goodman has been in charge of the Auxiliary’s Pollution Prevention and Response efforts in the Keys. He now plans to expand these innovations to encompass more of D7.
Goodman is a retired chemist with more than forty years experience in the global chemical industry. He served for thirty days as a volunteer for the USCG and USCG Auxiliary at Deepwater Horizon (DWH). As a result of that experience Goodman realized the need for locally trained pollution response teams and studied to become a USCG Certified Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) instructor. Since DWH he has organized and taught more than twenty HAZWOPER classes throughout the Keys, certifying more than 800 local residents to assist as volunteers should the Keys experience a major pollution event. Elsie S. Metcalf, Division 13 Commander, USCG Auxiliary says of Goodman, ”Many people talk about protecting our environment but Phil is doing something about it.” Goodman is a regular guest lecturer on environmental issues to local organizations. He is an active member of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, the Mote Marine Laboratory Advisory Board, the Florida Clean Boating Partnership and a Commissioner on the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board. The USCG Auxiliary is an all volunteer member of Team Coast Guard that assists the USCG in many of its missions. There are more than 350 Auxiliarists in Monroe County and more than 30,000 in the USA. For more information on the USCG Auxiliary, visit Link |
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[“Don’t remember the high tides being so high”] I have shared photos of the old bridges in several post. The tide line is the same. So in 4 or 5 hundred years we may see a 6 or 8 inch rise, more or less. The ice caps are growing again and we are in for cooler weather over the next millennia, that would mean lower water. Link |
FKAA executive director Kirk Zuelch has defended the hiring of convicted felon Randy Acevedo by saying that he has “paid his debt to society” and “he was the most qualified”.Somebody, maybe The Blue Paper (the only paper I trust for unbiased reporting), should make a Public Records Request of FKAA requesting the names of all felons hired in the last 20 years at FKAA, when they were hired, and into what positions. Then as a second item, request the resumes of all who applied for the position given to Acevedo along with Acevedo’s resume. I feel that as long as the half million is not repaid, the “debt to society” was not repaid by probation and community service, and in any event his past actions do not recommend him for a position of public trust and public compensation.
I would like to know just how outrageously Zuelch is lying this time. I believe FKAA has lost all public confidence and respect with the sewer bait and switch, the sewer system lies, and now this. Remember, the FKAA answers only to Gov. Rick Scott, and apparently he approves of everything as does Holly Raschein since they have done absolutely nothing in response to written complaints and even lawsuits about the actions of FKAA. . ~rocketscienceeh@gmail.com |
[Bait and Switch Tax] It was mentioned in a recent post that the $14.2 million of infrastructure tax funding committed by the County for repairs to a portion of the old 7 mile bridge attached to the City of Marathon is for repairs of infrastructure owned by the State and spanning waters of the State.I believe that is misappropriation of funds on two counts — the first being that proper sewers were not fully funded by that fund first, and the second that it was not for County infrastructure.
Spending of $720,000 was also authorized to repair the little ramp bridge to Pigeon Key, so that is $14.92 million altogether. |
Today in 1969, the first ATM opened. The next day, banks invented charging you five bucks to get at your own damn money. |
Monday’s “Telegraph” is fantastic today! Thank you Ed |
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I wonder why everyone blames Winn Dixie for everything wrong with the Big Pine Shopping Center. Yes they are the largest store renting from the company that owns the property. It is now owned by a large corporation called The Hampshire Companies LLC. They are based out of Morristown N.J. and have been in business for 80 years. They own 259 properties in 28 states. They have a management company out of Juno Beach, FL called the Ferber Company Inc. look after it for them. Winn Dixie does not own stores they rent them just like everyone else there, Beals, RadioShack, Cocos, Pizza Works, Hong Kong and all the others. |
[Termites] Don’t worry about termites in your house. The worse termites down here can do is make termite dust. They’re messy, that’s all. Our local variety of termites had never damaged a structure–only cosmetically. Nothing has ever sagged or fallen down in the Keys due to termite damage. Water damage is far more serious and has destroyed many a home |
[“Why are tides so high”] The highest tides occur at new moon and full moon, when the earth, sun, and moon are (almost) aligned and tidal forces on the earth from the sun and moon add up. The lowest tides occur at first and third quarter moon, when the sun, moon, and earth form a right angle and the tidal force on the earth from the sun cancels a bit of the tidal force from the moon. The full moon is today and it’s the best time to explore the backcountry. |
Missing white Siberian Husky. Last seen on Ave B and Father Tony Street. Reward offered for her safe return. Call. Classified Ads > Lost and Found |
FKCC, here we go again. Let’s see, 2 years ago Woods wanted the Dean of Science position and now he either cannot do it or does not want it any more. A surprise? So what happens? He gets a new title, Vice President Advancement and Executive Director, Florida Keys Education Foundation and they reinstate McPherson as Dean of Arts and Science and do it all very quietly.Neither of these guys have any qualifications to do the job. I’m shocked that the current human resources guy did not object. If he really cared about the school he would have looked at the outside applications that were submitted for the position when it was advertised about 2 years ago. There were some excellent candidates that applied including several from some of the best federal research labs in the world. These candidates had the experience and expertise needed to establish viable STEM initiatives at FKCC. (When the president was questioned on this on US1 radio he said this was not a direction the school wanted to go). These candidates all knew where the monies were and could have secured a lot of help from a technical community that FKCC does not even know exists. FKCC right now has no one with any experience. They promoted from the inside and look what it got them. They are very resistant to hiring experts from the outside because they may have more experience than anyone at the school. FKCC recruits in a similar manner that FKAA does.
The school thought they could easily raise $10 million but the contractor they hired (CCS) to the look at that possibility found that could they could not even get even close. They found that a lot of the community does not care about FKCC. All they see is the same old group of disconnects running the school, they all play musical chairs. Snyder, Rice, and McPherson have been at the center of every controversy that has surrounded the school in the last 6 or 7 years. Snyder continues to alienated the faculty, Rice is self-serving and none of his programs are of any importance, and the McPhersons, both at FKCC and in the Monroe County school system, have been milking these system for years. They never have enhanced the educational experience in the Keys. The current board also does not seem to want any progressive changes. They always vote unanimously with very little discussion. They are incapable of leading the school into the 21st century of educational reform. There is a lot of money available, but these guys have no idea how to get it. The board and the school’s administration showed how insecure they really are when they showed a tremendous resistance to a faculty survey conducted by Ms Don. She was chastised, threatened, and alienated by Snyder because of it. The board and school should have embraced the survey. This is something that is done at large laboratories and universities to gain an insight into the relations between management and faculty. These guys failed management 101. Been in the Keys too long. The current president may be an ok guy, but he is still a Washington DC bureaucrat with a very thin skin when it comes to any type of criticism and meaningful reform. When is the community going to demand changes at the school? Until they see these changes, FKCC cannot expect any large influxes of money from the community. Nobody has any emotional attachment to the school, when for years the same group of uniformed individuals have played musical chairs in an attempt to hold on to their privileged positions at FKCC. ~clide@cableone.net |
Should atheists who refuse to say ‘so help me God’ be excluded from the Air Force? An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada was denied reenlistment last month for refusing to take an oath containing “so help me God,” Link |
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[“How do you tell a small Jewfish from a grouper”] The tail. Grouper tail curves inward, Jewfish outward. |
[Pervert City] Inside the tiny town built for sex offenders: The spiritual ‘safe haven’ in Florida where 200 criminals and their relatives live side-by-side. Link |
[“Free drink at a bar around here”] It used to be that the last drink in a bottle was free, but not in the Keys. No, I’ve never gotten a free drink from any bar owner and I know a bunch of them. None of them really appreciate their customers enough to show it. They just say they do. |
Kids in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to join the free, fun-filled Discovery Saturday at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center (35 East Quay Road, Key West) on Saturday, September 20th from 10:00 am – 11:00 am. Create a backyard bird feeder and make your own ‘binoculars’ to take home! Free admission and free parking. For more information. Events |
[“No more weekend CT”] No, Ed needs his time off. I’m surprised he can decompress enough in one day to face the stuff he doesn’t show us the rest of the week. |
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[“How do you tell a small Jewfish from a grouper”] A grouper’s tail curves inward. A Goliath Grouper’s tail is rounded. |
[“Fat Lady”] Just wishing to be thin and watching your diet won’t help you lose weight. I noticed in your post that you didn’t even mention exercise once. You can’t lose weight without increasing your exercise (walking is exercise). The only way you can lose weight without exercise is through starvation. Fat people complain about it but they just won’t exercise. They’ll take a pill, but they won’t exercise. It is recommended to eat well and exercise twenty minutes a day–that works for everyone! Fat people don’t exercise. How can I drive that home? If you want to look and feel good exercise. No died can do that without exercise. There, I’ve written it 10 times so far. Get the message yet? Get off your lard ass and exercise, it’s the only way. |
[“Free drink at a bar around here”] The only free drink I’ve got from a bar owner in the Keys was from John at the Green Parrot. Thanks John! |
Watch fish and eels team up to catch prey- a rarity among animals. Video |
[“Why Team Obama and his Democrat team are so opposed to securing our border is a complete mystery. ~Ftr guy”] “Why would you not come to a place that great? In fact, it’s why all of our ancestors came to this country, and were themselves originally unwelcome. Because that’s the story of America: From Ben Franklin’s worries that Germans were ruining Pennsylvania, to our 19th-century 60-year ban on the Chinese immigrants who had just finished building our railway system, to our very real and justifiable concerns about the Irish and their insatiable ‘applying for jobs,’ we have always been a nation of immigrants who hate the newer immigrants.” ~Jon Stewart |
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Hi there from Springer’s Bar and Grill. It’s Tuesday and you know what that means. It’s Pizza Day! Any 2 topping pizza all day today for $10 (eat in only). You’ve got to love that. Tuesday special: $10.00 2 topping pizza Wednesday special: Santa Fe Sheppard’s pie Thursday special: shrimp po’boy Friday special: fish and chips Happy Hour 2-7 daily with great drink specials and happy hour menu. There’s always something special at Springer’s |
Is that a definite “maybe” from the Ed about no more Saturday or Sunday BPK.coms; or is he pulling a Romney who won’t say yes or no to running for Pres again? |
[“Free drink at a bar around here”] Bars never do anything for the customers unless it makes them a profit. They have customer appreciation days, but the discounts are the same as non customer appreciation days. I think the Tiki bar had a real customer appreciation day and had free food and live music and discount drinks. That’s about the only time I remember a bar doing anything for their customers. |
A deer walked up to this house one day and they never saw the rest coming! Video |
If you don’t watch Fox News you won’t know what is really happening. |
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To the “Poor homeless guy” poster. Tell your beautifully-lazy-drug-and-alcohol-addicted-under-the-table-working-pieces-of-crap-scumbag-friends that we resent their parasitic and self destructive behavior. If they want to self destruct, they should get it over with and rid the rest of us of their expensive and useless existence. This way we can provide better for the decent people who actually need and want some help. I know there are those who are disadvantaged, but I have no compassion for human garbage. |
[“Trouble in the middle East”] I have this dream of collecting all the problem wild hogs in this nation and turning them loose over yonder. Now that would be pay-per-view material! |
[Consensus] When I lived in Colorado, I was involved in a school that tried the “consensus” approach to making decisions, everyone got to talk, everyone got to listen, and it ended up that everyone wanted to do something really dumb, and I said I could not go along with it, despite pressure and attempts to get me to change my mind, I held fast, and the consensus failed, and then something odd happened to prove I was dead on the money and the herd was lost in a ravine somewhere. Key West has used a lot of committees to reach consensus on different issues, and it looks to me it has been lousy way to go about it, instead of the city commission just biting the bullet and making the tough calls and taking the flack that has to follow. |
2007 Triumph Speedmaster 865cc. Beautiful two-tone red and black with only 23k miles. Recently installed new tires and brake pads. good condition – stored in climate-controlled garage. Accessories include: chrome engine guards, windshield, saddlebags, custom seat and original seat, driver backrest, footboards, 2-inch handlebar risers, custom seat with backrest plus the original seat. Only visible cosmetic issue is some discoloration of the chrome on the triple tree (see photo). $3800 cash or local cashier’s check. located on Cudjoe Key. Classified Ads > Autos |
[Cigar Factory Lector] Thanks for that tidbit of history regarding the cigar factory readers. During the Cuban revolt against Spain (Ten Years’ War 1868–1878) many Cubans fled the island for Key West. That’s how the cigar industry started here. At the time Key West was populated by more Cubans than Anglos. |
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[House Boat] The Benson Ford was originally a cargo ship for the Ford motor company, but has been converted into a vacation home perched solidly above Lake Erie. Looking across the bow, which hangs 18 feet above the Lake, it gives one the feeling that the boat is sailing. Link |
[“How do you tell a small Jewfish from a grouper”] Simple. Jewfish are circumcised. |
[The Master Plan] There is a master plan to wage perpetual war, which causes nations to borrow money from the Fed and IMF, which creates huge debt for the nations involved. Once the nations of the world are bankrupt from war, there will be a unification of the world’s populations forced upon us and we, the richest nation in the world will be enslaved to take care of the rest. Europeans are under siege with migrations from Muslim countries, we’re under siege from Latin America. It’s all part of the plan.
Islam is no more a threat than the Soviets were during the Cold War. The only way to control the sheep of the world is for the leadership to maintain a bogey man. Religion failed at keeping us humble and enslaved by the fear of going to hell, the threat of being blown up will not fail because if we don’t succumb, they, the globalists, will blow us up. |
[“Has anyone ever got a free drink at a bar around here”] I went out with an employee one night, she was having a good time( a little over the top) and the bartender gave her lots of free drinks. Boy, was she hungover the next day! I’d send the pictures of her kissing girls, etc, but that might make her too popular and her husband never letting her hang out after hours again. Free drinks do happen you just have to be crazy fun. |
[Conspiracy Theory] I don’t want to sound like some whacked-out conspiracy flake, but am I the only one that finds it strange that Randy Acevedo’s re-emergence into the public spotlight (via his hiring by FKAA), came the week after of Judge Jones (the one who let him off with zero jail time for his involvement in stealing nearly a half million dollars from the school district) was safely re-elected? |
Yes, women are good are multitasking. They just lie about having a headache because the sex isn’t worth the task! I’m sorry, but the secret’s out! |
[Recycling] Less Than 1% of Sweden’s trash ends up in landfills. Swedish people produce about the same amount of waste per year as other Europeans but, remarkably, less than 1% of household trash ends up in landfills. This is in part due to the 32 waste-to-energy plants that have been set up across the country. Link |
[“Parking Lot”] week ago or so someone posted the contact information of the property management of WD parking lot I suggest you people call them as much as you are posting here. WD does not own the property. The owners are installing a new roof which was badly needed 3 owner’s ago. We only park there, not live there. Also what happen to bench Bob? |
[“Saddam Strongman”] According to you, invading your neighbors twice, then gassing your own people and throwing them in mass burial pits are perfectly OK to maintain stability. Poor Saddam, Uday, and Kusay. Poor babies. Wah! Wah! |
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2006 Mini Cooper S convertible. Blue. Call Classified Ads > Autos |
[“Has anyone ever got a free drink at a bar around here“] Sure, when I tended bar, but they caught me and fired me! |
Ed, along with that demographic poll could you take a pornographic one also? |
[Woe is Me] I haven’t seen a dog chasing a car in, like, forever! |
[Investing] I looked into investing my money into one of the nationally recognized investment houses. I talked to an agent for thirty minutes trying to find out why I should give him my hard earned money and what he was going to do with it. I asked what he invested in. He said he could not divulge any details because that is illegal. Then I asked what he recommended and if he had bought into the same items. Again he said he could not divulge any details. I hung up! I think I’ll start a church. |
[“Mugshots”] No, you are not the only man checking out the arrest reports, us single women do it too, and for the very same reasons. |
[Captain Doom and Gloom] “Community swimming pool” Why do you need a pool when the ocean and canals are all around you. Just buy a dry suit, get the required shots and anti-contamination drugs, wash with kerosene after swimming to kill the bad bugs and enjoy the Keys as they are! |
FTR, thanks for your links from yesterday’s facts you shared. One was a 404 error and the latter had nothing to do about what you were claiming. Of course it was a far right web site. Keep up the good work. |
Hi FTR, we love you! |
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A POSTER WROTE: “Hypocrisy. “Wages gave been stagnant for the past 7 years, and a whole new underclass dependent on the government has been spawned.” ~FTR guy. And yet the GOP continues to vote down any minimum wage increase. And with help of the GOP big business continues to eliminate the unions thus effectively forcing working Americans to take what ever the corporations offer. We are becoming a nation of serfs.”
FTR’S RESPONSE: It must be dreadful, terribly dispiriting to be a liberal or a Democrat. Over and over we’ve seen that their political beliefs are based on victimhood. Their victimhood. Yesterday’s poster was a classic example. First the poster complained that it is the Republicans who are victimizing labor by “voting down” a huge hike in the minimum wage. The poster apparently has forgotten that the Democrats had full control of the Congress from 2007 until 2011. For two of those years they also held the Presidency. The could have enacted just about any minimum wage that they desired. They did not. Now Obama is chest thumping that he has regal executive powers. He certainly could take executive action on the issue. He chooses not to. Perhaps because the minimum wage proposals being floated would be ruinous to our economy. According to the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is a joint effort of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, only about 2.9% of wage earners receive the minimum wage…of that small fraction, more than half of them are aged 16 to 24, and 62 percent of that group are students. Nearly 80 percent of those earning the minimum wage work part-time jobs and belong to families that earn nearly triple the poverty level for a family of four at $65,900 a year, while only 22 percent live at or below the poverty line. Three percent have finished college and obtained a degree, and 5 percent are married. Link Obama’s Congressional Budget Office reports that raising the federal minimum “might help” some 900,000 workers out of poverty, that’s far less than 30% of those earning the minimum wage. That speculation also suggest that the minimum wage will kill about 500,000 jobs. Can we afford to lose jobs? Then the poster blamed the GOP and “big business” for “eliminating” the unions. The poster’s logic is deeply flawed, flawed by the liberal victimization mind set. The fact is that business cannot “eliminate” unions. When a union attempts to unionize a business, it is the employees of that business who vote the union in or out. In recent years unions are losing membership and power in the private sector, but are growing like a malignant tumor in government. The Bureau of Labor Stats reported in January 2014 that membership in unions–was 11.3 percent, the same as in 2012. Public-sector workers had a union membership rate (35.3 percent), more than five times higher than that of private-sector workers (6.7 percent). Another source reports that private sector union membership peaked at around 35 percent in the 1950s. Public sector unions are anathema to good government. The union bosses have far too much power in choosing public officials and public policy. The unions are dying in the private sector of self-inflicted wounds, not the acts of the Republicans nor employers. GM and Chrysler are classic examples of the risk workers run when unionizing. As for the poster’s comment “We are becoming a nation of serfs.”…Perhaps there is some merit in that thought. Every single day the number of persons who are reliant on the government for their sustenance grows. Every day more and more people drop out of the labor force, they just give up taking care of themselves. The BOLS has just reported a study that reveals that on the average day, an unemployed American is more likely to be shopping—for things other than groceries and gas—than to be looking for a new job. Democrat policy and practice serves to encourage this behavior. Our government spends long tons of tax money urging people to sign up for welfare. It is a vile way that the Democrats recruit new voters. That is serfdom of the most pernicious sort. There are solid reasons why business, wages, and economic growth are stagnant. One is the tsunami of new federal regulations under Obama. As of 2012 there were an additional 11,349 pages of new federal regulations. Another is the Fed pumping money into our economy. It is making investing in the stock market virtually risk free, those investments would normally go to businesses for expansion. Another is the soon to be felt impact of Obamacare on businesses big and small, it has effectively stifled nearly all incentives for businesses to expand and hire new employees. Businesses are hoarding money rather than investing in themselves. Another drag is Obama’s big union appointees to the NLRB. Yet another drag are many of the damn fool environmental regulations that can ham string start up companies. |