Told ya

$2 fiddle.

And so it goes.

Leverage

An awful lot of folks hereabouts have been thinking the Cubs just might, yeah they might, yeah I think they're gonna, oh, yeah they're gonna for sure move from Mesa, AZ to Naples, FL.

Ain't gonna happen folks.

Never was gonna happen.

It was all a leverage play. All along.

The Cubs wanted concessions from Mesa. Complacent Mesa. Mesa which has really really become used to having the Cubs there, for like 57 years.

In order to get those concessions, the Cubs had to manufacture a scenario that indicated they JUST MIGHT leave.

Worked. Like a charm.

Scared the stuffings out of Mesa folks.

Concessions are on the way.

Just the way the Cubs knew they were gonna be.

And Naples. We were played like a $2 fiddle.

We never were in the running because truth be told there never was any running.

The Cubs wouldn't have moved. Even without Mesa's cooperation.

They just wanted some new toys.

And they're gonna get them. The Cubs knew they would.

And so, Mesa gets the elevator and Naples, predictably, gets the shaft.

And so it goes.

Vote 'em out

I keep reading in the NDN's letters to the editor that we should vote out all the members of Congress.

Fine.

Just how are you gonna go about that?

You only get one vote for one House member. What about the other 434?

You only get two votes for U.S. Senator, one every 6 years. How you gonna vote 100 Senators out that way?

Besides, odds are, you LIKE YOUR Senator and Rep.

So, what you mean is that EVERYONE ELSE should vote THEIR senator and rep out, right?

Just how are you gonna accomplish that?

Think people.

Stupid is contagious. Just read the letters to the editor.

And so it goes.

Stop it!

Can someone please tell me why Snowbirds seem compelled to hit the brakes at green lights?

Yeah, I know, 'It just might turn red.'

Or not.

And so it goes.

I think

--I think Christmas is coming way too fast.

--I think Florida used cars should be sold for more than those from other states because the turn signals have never been used.

--I think Repugnicants sure have short memories when talking about big government, wars and deficits.

--I think the Swine Flu emergency has been WAY overblown. And I suspect drug manufacturers, who are making a bundle, are fueling it.

--I think health care reform is absolutely necessary now. And I think the insurance companies will spend billions to block it. Because they'd rather control health care than return control to doctors.

--I think blaming the local economy's ills on 'illegals' is a cop-out. When half your economy is based on home sales and resales, and home sales are in the dumpster, how is that the illegals' fault?

--I think assuming that anyone with a hispanic surname is illegal is ignorant, racist and simple minded. Ignorant, racist and simple minded describes a majority of the non-hispanic population of SW Florida.

--I think I'm done - for now.

And so it goes.

Aaaargh!

They're back.

The streets are crowded. With slow drivers. With no turn signals. And with no clue. Braking at green lights. Changing lanes at random. Living in the left lane at 35 miles per hour.

The grocery store is packed. With octo-couples. Wandering around looking in vain for the Cream of Wheat. And reading the ingredients like Campbell's soup contains plutonium. It's the same soup as you buy up north, folks. We just get fresher plutonium. One of the perks of Florida.

The restaurants are packed. With octo-early birds. Having dinner at 4:30 p.m. to save 10 percent. So they can have another mojito at an extended happy hour.

And I noticed a decided shortage of beer and wine at the local Publix. Look out for tipsy granny and gramps.

Must be season.

The money's welcome.

It's the 'serve me NOW' attitude I could do without.

And so it goes

Sore losers

The GOP is saying the Nobel Peace Prize has become irrelevant. Because it was awarded to a Democrat, President Barack Obama.

The backlash has become so polarized (and so utterly ridiculous) that the Nobel Prize Jury felt compelled to defend its choice. Quite eloquently and successfully, I might add.

To those who say a Nobel is too much too soon in Obama's young presidency, "We simply disagree ... He got the prize for what he has done," committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland told The Associated Press by telephone from Strasbourg, France, where he was attending meetings of the Council of Europe.

Jagland singled out Obama's efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down a Bush-era proposal for an anti-missile shield in Europe.

"All these things have contributed to — I wouldn't say a safer world — but a world with less tension," he said.

The Jury went on to report that the vote was unanimous. Which they said is a rarity. But of course, our Repugnicant Party isn't gonna take that lying down. There's no issue that they can't play politics with and drag through their slime.

The Nobel Prize went to a Democrat. So it's irrelevant.
If it were to be awarded to a Republican (pretend for a moment that a worthy one could be found), that Republican would turn the award down. Because it's irrelevant, right? Wait, if it were to be awarded to a Republican, then it wouldn't be irrelevant, you say? NOW I understand.

The Nobel Jury explains it far better than I can:

"Alfred Nobel wrote that the prize should go to the person who has contributed most to the development of peace in the previous year," Jagland said.

"Who has done more for that than Barack Obama?"

Who indeed?

Iowa proud

How to tell that there's not much to do in Iowa:

This is the Iowa State Fair parade in Des Moines, Iowa.

Really.

And so it goes.