Category Archives: Pensacola

Immigration, Pensacola

Combating Illegal Immigration

The reluctance of the federal government to be more pro-active in ‘managing’ illegals in this country has resulted in many States in the country to take small steps within their purview to help in curbing, not facilitating, illegal aliens from using this country illegally. To its credit, the State of New Jersey is one of these States and Bridgton, NJ has become a focal point for the pro-illegals apologists, like immigration attorney Valentine Brown.

For Pensacola and the State of Florida the question now is, what do our local and state police do when they encounter an illegal? Do they let them go on their merry way with a summons for no drivers license, for example? Are they supposed to ignore their legal status, or take steps at enforcement?

link: Lawyer: Police traffic stops become immigration checks

Media, Pensacola, Politics

Newspaper Defends Outing Of Anonymous Forum Poster

2 Comments

The Pensacola News Journal became their own version of ‘deep throat’ last week when they outed a poster on one of their forums. Now a week later they still find themselves defending that action. The nut of the PNJ’s position is this:

Not only did Godzilla support Bergosh’s positions, he even praised him(self) by name. Does anyone, Bergosh included, not understand the deception involved? But he was outraged to be exposed.

Who’s “deception” tramples freedom of speech? Bergosh’s, or the newspaper’s? It wasn’t that long ago that a President of the United States was given kudos by the media for how well he could lie. He was called clever for that. Now, a forum poster gives his real identity a pat on the back and its like he cut off some one’s leg.

I couldn’t let this pass, my response in their forum follows.

UPDATE 10/15/07 (below)

Continue reading Newspaper Defends Outing Of Anonymous Forum Poster →

Fairness Doctrine, Media, Pensacola

Atheism Programming On Air America Radio

Air America has always said that there is a sound following for what they call progressive talk radio. That’s why I find it amusing that they will have a religious program for Atheists. Well, that’s what their religion is, Atheism. Yeah, that’s a great way to expand your listening audience. Go for that 1 percent.

Air America Radio is broadcast somewhere, is on the internet, and some short wave frequencies. But soon, with the help of Henry Waxman and the Fairness Doctrine, they are hoping to expand their audience beyond friends and family. Now is your chance to get in at the ground level, potential investors are welcome to contact radio host Mike Papantonio at Ring of Fire Radio, an Air America Program, if they wish to help him finance their continued success.

Media, Pensacola, Politics, Uncategorized

Newspaper “Outs” Anonymous Forum Poster

2 Comments

I really don’t see the point in ‘outing‘ the identity of a poster in any forum on any topic when that forum permits the use of an alias. Use of an alias offers an anonymous opinion, which is just that, an opinion. Forums are meant to encourage dialog and the forum is where that dialog belongs, with one possible exception below.

IMHO, there is only one exception, and that is if any laws are broken, then the authorities (that wouldn’t be the newspaper) should be notified. Then, the newspaper has an obligation to report whatever ‘news’ is generated by the authorities. That’s journalism. This forum flap is not journalism. Despite what Pensacola News Journal editor Richard A. Schneider says . . .

You have the right to know that and we have the obligation to tell you.

I couldn’t disagree more. In the context of anonymous posting, should the newspaper take on the role of bully toward posters who they don’t particularly like or who carry some amount of notoriety or their occupation? Should they publish the poster’s email address? Of course not. If an editor has something to say about a post, the forum is the place to respond, with or without an alias. To strip the anonymity and take it to the editorial page where the unwashed might see a huge and (to borrow a recently overused word) “phony” scandal is something more than irresponsible.

If you want to stifle debate then change the rules to not allow aliases. It certainly will trim the tripe.

The irony of a newspaper (which has special first amendment protection) actively attacking free speech might be considered an abuse of that protection, and is just a bit hypocritical if not unethical in an of itself.

Pensacola News Journal: Paper holds officials accountable, even Godzilla

Pensacola, Uncategorized

Day-Care Molester Commits Suicide

This Fort Walton Beach incident sure makes a case for a stay-at-home parent.

Jan Ritchie, 51, shot and killed himself Thursday morning as lawmen arrived to search the day-care center he co-owned with his wife.

Its just too bad he didn’t do it sooner, like when he realized he gets off on molesting babies. How much do you know about the day care facility you’re using? Or the church you’re attending for that matter? Perverts seem to be everywhere nowadays.

Pensacola, Politics

San Francisco Fails To Stop Blues From Flying

A follow-up to a post a few months ago, where some city officials in San Francisco said they would not allow the Blue Angels to put on their show at Fleet Week which is scheduled for next week. The city failed to pass the resolution which would have prevented the Blues from performing. A small victory but it speaks volumes as to that anti-military attitude of some of the city leaders there.

h/t Michelle Malkin for the news

Pensacola, Uncategorized, Venezuela

Why Is Citgo On Our Navy Bases?

2 Comments

Did you know that Citgo is on every Navy base in the United States? To me, there is just something wrong with doing business with a dictator like Chavez, who, with his new bud Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has all but declared war on us. So why should our Navy be doing business with Citgo U.S.?

According to an official at Pensacola NAS, it is because the Navy put that contract out for bid and Citgo was the only company to offer a bid. I find it hard to believe that no other ‘domestic’ oil company bid for the job but will allow for the possibility.

The good news is that the contracts, there are two, are going to expire in 2008 and 2010, according to the official I spoke to at Pensacola NAS. Unless we are prepared to invade Venezuela to insure Chavez performs on his contracts, I think the risk to our national security is not worth taking and we should look to another truly domestic supplier. Granted that Citgo U.S. employs U.S. citizens, but so does Exxon and the rest of them. I’d rather give the business to the company that I trust would perform on the contract under any and all circumstances than to trust Chavez to not shut off the supply.

A stronger case for being self-sufficient where our oil production is concerned cannot be made when you have to trust people like Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez. Trusting him is more like playing a game of Russian roulette with a fully loaded weapon.

The solution to this dilemma is to simply get another vendor to bid and find out why none of them bid on it the last time. Are our US owned oil companies not able to compete? Was the request for bids written in such a way that Citgo was the only company that could meet the criteria?

My sympathy goes out to all those dedicated U.S. employees who make a living working for Citgo U.S. because it isn’t their fault that Chavez is an untrustworthy idiot. My fondest wish is that all of them can find jobs in the industry with other oil companies and give Hugo Chavez a present on the next May Day celebration by walking out the door on May 1, 2008.

related links, Get Citgo out of our military bases

Pensacola, Politics, Uncategorized

Debt ceiling is rising again: What is Democrats’ answer?

Such was the headline on the local editorial page Sunday. Their answer is the same, raise taxes on the ‘rich’. Raise taxes by creating more of them and increasing those that already exist. Don’t renew the tax cuts that are bringing record revenues to the treasury. Create open-ended entitlement programs and include millions of border crashers and their extended families in these programs.The deficit is a topic that is ripe for the majority party to demagogue, but there are two undeniable truths that they would rather you not know about or understand in order for their demagoguery to work.

  1. When you are the biggest fish in the sea, any increase will always be the largest, record-breaking statistic. That is not bad, it is just a fact of arithmetic. Being the largest of anything doesn’t make you evil, it does however cause people like Hillary Clinton to call for seizing your property. Recall Exxon’s P&L every year. (I want to take those profits to use for ….) Likewise, every year, as spending programs are invented, and borrowing increases, the dollar amount of the spending reaches a record level.
  2. As a percentage of GDP, the current deficit isn’t out of line with the current or previous administrations. And that is including all the financial costs of waging war and the Gulf Coast hurricane recovery billions. Similarly, Exxon’s profit margin is not out of line with the industry or their own financial history. It remains around 9 to 10 percent of sales.

The unfortunate (and deliberate) outcome of our educational system today is that our children, from Workman Middle School to UWF (and the media’s editorial writers) can’t tell the difference between a profit and a profit margin or what makes capitalism work.

Don’t look for Democrats in Washington to be fiscally conservative anytime soon. As spendthrift as Bush has been already, they are complaining that it isn’t enough.

A favorite quote of mine on taxing and spending comes from Winston Churchill. “We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

related: PNJ, Debt ceiling is rising again: What is Democrats’ answer? Breitbart, Federal Deficit Sharply Lower

Pensacola

Not Your Best Girl Scout Leader

One for the ‘you gotta be kidding’ column, how about a girl scout leader was charged by a federal grand jury for stealing the identities of girls in her troop?

The indictment charges Holly M. Barnes with 19 counts of filing false claims and 15 counts of identity theft, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Pensacola.

She fraudulently obtained $187,000 from the IRS using the identities of the girls in her troop and her own children.

NWF Daily News link

Belly up to the counter. Politics are on the menu and Ross is on the grill.