Tag Archives: Pensacola

Economy, Media, Pensacola, Politics

News Print Industry Downsizing

More early retirements at our local newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal. What we are seeing at the PNJ is happening to the newspaper industry. It is an industry in a state of change.

What is happening at the News Journal is symptomatic of an aging industry. Whether that makes the PNJ more a victim of circumstance than of their own doing is arguable, but the fact is the print news industry is changing. The computer age that enabled the media to get and share info has become a not insignificant part of the industry’s woes because the same information, and more, is also available online to their customers.

There is plenty of evidence of how industries evolve as the need to meet customers’ demand changes. Some evolve and survive. Others die.

Look at the effect the internet has had on the movie industry. Retail stores sprung up all over the country to rent movies. Movie Gallery, Blockbuster, and small mom and pop stores renting movies. In the quest for a better mouse trap, companies like NetFlix and RedBox sprung up making movie distribution so much more convenient. The customers get their needs fulfilled in a way that no longer includes the brick and mortar stores. That industry is changing, never to be the same again. The brick and mortar stores are closing, giving way to movie vending machines or internet access from your home that need no employees to serve you when you want to be served. The recording industry faced the same metamorphosis. Record stores are more like antique shops. The trend now is online with shops like iTunes.

Remember the Sears Catalog Sales stores where you could buy your washing machine and pick up your catalog order from “The Book” in the same store? Sears, once the largest retailer in the world, has seen the end of the catalog segment of their business.

With its roots in the late 1950’s and 60’s, a ‘new’ industry arose in the 70’s and 80’s. The Catalog Showroom industry. The Sears ‘Big Book’ was, for all intents and purposes, replaced by a thinner book and monthly and seasonal flyers inserted into newspapers for stores that carried (on a good day) everything that was in the catalog. The giants in that industry were Service Merchandise (TN) and Best Products (VA). Smaller players in this industry were, H.J. Wilson (LA) and Present Company (NY). In fact, it was H.J. Wilson Co. that brought my family to Pensacola in the early 1980’s. I saw the industry grow for about 25 years, then die a slow death. They were replaced by stores that were even more convenient.

I don’t see the news industry dying. But it is in a state of change. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess. What is certain though is that there will be something better, from a consumer standpoint, that will either augment or replace the newsprint industry. That is, as long as free-market forces are at work and Washington stays out of the bailout business.

Link: Richard A. Schneider: And so we say goodbye to 11 of our best

Economy, Pensacola, Politics, Supreme Court

Obamacare Is Non-Severable, VOID

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Let’s go back 14 months to January 31, 2011 when Pensacola’s own Judge Vinson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida became the second federal judge to strike down Obamacare’s individual mandate.

But Judge Vinson went further. He dealt with what the Supreme Court is having to decide now, whether or not the legislation is severable. Whether some parts can be stricken and the rest stand?

Judge Vinson’s decision, which was proffered by the government’s attorney, was that “the individual mandate and the remaining provisions are all inextricably bound together in purpose and must stand or fall as a single unit.” Accordingly, Vinson concluded: “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.” {emphasis added}

Had the administration followed the legal process, they would have either appealed the decision or requested a stay. They did neither. The reaction of the lawless administration was that because the judge did “not order the government to stop implementing the law, a senior administration source said ‘implementation will proceed at pace.’”

Then in August 2011, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit also ruled that the provision of the law that requires people to buy health insurance or face an annual penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling affirmed an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Pensacola, Florida.

Curiously though, the court also ruled that absent the mandate, the Act can continue. What this means is that three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit pulled a severability clause out of thin air. Because neither the individual mandate or the Act itself contain a severability clause, on purpose.

The future of our country and our relationship with the government rests on whether this bill dies at the Supreme Court. If not, then the 2012 election will be repeal and replace. There is a private-sector alternative.

Links: Obamacare Is Void, Lawless Administration Doesn’t Care  |  11th Circuit Court Of Appeals Affirms Judge Vinson, Sort Of  |  An Alternative To Obamacare Already Exists

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

Pensacola, Politics, Whiners

Occupy Pensacola Gets A Scolding

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Here’s a real hoot. The Occupy Pensacola bunch has been misbehaving. Not only that, but they have been sort of out-of-joint where another ‘group’ that offered them some help is concerned. Mr. Berachot Levine, the Director of Government Affairs for a group called The Arm of Justice (AOJ) sent this email (below) to the Occupy Pensacola folks.

I can’t verify that this AOJ group is anything more than a single person. All I could come up with using google is a blog run by Mr. Levine. But, it’s amusing nonetheless.

H/T to RicksBlog for posting it.

November 23, 2011, 10:57 AM EST

To the Membership, “Leadership” Facilitators, Legal Counsel, and Chaplain/Safety Officer of Occupy Pensacola:

My name is Berachot Levine and I am with The Arm of Justice (AOJ), which is basically a group of people from all walks of life and various religious backgrounds (including atheists and agnostics), whose common desire is to see that justice and truth are brought forth. Wade Demers was the original Executive Director of The Arm of Justice, and he is now the Director Emeritus. Wade and his wife Patti had gone to Florida to get some rest from the intense persecution they had been receiving in another state when they happened to come upon Occupy Pensacola. Because of our years of association, Wade contacted us here at The Arm of Justice, so that we could possibly be of help to your cause. I am nearly 70 years old, and am currently located in the State of Rhode Island.

I’ve been apprised of everything that’s been going on regarding situations with Occupy Pensacola and interactions with Wade & Patti Demers. For nearly 30 years I have known these people. You may be surprised at the knowledge of detail at which we (AOJ) keep track of Wade & Patti’s activities; their lives are in danger from corporate America, the government, and organized religion…ironically, the very organizations you people claim to oppose.

Because of who they are and what they do, and their surviving the onslaught of enemies that go all the way back to Washington, D.C., the Demerses have acquired invaluable experiential wisdom that you have not recognized and have squandered and ignored.

You have effectively thwarted my and The Arm of Justice’s efforts to aid you in your cause, because of your actions and inactions and lack of having/using proper wisdom:

1. You have lost the moral high ground with the general public and numbers of those in the city administration who were sympathetic;
2. You have fallen for various “baits” put out by the opposition, and in doing so, have compromised and weakened your position;
3. You have failed to fully comprehend the use of guile, patronizing, and other deceptions by the mayor and the city administration;
4. You have not listened nor paid attention to the voice of reason from those two elder experienced ones sent among you;
5. Your timing of actions and inactions has played into the hands of your opposition, to your detriment;
6. You have neutralized the advantage and effectiveness of those two who had been acting as my eyes and ears among you;
7. You have failed to make certain tactical moves, provisions, and positions in substance, time and space.
8. You have failed to cultivate moral law and discipline.
9. You have refused to listen to wisdom addressing your sorely lacking ability to effectively and peaceably communicate with each other, the media, and city administration. You have refused to listen to wisdom addressing the pathway which would lead to defining and coalescing your disjointed and unclear goals into easily understood objectives spoken with one voice. These two points are causing you to be misunderstood, maligned, and discounted, producing results that are counterproductive and diametrically opposed to your goals.

Ironically, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, which the young marine introduced to your group recently, was shared with me by Wade over 30 years ago, after I had first met him through business association…and it is quite disheartening how many of those principles you are violating, resulting in your present weakened condition.
We here at The Arm of Justice had hoped that our objective third-party observation from a distance would cause your opposition to be more inclined to act and interact with you in good faith. Your actions/inactions with Wade & Patti have caused us at The Arm of Justice, at this point, to disengage our support.

Your failure to address the various insults, rudeness, and even threats against Wade & Patti by your group, quite frankly seems bizarre. Your behavior, and especially the behavior of those in leadership, has caused us to disrespect your individual and separate motives. I do feel I have erred by temporarily associating The Arm of Justice with your movement in Pensacola, and have damaged our reputation.

I stand disappointed as spokesman for The Arm of Justice,
Berachot Levine

P.S. In response to receiving a copy of my email of Nov. 19, 2011 to Mayor Ashton Hayward (see copy of text below), I was contacted via email by a television network executive, asking if we/I wanted to do a show or a series of shows bringing more light on to the subject matter contained in that email, which, of course, would have raised the public’s awareness, sympathy, and support for your cause. Of course, now, because of your collective and individual behaviors, that is moot.

P.P.S. It is sad that you were all, by and large, unable to perceive the wisdom, guidance, direction, and timing of same that Wade & Patti were bringing to you to help you…and of course, that would have helped us, The Arm of Justice, to help you.

Your challenges are the same as those faced by the Occupy Movement throughout the United States. Listening might have put you in the forefront of attaining both understanding and support of the public opinion, as well as, perhaps, real victory.

Though I feel sorry for your present plight and condition, I wish you well—hang in…try to learn…try to articulate…try to unite…perhaps someone will hear.

Economy, Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics, Whiners

Is Occupy Pensacola Here To Stay?

The Occupy Pensacola bunch have shown, among other things, that their word is worth nothing. They have now violated their ‘agreement‘ with Pensacola’s Mayor Hayward by three days. What remains to be seen now is whether the mayor is willing to continue to deal with the dishonest entity called Occupy Pensacola or simply move them out.

occupy-pcola-10Speaking to some of the folks there today, they’re not planning on moving any where any time soon. Noble as their cause may be (and it depends on who you ask as to just what their cause is), they are staying put until they fix all that’s wrong in the world. I found some of them to be free-spirited, believing they are doing something good, some totally naive regarding work, responsibility, and wealth, and some were just homeless that came to live there.

If there is a common thread in their ‘complaint,’ it is centered around money and wealth. They want some of it and they resent the fact that Washington (both political parties) isn’t taking if from those that have it and giving it to them.

occupy-pcola-5
Dixie Meise, Safety / First Aid, Occupy Pensacola

What it means to Dixie Meise, the ‘safety and first aid’ person in camp, is that the homeless all need a place to call home. And they expect to stay there until homelessness is ended. How’s that War on Poverty working anyways?

Dixie estimates about 50-60 percent of those present were homeless people. There were many empty tents, apparently belonging to people who have jobs during the day, then return to camp to spend the night.

Calls to Mayor Hayward’s office and an email to ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) president Mike Lowrey as to the future of Occupy Pensacola and the labor union’s support of them have so far gone un-answered.

Pensacola, Politics, Whiners

‘Occupy Filthy’ – Go Home

Philadelphia Mayor Nutter says the Occupy Philly crowd needs to occupy somewhere else. Else, he’s calling the cops.

Nothing against drum circles, but the 40-day urban camping session, which has already cost taxpayers more than $500,000 in police overtime and other expenses, is now threatening to derail a $50 million revitalization project at Dilworth Plaza. That’s nearly 1,000 jobs that would put food on the table of the “99 percent” that Occupy Philly claims to represent.

Link: Occupy Filthy: Weary city tells protesters out

Economy, Media, Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics

Obama’s Jobs Act And The Left’s World View

If you want to know why the U.S. economy and jobs picture still sucks, all you need to do is examine the world where the political Left lives. Take this video clip of The ED Show on the Lean Forward (Bend Over) Network for example. The subject is about President Obama’s bus tour trying to push his Jobs Act, aka the class-warfare-tax-increase-labor-union-bail-out bill.

There is one undeniable fact where the first two years of the Obama administration is concerned. Whether by hook or by crook, Obama got everything he wanted. He got the un-Affordable Health Care Act, he got his so-called stimulus bills, he got his auto industry and Wall Street, the mortgage industry, student loan industry. The bail outs, all of them. And most behind closed doors without any input from the ‘other side of the aisle.’

In this video, ‘Democratic Strategist’ Krystal Ball does her best to deny all of it in what has become the Democrats’ narrative.

The republicans have been coming up with the narrative that the President got everything he wanted in the first two years he had a Democratic congress, he had a Democratic Senate so of course he got everything he wanted, when the reality was Republicans from day one said we will defeat this president and they did everything they could to obstruct progress, to obstruct the focus on jobs, to obstruct doing anything that would help the American people.

Since Republicans were not successful in stopping any of it, her point is . . .?

Then there’s this gem from Mr. Pro-Capitalism himself Mike Papantonio, host of the Ring of Fire talk radio show and frequent guest of Sargent Shultz’s show.

Shultz asks Papantonio about taxing the millionaires and billionaires. “What about the millionaires? Do you think the majority of wealthy people in this country would be OK with .5 percent over a million dollars?”

They do. I don’t think they have problems with it Ed because most millionaires understand, they believe in capitalism. And in order for capitalism to work, you have to put money into the system. You have to move it by uh uh if you move it by way of government into people’s hands, that works!

When the Left has their own version of reality and their own definition of capitalism, is it any wonder why Obama’s ‘economic recovery’ has been a dismal failure?

2012 Election, Pensacola, Politics

Sheriff’s FUNdraiser Was A Blast

Had a blast, literally, at the Blackwater Tactical Range today. Sheriff David Morgan’s “Out-Shoot The Sheriff” fundraiser proved to be all I thought it would be. FUN!

The challenge was to hit 10 steel plates in the least amount of time. I didn’t out-shoot him. In fact, nobody did. So the guy who came closest won the t-shirt.

This is Sheriff (top shot) Morgan hitting 8 out of 10 in 19 seconds.

He said there was going to be a machine gun demonstration, and there was. I didn’t pass up the chance to fire an M60 machine gun, and a Thompson sub-machine gun. Shot a lot of dirt, made a lot of noise. Would have made ‘Tim the toolman’ proud.

And as an added bonus, there was a little explosion demonstration. If you’ve seen the TV show Top Shot, you’ve seen exploding targets. An instructor hit a can containing some explosive material with one shot. Boom!

It was a unique fundraiser for an elected office. One I couldn’t pass up. If you didn’t have a weapon, eye and ear protection of your own, they were provided. There was just as many women shooters there as there were men. A few women shot the machine guns too!

Thanks to our veterans, active duty military, and our Constitution, I could fire one of those without my life having to depend on it like our brave men and women in the military have to do every day of the week in war zones far away from home.

And thanks to Sheriff David Morgan for hosting the event. A great time was had by all.

 

Organized Labor, Pensacola, Politics, Whiners

Occupy Pensacola, Vandalism

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Graffiti on the wall of the Sun Trust building in downtown Pensacola is the first evidence that the peaceful protest is turning the corner into something less so.

Credit to RicksBlog for bringing the first signs of protest vandalism to our attention. No one has claimed credit for it yet, but I agree that this was the work of the Occupy Pensacola crowd camping out at City Hall.

Not counting the increase cost of law enforcement put upon taxpayers to babysit them, should we consider ourselves lucky that damages for the graffiti only total $2,000? Since there are arrests and rioting elsewhere in the United States, I guess we should.

But keep in mind, they are new at this. With a little help from labor unions, I’m sure they can be even more destructive to public and private property. It is what BIG LABOR wants.

Stephen Lerner , on the International Executive Board of the 2.2 million member Service Employees International Union, SEIU, said . . .

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.

The protesters have a list of things they want you to contribute to sustain the encampment that they can’t sustain on their own.

Pensacola News Journal columnist Troy Moon wrote that these protesters are not unlike your neighbor. Just regular people. If they are like my neighbors, they would gladly pay for the damages that their kids created. So if you are inclined to send monetary support to this group, be sure to designate that it is to cover the damage and to reimburse the city, not to buy cans of spray paint. And Troy could write about how responsible your neighbors are.

 

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