Category Archives: Florida

2012 Election, Florida, Politics

West Won’t Concede

I thought we got past the ‘every vote counts and count every vote’ thing in the 2000 election? Apparently not for Rep. Allen West (R-22).

A handful of overseas and military ballots remain outstanding, but under state law the decision for a recount is based on Saturday’s count.

In 2000, Democrat candidate Al Gore’s lawyers were in the Court House downtown, trying to prevent military absentee ballots from being counted. Then Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-1) was there to represent the military voters.

How ironic that twelve years later it’s back to court for our absentee military voters and a military veteran. It certainly puts a new twist to ‘Veterans Day’ doesn’t it?

Link: Fla. vote beyond recount range; West won’t concede

2012 Election, Economy, Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Pensacola News Journal Endorses Romney

Considering that our local newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal, endorsed Barack Obama in ’08, their endorsement of Mitt Romney today was a surprise. Whether it is a sign of buyers remorse or their own economic situation, the basis for their endorsement is the economy, and the likelihood that Romney can turn things around for the better.

Obama failed to adequately address the rising national debt that will cripple future generations. He has not pushed the approval submitted two years ago by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as the Simpson-Bowles plan, that called for higher taxes to bring the debt under control. Congress also has failed to take the debt seriously, instead passing the buck, or in this case, $16 trillion of them.

Clearly, President Obama is disconnected from reality with this statement.

If the economy and our economic situation in NW Florida is as important to them as they say, the Romney endorsement seems to be inconsistent with their ‘NO’ recommendation for all of Florida’s 11 amendments. Early voting started yesterday in Florida. But don’t hold your breath waiting to see them reverse themselves on those too.

Links: WE RECOMMEND: Mitt Romney for president |  Vote ‘No’ on amendments

2008 Election, Florida, Media, Politics, Race Relations

Zimmerman Charged | Post-Racial Administration

Florida Prosecutor Angela Corey arrested George Zimmerman, described by the NY Times as a White-Hispanic, charging him with second degree murder.

This incident was over six weeks ago, February 26, 2012. It’s relevant to what prosecutor Angela Corey said today. The joke of the day . . .

“We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida.”

It is shameful how the media, known to create campaign themes for the President, started from day 30 (not day 1), with doctored reporting, fraudulent reporting, about the racial aspect of this case that did not exists until they introduced it.

Without knowing whether Trevon Martin’s death was murder or self-defense, like some published tapes, eyewitness accounts and the police reports suggest, President Obama’s entry in the case leaves no presumption of due process, innocent until proven guilty, or even to warn about stirring up tension, racial tension, because Trevon Martin is black. The absence of anything presidential in this matter, to urge calm and respect for the laws, was the go-ahead for the race industry and the rhyming reverends, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Controversy hit fever pitch after Barack Obama, when asked for comment on the case took the unprecedented step of commenting on the still ongoing investigation stating “If I had a son, he’d look like Trevon”.

Eric Holder’s “people,” the New Black Panthers,  issued a bounty for Zimmerman’s capture for them to administer justice. There are Wanted Dead or Alive posters out there. Not surprisingly, Attorney General Eric Holder doesn’t have a problem with private citizens soliciting kidnapping and who knows what else? Under Obama, it isn’t the D.O.J. It’s the D.O. Black J.

Where the New Black Panthers are concerned, Holder’s record is dropping charges on them for voter intimidation at a Philadelphia polling place during the 2008 election. This, after they were already found guilty by default. So there is no expectation that the Justice Department under Obama will do anything about their threats this time. Justice under Obama is not blind.

With the big racial controversy successfully up and running, other irresponsible Democrats pile on to the racial angle. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) plants her face in front of a camera and says the shooting was a hate crime.

After all this, if you are wondering why President Obama has not come out to call for calm, something to ease the racial tensions spawned by the false media accounts, it is because things are going just fine. For his re-election. He’ll kill it if he were to come out and act like a President should act. There’s nothing ‘post-racial’ about this guy.

Now that the trial process is underway, at least we will see who the legal victim is. Martin or Zimmerman?

Florida, Pensacola, Politics

Mayor Hayward’s Town Hall Tonight

Sorry I won’t be able to attend the town hall meeting at the Vickery Center tonight, but I do have a question for the mayor. (In case you are going.)

Mr. Mayor, at your April 2011 town hall meeting at Gull Point, you said that the city has a plan to deal with the chronic fecal contamination in Bayou Texar. The health department again had to close the bayou last week. Please tell me what the city’s plan for Bayou Texar is, and what has been done so far?

Economy, Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Bayou Texar Closed Again

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“Visit Pensacola! You’ll love our shit!” There’s your Chamber of Commerce bumper sticker.

Like water sports? Fishing, swimming, water skiing? Come to Pensacola. But just don’t go in Bayou Texar for any of that. The Health Department has closed it for the umpteenth time due to excessive levels of fecal contamination.

It happens so often now, that the Health Department no longer calls it what it is like they used to. Now they’ve sanitized the warning. Now they just call it ‘bacteria.’ You have to call the Health Department to find out the nature of that bacteria. I called to ask. It’s the same as it has always been. Fecal bacteria.

What’s worse, the reaction to it is also the same. After having abandoned the study to find out the sources of the contamination years ago, the city and county officials continue to ignore the problem. Apparently, unless it has anything to do with BP, they’re not interested in cleaning up their own back yard.

Link: Bacteria prompts Bayou Texar health alert

Economy, Florida, Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics, Whiners

Occupy Everything, What’s Their Goal?

When you think about the Organizing Everything protests and Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel, and Barack Obama, do you ever think of the SEIU? Maybe most people would just think that the administration would do anything, like endorsing these protesters, to draw the focus away from their failed policies and onto the bogeyman, Wall Street.

Despite all attempts from the Left to legitimize these Marxist mobs by comparing them to Tea Party rallies, these two videos will, all on their own, show them for protest-corporate-greedwhat they are. Anti-capitalists, socialists, and then some.

First up is radical labor organizer Stephen Lerner, serving on the International Executive Board of the 2.2 million member Service Employees International Union, SEIU. He intends to take it to the next level and terrorize the families of bank executives in their homes as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Stephen Lerner . . .

There’s moments in history where people take action and do something heroic. Where we do something heroic. Where we take risks.

If we are really serious about movement building then we think one part is we have to act heroically. That we have to inspire people by our actions and we have to be willing to take incredible personal and collective risks.

And that’s the time and there’s moments where history shifts and we’re going to decide if it shifts.

And this one is an interview with one of the organizers of the Occupy Wall Street group. She says up-front exactly what they’re all about. Anti-capitalism, anti-corporation.

Now this third video just shows that some pundits on the Left, like talk show host Mike Papantonio, are a little out of step with the movement. Doing what lawyers do, progressive Papantonio says capitalism is great! Ed Shultz was speechless. Papantonio starts at 3:50 into the video.

However, the title of his video, Now’s The Time to Get Mad and Do Something, is right in tune with Stephen Lerner. Looks like he is inciting some front yard action himself. He does go on to whine about something local. The ATU / ECAT dispute. The union is the victim. They want to be exempt from the Obama depression. Oh well. He says they are being attacked by a foreign corporation that operates the bus transportation for Escambia County. The AFL-CIO affiliate is considering a second strike on the backs of the poor.

Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics, Race Relations

Papantonio And Other Bigots

Ring of Fire radio host Mike Papantonio is still calling the ‘Tea Party’ and the ‘Republican Party’ a bunch of racists. According to this video, Rick Outzen and Chauncey DeVega agree.

Mike Papantonio . . .

It’s the Republican Tea Party, it’s the same people. They’re interchangeable. . . . They are the Republican Party.

What we have here is the Left’s continuing and tired accusation of racism. Well, that and three guys living in their own bubble somewhere.

Maybe someone will show these three bigots this article. Proof? that the tea party people are racists. Not only are they racists, but according to Papantonio, ‘they are insane.’

Link: Are they racists? Lets see.

Florida, Pensacola, Politics, Race Relations

Lunch With Otis

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My annual trek down to the seafood festival yesterday turned out to be something else. I met Otis.

Otis was walking away from the festival and I was walking to it. From a distance, I could see that this guy has something going on. I mean, aside from the bright red hat and umbrella. Curiosity getting the best of me, I had to stop and talk to him.

He let me take his picture then we talked. Knowing that I wanted to use his picture in my blog, I wanted to get his name right. And having nothing to write on or with, I pulled out my wizbang iPhone and recorded his name in the voice recorder. What followed was not what I expected.

Turns out he was just looking around. Asked if he had any of the seafood there he said no, he didn’t have any money. Upon which I instituted my own stimulus program. He accepted my offer to buy him lunch. He had calamari for the first time, some crawfish pie, and an adult beverage in a can. I ate the same, except for the beer. I’m not a big beer drinker.

I didn’t talk about politics with him, on purpose. We seemed to enjoy each others company and I didn’t want to do something that might have spoiled that chance encounter. I mean, it just didn’t seem the time or place to discuss liberal v conservative politics, or to point out that people like President Obama think that I hate black people and poor people because I consider myself allied with the tea party movement.

Lunch with Otis audio

Transcript:

  • Ross: Otis Womak, works at the Coffee Cup restaurant. Are you a cook?
  • Otis: A dish washer.
  • Ross: A dish washer, oh, outstanding.
  • Otis: I was dishes. I {unintelligible) work there for six and a half years. I came over to see my momma and daddy in the nursing home. So I ran down here to some, ya know ….
  • Ross: Get a little seafood?
  • Otis: Yeah. No I didn’t get no seafood I had no money.
  • Ross: Oh man.
  • Otis: I’m broke, today. So I go over there (unintelligible)
  • Ross: Ya wanna go eat some seafood?
  • Otis: Huh!
  • Ross: Come on with me.

It all worked out just fine. I’m satisfied in knowing that we both had a good meal and some fellowship from complete strangers. I gave him a ride home and called it a day.

Economy, Florida, Media, Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics

ECAT Drivers Are Driving

Carlton Proctor at the Pensacola News Journal spoke to Michael Lowery, president of Local 1395 about the ECAT union bus drivers going on strike. Lowery also spoke to PNJ reporter  Thyrie Bland.

He told Proctor

“This is all about fair treatment on the job, it’s not about wages. It’s about fair treatment.”

He told Bland

“The employees have gone over 1,000 days without a raise, and working conditions are the worst I’ve seen in 16 years.”

Which Mr. Lowery are we to believe? And does it matter? The evolving version of why they went on strike looks a bit unorganized. Certainly not characteristic of organized labor. Keyword ‘organized.’

Economy, Florida, Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics, Uncategorized

ECAT Working Conditions, Worst In 16 Years

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The raised fist (also known as the clenched fist) is a salute and logo most often used by left-wing activists, such as: Marxists, anarchists, socialists, communists, pacifists, trade unionists, the SEIU, and black nationalists.

Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) bus drivers are on strike. Thyrie Bland at the Pensacola News Journal writes ECAT drivers on strike, Wage issue halts public transit for thousands.

The human aspect of the bus drivers going on strike is inescapable. Their riders are their customers. They are people who don’t have personal transportation and that includes the working poor. They also include physically handicapped folk like Mr. Freeman. Regardless, these are folks that need to get to their jobs so they can put food on the table and pay their bills, get to the store or the doctor.

Being responsible for creating a hardship on those with no alternative transportation is unconscionable. But is also standard fare for organized labor negotiating tactics. A lesson about labor unions and liberals in general is that they are liberals first, they are union first, and you are not on their list.

I bet these riders vote. And I also bet that they will remember who it was that caused them to miss work. It was a government labor union member who has a full-time job making from $12-16 an hour.

According to Michael Lowery, president of Local 1395 . . .

The employees have gone over 1,000 days without a raise, and working conditions are the worst I’ve seen in 16 years.

No raise in a couple of years huh? How does it feel (government labor union member) to be more like your neighbors? The ones that still have a job. Surprise! It happens in the private sector too! That’s life in the big city. The article brings to question a dispute of one half on one percent. If there’s a half of a percent in dispute in the current contract, then ‘work’ it out.

Working conditions? What working conditions? With all due respect to the drivers, you drive a bus.

Worst working conditions in 16 years? Which begs the question, when the head of my local labor union says that my working conditions are the worst that they’ve been in 16 years, just what am I paying my dues for?

Here’s an idea . . .