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.

Whose health?

Gotta love the GOP and conservative hate radio.

They say they want an honest dialogue about health care reform. But when it comes, they shout it down instead of talking.

Yeah, that's the American way. There are no ideas but my ideas.

And of course the GOP haters insist it's all a grassroots movement:

“Become a part of the mob!” said a banner posted Friday on the Web site of the talk show host Sean Hannity. “Attend an Obama Care Townhall near you!” The exhortations do not advocate violence, but some urge opponents to be disruptive.

“Pack the hall,” said a strategy memo circulated by the Web site Tea Party Patriots that instructed, “Yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

And the hate mongerers continue to insist it's all an innocent grassroots movement.

Some of the protesters told local reporters they had been urged to come by a local activist group promoted by the conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck. Others said they had received e-mail messages from the Hillsborough County Republican Party that urged people to speak out against the plan and offered talking points.

Apparently, no tactic is too low for the conservative demagogues.

The tenor of some of the debates has become extreme. Ms. Pelosi has accused people at recent protests of carrying signs associating the Democratic plan with Nazi swastikas and SS symbols, and some photographs showing such signs have been posted on the Web.

On Thursday, the talk show host Rush Limbaugh said the administration’s health care logo was itself similar to a Nazi symbol.

On Friday, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League released statements criticizing the comparison.

“It is preposterous to try and make a connection between the president’s health care logo and the Nazi Party symbol, the Reichsadler,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the Wiesenthal center.

Yeah, that's the way to have an informed discussion.

Makes me proud.

And so it goes.

No quitter

Still chuckling about Sarah Palin's announcement that she's quitting as governor of Alaska.

Her largely incoherent resignation speech indicates she doesn't have the heart (or smarts) to run a state as complicated as Alaska.

Plus, while she was quitting, she had the guts to say she's no quitter.

Oh, really.


Speculation is that she's trying to set herself up for a presidential run in 2012.

Setting herself up by quitting the only major elected post (mayor of Wasilla really can't count) she's ever held (and managed rather poorly)? If she gets a little heat and quits in Alaska, what could happen if she ever were to set foot in the White House?

She lasted 16 months in Alaska.

Could she last 16 days in the White House?

Doubtful.

Once a quitter, always a quitter.

Thanks, Sarah, for clearing that up.

And so it goes.

Beyond the weird

As weird as it sounds, I think I'll miss Michael Jackson.

Most of what MJ was I pretty much detested. His lifestyle, his playing with little boys, his crotch-grabbing, his showing off 'his' babies and hanging them over balconies. His obsession with plastic surgery. His desire to change from a black man to a white woman. His overall bizarreness.

But dammit, beyond that, I liked a lot of his music. You hear Thriller or Billie Jean on the radio and don't find yourself singing along or having it run through you mind, you may not be normal.



Beyond all the bizarreness, he was a fine musician.

On the other hand, just try to imagine Jackson as a 70-year-old man/woman/whatever.

It does not compute.

His music (some of it at least) will persevere.

And so it goes.

A trend?

Secretly, it sounds to me like the GOP is actually relieved to find that its latest sex scandals have been heterosexual affairs.

After all, the Repugnicants are the party of family values. And gays aren't invited to GOP parties.

Whatever happened to Toe-Tapping Larry Craig, anyway?

And so it goes.

I Ran?

Been trying to put together a blog on Iran's election uprising and the U.S. response but I haven't been able to get it together.

And it kinda feels like the U.S. as a whole hasn't, either.

Congressional Republicans, of course, want Pres. Obama to be much more hard-line. Wave a few swords, rattle a few cages.

I really don't see the point in that or what good that might do. If you wave enough swords, sooner or later, someone's gonna challenge you to use them.

And I'm not all to sure we need another war/war front in the Middle East right about now. We've got our hands full with an illegal war in Iraq, a defensible but repugnant war in Afghanistan and I suspect a clandestine action in Pakistan. We're spread pretty thin.

That leaves a measured but firm denouncing of the election and the repression in Iran. That's been Obama's stance so far.

Still, as bad as it is over there, I still end up wondering 'Can't we somehow do more?'

I doubt it, but it is a totally repugnant situation with no real way for outside interests to intervene.

What to do, what to do?

I told you, I can't quite get it together. Sounds like out administration can't either.

And so it goes.

W-obbly

Just saw a photo of the ol' W.

He looks like he's been on about a 6-month bender.

Then why to I feel like the rest of the country's got the hangover? And it's a doozy!

And so it goes.

Rushing to judgment

As long as Rush Limberger is the head of the Repugnicant Party, the Democrats have NOTHING to fear.

Keep talking, Rush.

Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh called Sotomayor a "reverse racist" on his show. Limbaugh, who is known for stirring up controversy, said he hopes Obama's nominee fails.

"Do I want her to fail? Yeah. Do I want her to fail to get on the court? Yes. She'd be a disaster on the court," he said. "Do I still want to Obama to fail as president? Yeah. ... He's going to fail anyway, but the sooner the better here so that as little damage can be done to the country."

Now there's a TRUE American.
Now, does anyone else want to take their political opinions from an ignorant, pill-popping disc jockey?

Keep talking, Rush. The Democrats will stay in the White House two more years every time you stick your head up your arse and start talking like that.

And so it goes.

Call 911! Call 911!

Methinks there are a few more problems here than just a messy bedroom. 28 years old, a school board member and still living with daddy?

Things that make you go Hmmmm.

And so it goes.

Work in progress

Can't quite figure it out.

It took 8 years for Bushie to totally fuck up this country. To a degree never before approached or even imagined.

Why in hell would anyone think Pres. Barack Obama could fix everything in 100 days?

Just because he's 10 times the man Bushy is doesn't mean he can fix things 10 times as fast.

It's gonna work. Just not today, OK?

And so it goes.

Light 'em up

This ' n' that:

--Drivers still are running scared about the new red-light cameras. Why? Don't run a red light, don't get a ticket. Don't want to get rear-ended, don't drive 15 mph over the limit so the person behind won't and you both can stop safely. Remember folks, driving isn't a right, it's a privilege. By getting behind the wheel, you're agreeing to obey the laws. ALL the laws.

--Bloggers on the NDN site are up in arms because a study says Hispanics and Latinos, even Hispanic/Latino U.S. citizens and legal residents are profiled and discriminated against. Want proof. The bloggers comments are all the evidence you need to know that the study is valid. Such racism and stupidity. Also reads like a sad indictment of our school system.

-- Rep. Connie Mack criticizing anyone about anything is always worth a chuckle. Glass houses, Mr. California Rep., glass houses.

-- Republicans still are bitching that their Tea Party Protest wasn't covered as a great nationwide non-political groundswell movement. It wasn't covered as such because it wasn't. Just a bunch of rich Obama-haters getting together to act angry because there's a N****r in the White House who is gonna tax their millions.

It's always interesting.

Think I'll go to the beach instead.

And so it goes.

Thrilling

Unless you lived under a rock somewhere, you've by now heard of Susan Boyle, the 47-year-old singer who wowed the audience of Britain's Got Talent.

In case you missed it, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I've watched it a half-dozen times and I'm still amazed. And thrilled.

You really can't judge a book by its cover.

Why isn't she on Broadway?

And so it goes.

He

is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

'Bout time

I see in the paper that Collier County is ready to start installing cameras at intersections to catch red light runners.

Good.

It's about time.

Too many drivers around here seem to think a red light means 'two more drivers can sneak through. Maybe three.'

They make driving a hazard to my health.

I also see that a lot of scared drivers are raising a ruckus about the cameras. Saying things like it's taking away our rights and it's an invasion of our privacy and it's just another example of Big Brother taking over.

Bull!

There is no constitutional right to drive. It's a privilege. And the moment you get behind the wheel you are agreeing to obey the traffic laws of the area where you will be driving.

No, it's not an invasion of privacy. The moment you step outside your front door, you have placed yourself in the public domain. ANYONE can take your picture and use it for any non-commercial purpose (including news) that they want.

Big Brother? Give me a break. The cameras are taking pictures of vehicles breaking only one very specific law. The cameras can't search for drugs or check for valid drivers licenses or even discover if you're driving without pants. The cameras catch vehicles running red lights. Period. You want our limited number of law enforcement officers parked at intersections ticketing red light runners? Or you want then out solving crimes and going after actual criminals? You constitutional types: They might even have time to track down one of your feared illegals or two. How about that?

And finally, folks, NO, the courts have NOT found them to be unconstitutional. Just the opposite. And no, none of those schemes to hide your license plates work. But if you want to give scam artists your money, you just go ahead.

Me, I'm gonna try to refrain from running any red lights.

Anything else, and any other argument (any anyone making that argument) is just plain stupid.

And so it goes.

A little of this ... and some of that

-- I've been getting a good laugh about the rich folks on Marco Island trying to start their own high school. They're calling it an 'exemplary' high school, I think. Well, I guess that's better than calling it the Marco Island High School for the Rich, White Privileged Few. The fact that the Collier County superintendent and school board has said no way isn't deterring them one bit. After all, they're RICH, right?
If they want to fund it out of their own pockets, find a place for it (not public property) and charge for it themselves, i.e., make it a private school, it may work. Otherwise, it ain't gonna happen. Thankfully.

-- Unless you refuse to collect your Social Security payments and reject your Medicare insurance, quit complaining about how our country's becoming 'socialist.' You're about 70 years too late. And about half a load over the limit of stupid.

-- Given the character of the man at the top, why is anyone surprised at all the problems and resignations within the Lee County Sheriff's Office? If the Sheriff doesn't know and refuses to follow the law, why should any of the other officers?

-- I applaud the Naples City Council for repeatedly rejecting clubs' plans for having entertainment and live music after 10 p.m. in the downtown area. After all, you wouldn't want businesses in the city to actually survive, would you? Then again, poverty is pretty quiet, isn't it? It's so peaceful when every business is out of business. Maintains our tropical quality of life. What?

And so it goes.

Because I can

Funny ain't so funny right now.

And so it goes.

Humbly waiting

At the risk of offending the delicate sensibilities of our visitors from the north:

The two seasons in Southwest Florida ARE NOT 'Waiting to Humbly Serve You' and 'Humbly Serving You'

While we do like your money, it'd be just fine with most of us if you left your damned entitled attitude in the north next year.

You ARE NOT entitled to be treated like royalty. You are NOT royalty.

You ARE NOT entitled to go to the front of any line, to butt into queues or to be waited on first. We are not here just to serve you. To cater to you. To kowtow you and worship you.

No, we're not gonna change the rules for you.

You expect us to be polite. How about being polite in return?

I know you're lost while driving most of the time. Could you manage to be not lost at something more than 20 mph? Or how about pulling over, looking at a map and then proceeding at the prevailing speed?

Because, face it, folks, no matter how much damned money you have or how much you spend down her, IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU.

If you want to know the truth, the two seasons in Southwest Florida are: 'Enjoying our Lifestyle Without the Snowbirds Around' and 'Waiting for the Snowbirds to Leave.'

We are well into the latter. Can't wait.

Spend all you want folks, just don't think it makes you royalty. Unless you mean a royal pain in the ass.

And so it goes.

Curious

Isn't it funny that the Republicans are suddenly concerned about 'our children' having to pay for the economic stimulus package (less than a trillion dollars, no matter what they claim), but they sure didn't seem to worry much about the $5 trillion-plus deficit Bushie and his co-conspirators ran up when the GOP was in control.

Wonder who's supposed to pay for that?

Hypocrites?

Could be.

And so it goes.

Damn

President Barack Obama hasn't managed in 14 days to turn around a country and an economy that took George W. Imbecile and co-conspirators only 8 years to royally fuck up.

What a failure!

And so it goes.

Scenic, ain't it?

This is the beach at Santa Barbara, CA.


Naples, is this what you want your beaches to look like?

And so it goes.

Wow!

We have a new president.

Congratulations President Barack H. Obama!

Thrilling beyond words.

And so it goes.

1 week

Just seven days from today, Barack Obama will become President of the United States.

Exciting!

There are a lot of feelings wrapped up in this transition.

So, in no particular order:
--I'm thrilled that we will have an educated and smart and composed individual in the White House. One that won't embarass us abroad and at home.
--I'm almost beside myself with happiness that we've finally broken through and elected a person of color to the white House.
--I'm just as thrilled that we again will have children in the White House. What a blessing.
--I'm thankful we have a Christian in the White House who doesn't have to wear his religion as a badge and keep reminding everyone of his Christianity. Christianity isn't a suit you wear, it is personal; simply, personal faith in God. If you have to keep reminding everyone, it's kind of like the person who says he's gonna tell a 'funny joke.' If you have to tell me it's funny, odd are it's not.
--Worry. Obama is inheriting one heck of a mess, economically, domestically, militarily and internationally. His predecessor left the country in the worst shape of my lifetime. Perhaps the worst shape in the history of this country. People are gonna expect immediate results. Yet it took 8 years for the Bush Administration to fuck it up to this degree.
--Fear. Fear that no one is up to the immediate task of bailing out our country. Obama has acknowledged it is going to take time. It's gonna take effort. But people are going to want immediate results. That likely is not possible. If he can't turn things around in a reasonable amount of time (and I'm praying constantly it can be turned around and people allow a reasonable amount of time) the country may not elect another person of color or a person of intelligence for another generation.
--Relief that the corrupt, criminal and failed Bush administration finally is gome.

Please. Say a prayer for Barack Obama and for our Country. We need it.

And so it goes.

Too bad

It's amazing,

There are folks (read Republicants) who already are declaring the Obama Administration a failure. And only 2 weeks before he actually takes office.

What took you folks so long?

And so it goes.