Still not enough

The latest US policy change in regards to North Korea.

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a novel effort targeting the lifestyle of North Korea's eccentric president, the Bush administration wants to make it tougher for him to buy iPods, plasma televisions, Segway electric scooters and more.

It is Washington's first-ever attempt to use trade penalties as a way of personally aggravating a foreign leader. They target items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government.

Kim, who orchestrated a secret nuclear weapons program despite international efforts to stop him, has other options for obtaining high-end consumer electronics and other luxuries.

But the list of proposed U.S. penalties, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim's swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis.

The ban would extend even to musical instruments and sports equipment. The 5-foot-3 Kim is an enthusiastic basketball fan; Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented him with a ball signed by Michael Jordan during a rare diplomatic trip in 2000. Kim's former secretary, widely believed to be his new wife, studied piano at North Korea's Pyongyang University of Music and Dance.

``While North Korea's people starve and suffer, there is simply no excuse for the regime to be splurging on cognac and cigars,'' Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said Wednesday in a statement. ``We will ban the export of these and other luxury goods that are purchased for no other reason than to benefit North Korea's governing elite.''

Gutierrez said penalized items were ``carefully considered and carefully targeted.''

While Eugene Volokh says huh and Doug at Below the Beltway thinks Kim has been dealt a heavy blow, TFM notes two important items that still need to be banned.

Crayons and coloring books.

Now what would Kim do without those?(Cue the sarcastic laughter)

Linked to- Outside the Beltway, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Not reassuring

Some news from the Florida Times-Union-

Jacksonville Naval Hospital officials Wednesday categorically denied a Navy wife's claim that she had been operated on with contaminated instruments.

Jennifer Backman, 35, filed notice of intent on Tuesday to sue the government because she said doctors used unsterilized instruments during outpatient surgery Aug. 30 to repair an umbilical hernia. Federal law requires that anyone suing the U.S. government give six months' notice.

The same day, the hospital's commander, Capt. Raquel Bono, refused to discuss the case, but issued a general statement expressing the hospital's commitment to patient safety.

"Under our procedures, it is inconceivable to use surgical instruments on one patient and then another," said Cmdr. Craig Shepps, the hospital's director of surgical services.

Backman said Tuesday she received a frantic call after her surgery and was told that contaminated instruments were used. She said she was advised by her surgeon to return to the hospital for antibiotic treatments and diagnostic tests.

Contacted Wednesday, Backman's attorney, Sean Cronin, stood by his client's claim. "The family has no reason to doubt the truthfulness of the Navy surgeon," Cronin said.

Bono did confirm that a call was made and Backman was advised to undergo post-operative testing but said she could not say any more about the incident because of patient privacy laws.

Bono said she called the news conference because of her concerns about the effect that media accounts of Backman's lawsuit might have on the hospital's reputation. She was brought in as commander in August 2005 to help make changes at the hospital, which has been sued frequently in recent years.

In the year preceding Backman's surgery, there were about $71 million in settlements and judgments against the hospital.

I don't think Bono's or Cmdr. Shepps statements did anything to improve Jacksonville Naval Hospital's reputation. Their statements are either evasive or not re-assuring.(Inconceivable is not impossible) Rather Bono and Shepps statements combined with the history of settlements made by the hospital call into question any medical care given at this facility.

The Navy and or Congress should investigate this hospital and find out what exactly has been happening there and what needs to be changed in order that those serving in The Navy plus their families get the very best medical care. This country owes them nothing less and right now Jacksonville Naval Hospital isn't doing that.

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Color co-coordination

Someone in SW Florida is unhappy about a lime green painted house.

One new homeowner might have been "in love" with the color she painted her house, but the feeling apparently wasn't mutual for someone with a can of black spray paint.

The color — bright lime green — has drawn the attention and ire of neighbors since it was painted on the house last week.

Construction on the single-story Cape Coral home at Four Mile Cove and Southeast 16th Place, visible from Del Prado Boulevard, is near completion.

"If I flipped on a neon light, I'm pretty sure it would glow," Cape Coral Automotive manager Jeff Flesner said. "It's hideous."

Still, Flesner doesn't agree with the route someone took to express their color contempt.

Phrases including "No Alien Green," "Who paints their house this color?" "Bad Choice," and "Not in this Neighborhood," as well as a handful of profanities, were sprayed in black paint on the sides of the house sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Police spokeswoman Dyan Lee said officers were alerted to the damage around 9:30 a.m. Monday when a foreman arrived to work. She said the cost to repaint has been estimated at $500.

A subcontractor of Oyster Bay Homes, the Fort Myers-based company responsible for building, painted over it by 2:30 Monday afternoon.

That color is kind of hideous. Apparently the owner thinks otherwise.

According to property records, the home is owned by a woman named Gloria Leal, who did not return telephone messages or answer the door at her other Cape Coral home Monday.

But Cookie Kakabadse, color coordinator for Oyster Bay Homes, said Leal came to her several months ago with the color swatch already in hand.

"She's in love with that color, and we're a custom builder so we gave her what she wanted," Kakabadse said.

"I'm pretty sure she has no intention of changing it, but I'm disappointed that people would do that (vandalize). That's no way to treat a new neighbor."

Agrred Ms. Kakabadse. Whomever did the spray painting is a vandal. If caught the police should pursue charges against the person.

One neighbor made me laugh.

"My son said maybe he ought to paint his house purple now, just so it would match," said Walt McCarty, who lives with his son just a few houses down.

Purple is a great color for a house but my HOA would never approve it. Nor would my big boss, dear wife.

Just as long as I can keep my purple bath towels. Ok?

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Blue Star, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe,

Help wanted

News from my hometown of Lantana-

LANTANA — John Earl Clemons Jr. started his night at a teen dance, hanging with friends, looking for a good time.

The evening ended with a police officer firing a bullet into the 14-year-old that could leave him paralyzed, his family said.

Clemons, an eighth-grader at Congress Middle School in Boynton Beach, can barely speak from his hospital bed at Delray Medical Center, family members said.

With no feeling in much of his body and the bullet still lodged inside, doctors don't know whether he will be able to walk again, the family said.

It will be terrible if this boy can't ever walk again. Still the blame appears to fall at John Earl's feet.

His brother and another relative said Wednesday that they are angry at John for what he did to end up in that hospital bed. They said he was stuck at a dance at The Palace roller skating rink on Lantana Road without a ride, so he stole a Dodge Neon, rode around town with friends and tried to run over officer Joel Shackelford.

"I'm mad at the police because they shot him, and I'm mad at John because he had no business stealing a car," said his brother, Kelvin Clemons, 14. "I feel sorry every time I look at him. I know how he feels."

*****

The events that led to the shooting began Monday when Shackelford, Lantana's only motorcycle cop, drove two blocks out of city limits, after his shift ended, to keep following the stolen gold Neon.

At the end of the traffic stop, his Harley-Davidson motorcycle was smashed by the car and John Clemons Jr. had a bullet in him.

Note- The palace is a half mile walk from my house.

You do have to wonder about Officer Shackelford and whether he is suited to do police work.

Shackelford's record has since come into question. Two months ago, he fired at another car.

I blogged about that story here.

Even with her car being shot at and police chasing her, Katie Lee Vest still couldn't bring herself to hang up her cellphone.

While chatting away in her big, white blue-roofed Cadillac, police say the 24-year-old woman — who claimed she was pregnant — turned a suburban Lantana neighborhood into a stunt-driving course Tuesday while fleeing from a Lantana motorcycle cop after an attempted traffic stop. She drove off the street, between homes and into a fenced-in residential back yard in the Sea Pines neighborhood, police say.

Seemingly trapped, with the officer yelling for her to stop, police say she quickly reversed, nearly striking him. Officer Joel Shackelford's Harley-Davidson fell on him, but he managed to fire a single shot, hoping to strike the car's tire, said Lantana police Capt. Andy Rundle.

That's two incidents in a little over two months. There's more from today's Post.

According to his chief and his annual performance review, he is a good, dedicated cop who keeps his composure in stressful situations, has a positive attitude and bases his decisions on fact rather than emotion.

"Joel's a very well-respected member of the police department," Chief Rick Lincoln said. "He's a hard worker. He produces a lot of citations and arrests."

But the 38-year-old officer also had conflicts in the almost five years he has worked in Lantana. He was written up for a shouting match with a sergeant, for a vehicle crash he caused on duty and for failure to show up at traffic court, according to his personnel file.

In May, he made a comment to a defense attorney in court that prompted the bailiff to write a report about it.

At a routine hearing over a speeding ticket, defense attorney Bill Abramson successfully argued that Shackelford's radar gun was not calibrated to the latest standards.

Shackelford's response, according to the report: He turned to Abramson and said, "You're done."

Abramson asked him if that was a threat, and Shackelford replied that it wasn't.

The officer then added, "But you burned your bridges with me."

The report does not name Shackelford, but Abramson identified him as the officer.

"I've beaten a lot of cops on a lot of cases, and they don't turn to me and say 'You're done,''" said Abramson, who estimates he has handled 25,000 speeding cases.

If what the Post is reporting is true, I'd question Shackelford's suitability for police work. TFM has always maintained those in our law enforcement and legal system need to be held to a very high standard. Officer Shackelford at present doesn't look suited to serve the people of Lantana.

Disclosure- My wife knows Lantana Police Captain Rundle through her work as a church receptionist.

Linked to- Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Florida the rules are different here Chapter LXV

The South Florida MSM has trouble identifying cars. From the Miami Herald-

For the third time in three days, a Tri-Rail train has slammed into a car on the tracks -- this time a Porsche. The sports car was dragged hundreds of feet down the tracks, leaving it mangled beyond recognition.

The driver, fortunately, wasn't inside. He was able to bail out moments before impact.

The accident happened about 5 a.m. in Boca Raton near Interstate 95. m. The car was idling on the tracks at Southwest 18th Street.

Rick at SOTP noted this accident early this morning. Since then the Herald has re-identified the car.

For the third time in three days, a Tri-Rail train has slammed into a car on the tracks. The red 1993 Geo was dragged hundreds of feet south, leaving it mangled beyond recognition.

Only in South Florida can a Geo be mistaken for a Porsche. I can hardly wait for the day a VW Bug is mistaken for a Cadillac. Isn't this a great state or what?

Note- The accident took place less than two miles from where my parents lived in the 1980's. I know the area of where the accident occured very well.
Linked to- Bullwinkle, Basil's Blog, Blue Star, Bright & Early,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is pro golfer and NBC announcer Johnny Miller. A little while back I blogged about the large amount of mistakes in Miller's book 'I call the shots.' Here is a recap of what I wrote-

1- Lee Janzen won the 1993 US Open not 1994
2- Sevriano Ballesteros won 6 not 3 US PGA Tour titles.
3- Ed Fiori did not beat Tiger Woods in a playoff at the 1996 Quad Cities tournament. Woods finished fourth.
4- Valderama has NOT hosted ’several’ Ryder Cups. It hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup only.
5- Tiger Woods is said to have shot 16 under for the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach. Woods shot 12 under, its even stated he did so on the previous page!
6- Ernie Els bogeied the first hole of the 1994 US Open Playoff, not make a par. Miller compounds this mistake by saying Els who got a drop on that hole may have been helped by this ‘par’.
7- Annika Sorenstam was tied for the lead not one shot back when teeing off 18 at the 2003 US Open.
8- Craig Stadler’s disqualification for kneeling on a towel in a San Diego tournament happened in 1987 not 1983.
9- Ray Floyd lost the 1990 not 1989 Masters in a playoff to Nick Faldo.
10- Gary Player’s first major championship was the 1959 British Open not the 1959 Masters.
11- Tom Watson won five British Opens(75,77,80, 82, 83) not six
12- Jack Nicklaus started the final round of 1986 Masters 4 back, not 6 back.
13- Tom Watson did not win 2 AT&T championships at Pebble Beach. The tournament was the Bing Crosby Pro-am and not sponsored by AT&T when Watson won there in 1977 and 1978.

These mistakes are pretty bad and I have since found more in the book. However what wins Miller the Knucklehead is this little gem on page 224.

"I also won the San Francisco City Championship, the biggest local amateur tournament there was."

Unfortunately history teaches us otherwise.

1956 Ken Venturi
1957 Tal Smith
1958 Bill McCool Angie Vote
1959 Bob Sylvestri Dorothy Stamps
1960 Bob Sylvestri Linda Collins
1961 Verne Callison Jane Thomas
1962 Tom Dixon Jan Ferraris
1963 George Archer Jan Ferraris
1964 Ken Towns Jan Ferraris
1965 Walt Gilliam Jan Ferraris
1966 Larry Anderson Marie Strand
1967 Bob E. Smith Linda Collins Maurer

James Joyner pointed out this 2005 article that backs what I say.

The City Championship is as diverse as San Francisco itself. Hackers hitting the ball sideways play alongside more accomplished golfers who bomb it down the middle. There are flights for all abilities, but the Championship Flight is the one that grabs the headlines. It is there that many of the great ones cut their teeth. Ken Venturi, Johnny Miller, George Archer and Bob Rosburg, to name a few, all started their competitive careers trying to win the City Championship. Even Tom Watson, while a young psychology major at Stanford took a crack at it. But only Venturi and Archer among them was successful.

So Johnny Miller is a liar and this calls anything he says either on the air or in the book into question. Why should anyone believe what Miller says? Should NBC fire Miller like Notre Dame University did when George O'Leary was found padding his resume?

Those decisions aren't up to TFM but I do make Johnny Miller today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Blue Star, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Outside the Beltway, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Everyone has their price?

From today's Palm Beach Post-

PALM BEACH GARDENS — The residents of the Bent Tree community in Palm Beach Gardens were loud and clear when the new Southampton townhouse community, just to their south, came to city council members for approval:

We want it to be two stories, not three, they said, with some pointing to developer greed as the only justification for the extra story.

But finally, an agreement was struck.

Some, but not most, of the buildings were reduced to two stories, and some changes were made to the architecture.

Another part of the deal was cash.

The Bent Tree Property Owners Association was pledged $25,000 by developer Hovstone Properties Florida, money that was later divided among 11 homeowners who were free to spend it however they liked.

Residents dropped their opposition. And the gift, made last year, wasn't publicly discussed.

Bent Tree couple Joel and Barbara Buschek, aghast at the payment that was hashed out between the developer and a few residents, recently moved out of the area, calling the city corrupt.

They were particularly disturbed by the silent acquiescence of their elected officials.

"The whole thing stunk," Joel Buschek said. "What they did was teach the homeowner's association you can operate in secret and get away with it."

Developers have routinely enhanced their projects in various ways to appease residents or elective bodies. Sometimes they add trees or bushes. Sometimes they include another patch of lawn. Sometimes, they make design changes. And sometimes, they make a payment in cash.

Bent Tree is just one example.

TFM is certain there are other examples, some of which were done under the table and have a good chance of never being discovered.

HOA boards are no different than elected politicians. If someone wanted to buy board member's votes, it can be done. Money plus power leads to corruption.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Is it Just me? ,

Fear of Muslims and Islam

Congressman elect and practicing Muslim Keith Ellison, plans to take his oath of office with his hand placed on a Quran not a bible.

Ellison is a faithful man but quiet about his religion. He said he was unaware of his potential as a groundbreaker in Congress until he was asked by a reporter after he won the party endorsement in May. But his faith has affected his politics.

Ellison will take the oath of office in Washington on the Quran. He will also, as he does every day, unroll his prayer rug five times a day, bend on his knees and face Mecca.

TFM has no issue with Ellison using a Quran. As James Joyner at OTB points out, the US constitution makes no requirement as to even a bible.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

There is also the little thing called the first ammendment and freedom of religion.

There a few people out on the internet who apparently have forgotten their constitution.

Dennis Prager writes-

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

A Palestinian woman holds the Koran during a Hamas rally against Israeli troops operation in northern Gaza strip November 3, 2006. Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinian women acting as human shields between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen during a clash at a Gaza mosque on Friday, witnesses said, before the gunmen escaped. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism -- my culture trumps America's culture. What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Devotees of multiculturalism and political correctness who do not see how damaging to the fabric of American civilization it is to allow Ellison to choose his own book need only imagine a racist elected to Congress. Would they allow him to choose Hitler's "Mein Kampf," the Nazis' bible, for his oath? And if not, why not? On what grounds will those defending Ellison's right to choose his favorite book deny that same right to a racist who is elected to public office?

I never heard of Mr. Prager before yesterday. On the other hand, Sister Toldjah who is on my blogroll, agrees with Prager.

This is how it starts. They can’t defeat us militarily, but they will most certainly try to defeat us using our own laws and customs against us.

Professor Bainbridge weighs in-

Prager's argument strikes me as fundamentally misguided. In the first place, Prager appears to be misinformed. He posits that:

... for all of American history, Jews elected to public office have taken their oath on the Bible, even though they do not believe in the New Testament ....

In fact, however, my understanding is that Jewish politicians and civil servants often take the oath of office by swearing on the Torah rather than the Christian Bible. (Anybody got any empirical evidence on way or the other?)

I looked for such evidence on the web but found none. That doesn't disprove what the Professor says.

Nevertheless this is about the constitution and US law. Mr. Ellison can take the oath in any way he wishes. Prager and ST are both terribly misguided in their views.

Sometimes I can't believe the venom out there in the mainstream conservative blogosphere. Whether its illegal aliens, liberal Democrats or Muslims, some just see this as a game they have to win. No matter how laws, people, or just common decency, get trashed in the process. Everyone is welcome to their views, but that's a two-way street that some people have apparently forgotten. Is this really hate and intolerance for anyone not in agreement with their own world view or just bad cases of xenophobia.

Shape of Days says if he was sworn in one day he would use a copy of Playboy. LOL, good choice. The Liberty Papers is also commenting.
Linked to- Adam's Blog, Cao's Blog, Right Wing Nation,

Justice for Martin Lee Anderson

From today's Sun-Sentinel-

TALLAHASSEE · Nearly 11 months after a teenage boy died following a manhandling by his overseers at a Panhandle boot camp, a beating that was caught on videotape and led to an overhaul of Florida's juvenile justice system, seven former guards and a nurse were charged Tuesday with manslaughter, a felony that carries a potential 30-year prison term.

``I'm finally getting justice for my baby,'' said Gina Jones, mother of Martin Lee Anderson, who was 14.

Prosecutors said her son died hours after guards choked, kicked and beat him when he collapsed in the exercise yard of the now-defunct Bay County sheriff's camp in Panama City on Jan. 5. He had just been sent to the camp for its regimen of military-style training and discipline after taking a joyride in his grandmother's car.

The death of the North Florida teen not only rattled the state institutions that are supposed to punish and rehabilitate minors, but led to the state-mandated closing of the Bay County facility and three similar military-style camps for children. A camp videocamera filmed the harsh treatment of Anderson, and the resulting tape, aired nationwide, put intense pressure on Gov. Jeb Bush, especially from blacks, for a thorough investigation into the black youth's death. In April, college students waged a two-day protest in Bush's office and a march on Florida's Capitol.

An initial autopsy conducted by Bay County authorities found that the youth had died of natural complications of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder common among blacks. That finding was greeted with widespread outrage and disbelief, and the special prosecutor subsequently named by Bush in the case, Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, ordered another autopsy. That examination found Anderson's death was due to suffocation caused by the camp guards.

Anderson's death is a tragedy but is a witch hunt in progress here?

Bill O has two very lengthy posts that call the conclusions of the second autopsy into question. Click here and here. Both are highly technical but worth reading. The Anderson family deserves justice but so do the seven guards and one nurse. This case is far too complicated to be tried by the media, bloggers or public opinion. We'll just have to trust that 6 or 12 Florida citizens can do what is right.

Hat tip- A Cool Change
Linked to- Bullwinkle, Bright & Early,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee. She gets the award for the following.

Muslim religious leaders removed from a Minneapolis flight last week exhibited behavior associated with a security probe by terrorists and were not merely engaged in prayers, according to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials.

Witnesses said three of the imams were praying loudly in the concourse and repeatedly shouted "Allah" when passengers were called for boarding US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix.

"I was suspicious by the way they were praying very loud," the gate agent told the Minneapolis Police Department.

Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks -- two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.

"That would alarm me," said a federal air marshal who asked to remain anonymous. "They now control all of the entry and exit routes to the plane."

A pilot from another airline said: "That behavior has been identified as a terrorist probe in the airline industry."

But the imams who were escorted off the flight in handcuffs say they were merely praying before the 6:30 p.m. flight on Nov. 20, and yesterday led a protest by prayer with other religious leaders at the airline's ticket counter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, called removing the imams an act of Islamophobia and compared it to racism against blacks.

"It's a shame that as an African-American and a Muslim I have the double whammy of having to worry about driving while black and flying while Muslim," Mr. Bray said.

The protesters also called on Congress to pass legislation to outlaw passenger profiling.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas Democrat, said the September 11 terrorist attacks "cannot be permitted to be used to justify racial profiling, harassment and discrimination of Muslim and Arab Americans."

"Understandably, the imams felt profiled, humiliated, and discriminated against by their treatment," she said.

Congresswoman Jackson-Lee is a former Knucklehead winner.

This isn't discrimination, but a case of passenger safety. The Congresswoman is too blind or full of hate to see the obvious. Either that or she feels the need to grandstand for some warped political reason. Why that's necessary when she wins re-election with over 70% of the vote at minimum is beyond me.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Is it Just me? , Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the restaurant chain, International House of Pancakes. They get the award for the following.

QUINCY, Mass. - John Russo has been a victim of identity theft. So when he was asked to fork over a photo ID just to be seated at an IHOP pancake restaurant, he flipped. "'You want my license? I'm going for pancakes, I'm not buying the Hope diamond,' and they refused to seat us," Russo said, recounting his experience this week at the Quincy IHOP.

The restaurant now has agreed to reverse the policy of requiring customers to turn over their driver's licenses before they can order — a rule that was enacted to discourage "dine and dash" thefts.

WCVB-TV in Boston reported the Quincy restaurant's policy had been enacted without corporate approval.

IHOP Corp., based in Glendale, Calif., released a statement Monday night to WCVB that said an employee felt the policy could eliminate the problem of people leaving without paying.

"This was done without the knowledge or approval of management. ... We apologize to any guest who was inconvenienced," the statement said.

Russo said a security guard at the restaurant had "at least 40" licenses in hand when he arrived to eat.

"Identity theft is rampant. I wouldn't want to give my license, with my address or Social Security number to anyone that I'm not familiar with," Russo said. "I'm going just for breakfast."

I don't blame you Mr. Russo. If I was asked to do the same by any restaurant, I'd walk out the door before sitting down. I'm 45 years old and never once heard of a business with that policy.

Even though corporate has rescinded the policy, I doubt no one was aware of what was going on in Quincy. The restaurant manager has to be reporting to someone. For treating their customers like criminals, IHOP is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Male Birth Control

From the The London Daily Mail-

British scientists have developed a revolutionary pill that men could take as a one-off contraceptive just before a date.

The tablet would prevent a man from being able to impregnate a woman, but within a few hours his fertility would return to normal.

This would make it much more acceptable to men than other 'male pills' under development, which alter hormone levels and have to be taken over the long term.

It is also more likely to be trusted by women as they are not relying on their man having to remember to take his pill every day for it to work.

The hormone-free 'male pill' was inspired by two medicines already in use and so the scientists hope it could be on the market within as little as five years.

Experts believe it could transform family planning by allowing couples to share the responsibility for contraception - a role that traditionally falls to women.

The new contraceptive is likely to appeal to women who are uneasy about the female Pill's ability to raise the risk of strokes, heart attacks and potentially-fatal blood clots.

All medication comes with some risk or side effect. I'm sure this male contraceptive would have risks for men too and The Daily Mail hack writer is either too dumb or too biased to ever report those risks.

Not that TFM opposes use of contraceptives. Its a decision a man or a woman should make without outside interference.

Hat tip- Don Surber who points out death and birth rates and that a male contraceptive is hardly something people in the UK need. Maybe so, but is the drug's intended market just for people in the British Isles or for people world-wide?

I'm not picking on Don, but his idea to shorten gestation to six months is hardly feasible or likely. Babies need as much time in utero as possible. The survival rates for premature babies has greatly increased over recent years but doesn't come without risk or harm to the child. Babies born at 28 weeks which is like 6.5-7 months have an 85% survival rate. Dear Wife and I have learned the worst way possible about the other side of those stats for babies born that early.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe

World Domination

Some news from Australia-

SYDNEY (AFP) - Western nations must prepare for a future dominated by China and India, whose rapid economic rise will soon fundamentally alter the balance of power, former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn has warned.

Wealthy countries were failing to understand the impact of the invevitable growth of the two Asian powerhouses, Wolfensohn said in the 2006 Wallace Wurth Memorial Lecture at the University of New South Wales at the weekend.

"It's a world that is going to be in the hands of these countries which we now call developing," said Australian-born Wolfensohn, who held the top job at the global development bank for a decade until last year.

Rich nations needed to try to capitalise on the inevitable emergence of what would become the engine of the world's economic activity before it was too late, he said.

"Most people in the rich countries don't really look at what's happening in these large developing countries," said Wolfensohn, who is now chairman of Citigroup International Advisory Board and his own investment and advisory firm.

Within 25 years, the combined gross domestic products of China and India would exceed those of the Group of Seven wealthy nations, he said.

"This is not a trivial advance, this is a monumental advance."

Wolfensohn said that somewhere between 2030 and 2040, China would become the largest economy in the world, leaving the United States behind.

I agree with Wolfensohn in that China and India have the potential to be the most dominant world powers in another 30-50 years. Both countries , but China's in particular, are already making great strides as far as GDP growth.

There are however several potential problems that could cause Wolfensohn and others(Read Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's excellent book 'Thunder in the East') predictions to be off the mark. They include-

1- Rising Nationalism in Asia. Here is one example that I blogged about some months back. While this conflict is all rather silly and unlikely to start a war, there are potential danger spots like the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, or The China-Japan dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Most strategic experts would rate a Pakistan-India dispute as the one with the greatest potential to go nuclear. Such a conflict would be catastrophic but the potential for one can also be possible brake on economic growth in India. What investor wants to risk money in a part of the world with that level of danger?

2- Pollution. China's industrialization has come with few safeguards for the surrounding enviorment. Anyone who has travelled to this part of the world(And TFM has)knows just how polluted some parts of Asia are. Pollution of the air and water is a health hazard that could also dampen the region's potential growth.

3- Political stability. China is Communist in name only as the country practices more capitalism with every passing day. With growing economic freedom, the people of China are likely to want more political freedom also. The rulers in Beijing fear democracy and are likely to crack down on any threats to their power. All of this creates a high potential for instability and a potential damper on the country's growth.

India calls itself the world's largest democracy, but is reality a one-party state. One that has seen political assassination far too often.

Other factors that could hold back China or India include illiteracy, inefficient use of women in the economy, and health issues not related to pollution(AIDS is on the rise in this part of the world). China and India have great potential but many obstacles to overcome also before they become the world's dominant economic powers.

Linked to- Third World County, Right Wing Nation,

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are The Port of Palm Beach and its director Lori Baer. They get the award for the following.

The Port of Palm Beach is billing taxpayers for up to $150,000 in repairs to a 4-year-old cruise terminal rather than pursue claims against the builder or architect, even though the building has leaked in rainstorms since it was new.

The port, attributing damage to hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in September 2004 and Wilma in October 2005, has received $58,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency repair funds and plans to apply for more.

But port staff and a cruise company tenant say the $27 million, ship-shaped terminal and six-story tower leaked before the hurricanes. They say the glass-skinned structure still leaks during storms as mild as Ernesto in August, when gusts got no higher than 49 mph.

But in its applications for FEMA repair money, the port did not tell the agency that the building had previous leaks. Lori Baer, port director since August 2004, signed the hurricane repair applications and said she was unaware of previous leaks. She blamed the recurring problems on harsh weather.

"All the damage that resulted was from Hurricane Frances" and the storms that followed, Baer said. "We were pounded for 20 hours and during much of that storm, I was at the port. It's difficult to put it on anything other than hurricane damage.

"If you think about doing a legal campaign with companies like that and an issue like this, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars and probably years and it's not something I would recommend."

The port needed FEMA assistance because insurance deductibles were too high, Baer said.

The building was designed by Zeidler Roberts Partnership, based in Canada, and built by Catalfumo Construction of Palm Beach Gardens. Officials of both companies did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

A FEMA spokesman said applicants must disclose preexisting conditions. If FEMA finds a funding request invalid, the agency could demand its money back. No grants are final until a final inspection is completed, said Josh Wilson, a spokesman in the FEMA Florida Long Term Recovery Office.

Within a year after the signature building opened in 2002, leaks came through the roof or side panels and from operable windows, installed to meet Florida Building Code requirements to vent smoke, according to Carl Baker, a longtime port administrator and now a special assistant to Baer.

Catalfumo crews tracked down and repaired the roof leaks. The patches held until Hurricane Frances, then ceiling tiles started appearing water-stained again, Baker said.

As for the windows, they had been installed as a cost-saving alternative to venting smoke through air-conditioning ducts. The hurricane-resistant window panes on the building were too strong to break in event of fire.

"A fire ax pretty much bounces off," Baker said.

So the building needed a series of operable windows. But because of the persistent leaks, the windows were sealed and no longer open. What happens if firefighters can't break the glass? "Hit it harder," he said.

The building, which houses port administrative offices, U.S. Customs, immigration and the Palm Beach Casino Line, which operates the Palm Beach Princess casino cruises, was built to generate cruise line business. But those ships haven't come in, and the office rental fees and wharfage fees barely cover the building's construction debt and operating costs.

I suggest that you read the entire Palm Beach Post article.

The Port is one big white elephant and now we learn its grossly mismanaged to boot. It don't surprise me one bit. Anyone familiar with PB County politics also knows why the Port doesn't get Cataflumo to fix the roof. The family owned company is one of the biggest contributors to local politicians. No one wants to upset that gravy train, instead taxpayers get billed for the company's shoddy work.

Such is life in Florida. The Port of Palm Beach and its director Lori Baer are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Third World County,

First steps to fight smoking

Some news from Germany. I guess Karl wanted a smoke free enviorment.

Hat tip- Blue Star
Linked to- Jo's Cafe, Pirate's Cove, Point Five, Random Yak,

A young mum was stranded on her balcony after her eight-month old baby took his first steps - and locked her out.

Christina Meier, 19, spent two hours on her balcony in Augsburg, Bavaria, before her calls for help were answered and firemen arrived to rescue her.

Meier told local media: "My son Karl is not yet a year old and could not walk so I thought it was safe to pop outside for a quick cigarette. Suddenly I heard these footsteps and I saw him walking towards me through the glass.

"I was so proud I didn't even think about the self-locking door. And then he just shut it."

Black Friday or Red Friday?

From AP-

NEW YORK - The nation's retailers had a strong start to the holiday shopping season, according to results announced Saturday by a national research group that tracks sales at mall-based stores. One big exception was Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which said it expects to report same-store sales in November below its already lackluster forecast.

According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 45,000 mall-based retail outlets, total sales rose 6 percent to $8.96 billion on Friday, the start of the holiday shopping season, compared to the same day a year ago.

"Although we anticipated a solid consumer turnout for Black Friday, this data shows an even larger increase than expected as consumers proved they were willing to spend," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, in a statement.

Wal-Mart, however, estimated it will post a 0.1 percent decline in same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, in November. That's slightly below its original projections for flat sales for the month, compared to the year-ago period. The results cover the four-week period that ended through Friday. Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

J.C. Penney Co. said in a separate statement released Saturday that the holiday shopping season was "off to a good start."

"We have seen brisk traffic in our stores, and our 'redbox gifts' selection is being well-received by customers," Penney said, referring to its holiday must-have items. It said that home entertainment, fashion jewelry, children's apparel, housewares, holiday decorations and women's shoes were among the most popular items Friday.

Wal-Mart and other major retailers are expected to report final same-store results for November on Thursday.

From personal observation, I have to wonder how strong retail sales were this weekend.

Dear Wife did most of the shopping this weekend, but I ventured out twice with her. Both trips were to a Sears store in Boynton Beach.(The same one I gave a Knucklehead award to). In spite of holiday promotions, including a 10% off the entire store sale, the store was no busier than normal. Other than during her Friday morning shopping, Dear Wife said the mall and shopping areas were hardly busier than normal.

It will be interesting to see if our observations match the retail sales figures for November.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Woman honor Thyself, Pursuing Holiness,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is PETA, the animal rights organization. They get the award for the following.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The pastor at Anchorage First Free Methodist Church was mystified. Why was the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals chastising him? No animals are harmed in the church's holiday nativity display. In fact, animals aren't used at all.

People, however, do dress the parts — Mary, Joseph, the wise men, etc. The volunteers stand shivering at a manger on the church lawn in a silent tribute to Christmas.

The Rev. Jason Armstrong was confused by an e-mail this week from PETA, which admonished him for subjecting animals "to cruel treatment and danger," by forcing them into roles in the church's annual manger scene.

"We've never had live animals, so I just figured this was some spam thing," Armstrong said. "It's rough enough on us people standing out there in the cold. So we're definitely not using animals."

Jackie Vergerio, PETA's captive animals in entertainment specialist, said her organization tracks churches nationwide that use real animals in "living nativity scenes."

Seems the confusion started with the church's choice of phrase. PETA flagged Free Methodist's display as a "living nativity," and indeed, that's how the church describes it on its Web site.

To PETA, that means animals.

"Those animals are subject to all sorts of terrible fates in some cases," Vergerio said. "Animals have been stolen and slaughtered, they've been raped, they've escaped from the nativity scenes and have been struck by cars and killed. Just really unfathomable things have happened to them."

In the letter to Armstrong, Vergerio shared some sad fates of previous nativity animals — like Brighty the donkey, snatched from a nativity scene in Virginia and beaten by three young men. Ernie the camel fled a creche in Maryland but was struck and killed by a car. Two sheep and a donkey had to be euthanized after a dog mauling at a manger scene in Virginia.

Free Methodist's display is peaceful, Armstrong said. The congregation erects the stable. Members spread straw and don costumes. Some even dress as manger animals.

PETA's actions speak for themselves. Everyone is guilty by association, but how about this story from a year ago? PETA apparently needs to clean up their own house but first I make them today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Is it Just me?, Jo's Cafe, Pirate's Cove, Point Five, Random Yak, Right Wing Nation, Samantha Burns, Third World County, Uncooperative Blogger,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twenty-Four

Our twenty-fourth and last Knucklehead is Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz. They get the award for the following.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Thursday blasted business tycoon Arkady Gaydamak for financing a free weekend in Eilat for 800 residents of the rocket-battered western Negev town of Sderot.

"The state of Israel does not allow rich men and philanthropists to gain control from the distress of citizens," said Peretz. "This phenomenon cannot continue. We will prepare an organized and established plan to alleviate these residents so they will not need to knock on the doors of philanthropists."

Peretz ordered the defense establishment and the Sderot municipality on Thursday to evacuate hundreds of children from the city and other towns in the Gaza envelope for a few days' respite in Givat Olga on behalf of the Association for the Welfare of Israeli Soldiers.

*****

Known for his generous donations - particularly after paying for temporary accommodation for northerners who fled their homes during the war in Lebanon - the Russian-born billionaire announced earlier on Thursday he would charter some 17 buses and rent some 1,600 rooms in the southern resort city of Eilat for the benefit of Sderot residents.

Something is seriously wrong in a country's politics if being charitable gets you blasted by a public official. Peretz's behavior probably has something to do with his being the former head of Israel's Socialist party. He apparently despises the money Gaydamak has even if its being used to help people.(Just give it to the government instead for it always know how to waste spend money in the best way for the people they rule over) For that, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz is our twenty-fourth and last Knucklehead of the day. I hope you enjoyed this little festival.

Hat tip- David Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twenty-Three

Our 23rd winner is former Miami Dolphin Jamie Nails. He gets the award for the following.

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jamie Nails was arrested Wednesday after Fort Lauderdale police said he had a rental vehicle that was three months overdue.

Nails, 31, rented a 2005 Chrysler 300 Touring from Quality Car Rental in Fort Lauderdale on June 6 and was supposed to return it Aug. 15, police said.

Quality Car Rental told police Nails did not contact them about delaying the return. Fort Lauderdale police found Nails at a Lauderhill home in the 5400 block of Northwest 64th Terrace about 3:30 p.m. and took him to the Broward County jail, charging him with failure to return a hired vehicle, a felony.

Nails was drafted into the NFL by the Buffalo Bills in 1997 and joined the Dolphins in 2002 but stopped playing in 2003.

Just brilliant! Mr. Nails must be either very dumb or very absent-minded. It don't matter, Jamie Nails step forward you are today's 23rd Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twenty-Two

Our Twenty Second winner is Melvin Leach. He gets the award for the following.

RIVIERA BEACH - A 35-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped and assaulted his neighbor was arrested Wednesday night after the victim called police from the trunk of her car, police said.

Melvin Leach, 35, broke into the woman's apartment, sexually assaulted and beat her, then forced her into the trunk of her car. He then drove to another location, where she quietly called police from the trunk and directed them to find her.

Leach confessed to the crime and indicated he may have attacked other women, police said.

First rule in kidnapping- Make sure the victim doesn't have their cell phone. Melvin Leach will time in jail to contemplate that mistake plus being today's twenty second Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twenty-One

Our Twenty first winner is Riccardo Paulin. Mr. Paulin was fined 10,000 Singapore dollars for uttering a four letter word on a plane. The word was bomb.

How very dumb and that makes Riccardo Paulin our twenty first Knucklehead of the day.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A 65-year-old Australian man was fined S$10,000 ($6,423) by a Singapore court for uttering the word "bomb" on a flight to Indonesia, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday.

Riccardo Paulin, a retiree, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to having asked a flight attendant "Where do you keep the bomb?" on a flight operated by Singapore regional carrier SilkAir to the Indonesian city of Surabaya, the newspaper said.

The newspaper said he made the remark after trying to find space in the overhead lockers.

Paulin was charged under the United Nations anti-terrorism regulations, which carry a maximum fine of S$100,000 or up to five years in jail or both.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twenty

Today's twentieth winner is UK Children's Minister Beverly Hughes. She gets the award for the following.

Parents could be forced to go to special classes to learn to sing their children nursery rhymes, a minister said.

Those who fail to read stories or sing to their youngsters threaten their children's future and the state must put them right, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said.

Their children's well-being is at risk 'unless we act', she declared.

And Mrs Hughes said the state would train a new 'parenting workforce' to ensure parents who fail to do their duty with nursery rhymes are found and 'supported'.

The call for state intervention in the minute details of family life followed a series of Labour efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour and improve educational standards by imposing rigorous controls on the lives of the youngest children.

This is just a classic example of the nanny state run amok. Will parents be jailed for off key singing or not attending? This is just so laughable, and why Children's Minister Beverly Hughes is our twentieth Knucklehead of the Day.

Hat tip- Right Wing Nation

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Nineteen

Our nineteenth winner is actor/comedian Michael Richards. He gets the award for the following.

Richards, who played the wacky Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," appeared onstage at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Kyle Doss, an African-American, told TMZ he and some friends were in the cheap seats and he was playfully heckling Richards when suddenly, the comedian lost it.

The camera started rolling just as Richards began his attack, screaming at one of the men, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass."

Richards continued, "You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherf**ker. Throw his ass out. He's a nigger! He's a nigger! He's a nigger! A nigger, look, there's a nigger!"

The crowd is visibly and audibly confused and upset. Richards responds by saying, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger."

One of the men who was the object of Richard's tirade was outraged, shouting back "That's un-f***ing called for, ain't necessary."

After the three-minute tirade, it appears the majority of the audience members got up and left in disgust.

The video is at the link. It's pretty disgusting and makes Michael Richards our nineteenth knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Eighteen

For the second time today, We travel to The Philippines for an award. Our Eighteenth winner is Erlinda Vergara of Bacolod City Philippines. She gets the award for the following.

A Hollywood thriller almost became a reality when a 41-year-old woman bound for Bangkok was arrested after more than 100 snakes and other deadly reptiles were found in her luggage by Customs and airport security personnel at the Manila airport.

Erlinda Vergara of Bacolod City was arrested at a baggage check-in counter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Centennial Terminal at around 10 a.m. Tuesday. She was booked on Philippine Airlines flight PR 730.

Air travel marred by vicious reptiles is a new type of nightmare popularized recently by the movie "Snakes on a Plane’’ starring Samuel Jackson.

Customs examiner Cairoden Mangaron said he noticed something suspicious and seemingly moving inside Vergara’s big suitcase when it passed through a baggage x-ray machine.

When he opened the bag, Mangaron found 52 plastic bottles containing different kinds of snakes and reptiles. Some of the creatures were dead.

A partial inventory by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Wildlife Trafficking Monitoring Unit agents at the NAIA Terminal II showed the creatures consisted of 50 monitor lizards, 39 cobras, two iguanas, 16 big vipers, and eight small vipers.

Theodore Agir of the NAIA-DENR-WTMU said the inventory was incomplete because some of the seized creatures were venomous and required expert handling.

Vergara later told police the suitcase was only entrusted to her by a friend from Bacolod City, whom she declined to name.

Sure Ms. Vergara. If I was facing time for something a 'friend' did to me without my knowledge, I wouldn't be protecting them. You Erlinda Vergara are both a liar and today's eighteenth Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Seventeen

Our seventeenth winner is Steve Osborn. He gets the award for the following.

LaPORTE, Ind. - A Libertarian candidate who lost to U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar by more than 1 million votes in the Nov. 7 election has asked for a recount in 10 precincts.

Steve Osborn, who lives in LaPorte County's Scipio Township, filed a petition Tuesday with the Indiana Recount Commission seeking the recounts in precincts in Howard, LaPorte, Porter and St. Joseph counties.

Osborn, who ran for Congress twice before, received 168,773 votes — about 13 percent of the vote — compared with 1,171,256 for Lugar, who won his sixth term in the Senate. Lugar is so popular that Indiana Democrats did not field a candidate this year to challenge him.

Osborn had little to say Tuesday about why he's seeking the recount in the 10 precincts.

"I'll have more comments after the counts are done," he told The Times of Munster.

In his petition, Osborn included the $100 bond the state requires to recount 10 precincts, along with an extra $30 for postage costs. Additional recount costs would fall to taxpayers, and the state spent roughly $100,000 to retally a congressional race two years ago.

The Indiana Recount Commission must agree to certify Osborn's petition.

Kristi Robertson, the Democratic co-director of the Indiana Election Commission, said the recount commission will proceed with Osborn's request unless an attorney for Lugar's office files a counterpetition seeking to block it.

Lugar's campaign office had no comment on the recount.

In filing his petition, Osborn made no mention of why he is seeking it, she said.

I'll give a reason for Osborn's petition- He's nuts. Fortunately the State of Indiana will be saved from having this embarrassment for US Senator, but Steve Osborn won't go away empty handed. He is our seventeenth Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Sixteen

Our sixteenth winner is The Atlanta Georgia Police Department. They get the award for the following.

ATLANTA — A civil rights activist representing the family of an elderly woman killed in a gunfight with police is calling for a federal investigation into her death.

The Rev. Markel Hutchins will go to Washington on Monday to deliver a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting that the Department of Justice and FBI review the shootout, Hutchins said in a news release Thursday.

Kathryn Johnston, who police said was 92, was killed Tuesday evening by narcotics agents. Authorities said the agents got a search warrant for her home after buying drugs from a man there that afternoon. Police said the plainclothes agents identified themselves, but when they knocked down Johnston's door, she opened fire and injured three of the officers.

All are expected to recover.

"This horrific incident has all the signs of an egregious violation of Ms. Johnston's civil and human rights at worst and police officers using poor judgment and unnecessary force at best," Hutchins said.

Johnston's neighbors and relatives have called the raid a case of mistaken identity. Her niece said there were no drugs in the home.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said his office has launched its own investigation, but said a preliminary review of the case shows the officers had a legal right to search the home.

Legal right or not, the raid went badly wrong. 3 officers shot and an elderly woman dead. This shouldn't have happened and most likely could have been avoided. Something also tells me we'll find out the police raided the wrong place or shot the wrong person? How many 92-year-olds can shoot a gun accurately alone hit three people?

The Police Department of Atlanta Georgia is our sixteenth Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Fifteen

Our fifteenth winner is Florida Department of Corrections Secretary James McDonough. He gets the award for the following.

One minute, state Sen. Gary Siplin was in jail Wednesday night, held without bail on a probation violation. The next, the charges were withdrawn against the Orlando legislator, and he was a free man.

"We'll talk about it at the proper time," Siplin said as he left the Orange County Jail about 9:10?p.m. "Thank you, Jesus. Praise the Lord. And glory be to God. My two kids in Palm Beach County are waiting on me for Thanksgiving."

The bottom line: He thought he was allowed to go to Tallahassee on official business. His probation officer said he didn't get permission first.

The bizarre series of events outraged some leaders of Orlando's black community. It all began at 4:45 p.m. when the Democratic senator was taken into custody for traveling to Tallahassee on official business this week without his probation officer's approval. It culminated about 4-1/2 hours later when he emerged from custody after Chief Judge Belvin Perry traveled to the jail and ordered his release.

In an extraordinary twist, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary James McDonough asked Orange Circuit Judge Julie O'Kane to withdraw an arrest warrant, which he said was filed in error.

The move to release Siplin stunned O'Kane, who had issued the arrest warrant after a probation officer wrote that Siplin violated two supervision guidelines: leaving the county without permission to go to Tallahassee and failing to comply with probation instructions by giving advance notice and details of travel.

"The Department of Corrections asked that the warrant be dismissed," said Perry, who added that he spoke to O'Kane and McDonough on Wednesday night. "They said it was made in error."

Perry said he was told by McDonough that there was a misinterpretation of the probation-travel rules by two employees of the law firm representing Siplin and that a travel request may have been in the works.

Perry said Siplin's release was not a political deal and that he went to the jail because O'Kane was unavailable, he lives closer and was better-known to jail officials than O'Kane.

Why would anyone NOT believe politics was involved in Siplin's release? It's either that or favoritism. Siplin broke the rules of his probation. If you or I did the same our ass would be in jail still. The judge was even stunned by the request.

Just one more example of the broken and corrupt legal system here in Florida. Florida Department of Corrections Secretary James McDonough is today's fifteenth Knucklehead of the day.

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Fourteen

Our fourteenth winners are Kelly Ripa and Rosie O'Donnell. They get the award for the following.

Kelly Ripa’s dispute with Clay Aiken’s behavior spilled over to The View when Rosie O’Donnell said Ripa’s reaction to Aiken was "homophobic." Ripa said she thought Aiken was disrespectful when, during an interview with Emmitt Smith and his partner from Dancing With the Stars, he put his hand over Ripa’s mouth. Ripa said she "didn’t know where that hand’s been." "That’s a homophobic remark," O’Donnell said during Tuesday’s show. Within minutes, Ripa was on the phone to the show defending herself. She said her comment had nothing to do with Aiken’s sexuality but was a reflection of this being cold and flu season. "It wasn’t anything homophobic," Ripa said. "Rosie, you know how I feel. You have to be more responsible. Not everything is homophobic."

This entire controversy(If it isn't staged for ratings. Remember this is sweeps month) is so stupid. A television cat fight between two women with mostly air between their ears. You can have them but TFM first makes Kelly Ripa and Rosie O'Donnell our fourteenth Knucklehead winners of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Jo's Cafe,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Thirteen

Our thirteenth winner is Reuters news service. I really have a bone to pick with Reuters. Here is the latest example of why.

PARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters Life!) - What's a television without its remote control? Not much, decided a thief in southwestern France who returned to the home from which he had just stolen a TV to pick up the remote control -- and was arrested.

The man robbed a retiree's house in the village of Mussidan, taking the TV set and some hunting rifles, police said. While the owner was reporting the theft at the local police station, the thief returned.

Alert neighbors tipped off the police and they caught the man red-handed.

"He came back to take the remote control," a local police spokesman said. "I guess there's daring and there's stupid."

Do you notice what is missing? The name of the thief. This would be perfect knucklehead material except that Reuters removed the person's name.

Reuters does this all the time. Here is another example.

LONDON — A 22-year-old man suffered internal injuries after lighting a firework he had inserted into his buttocks, paramedics said Thursday. The incident took place Sunday, when Britain celebrated Bonfire Night, traditionally marked with fireworks to celebrate the Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot to blow up Parliament in the 17th century.

Reports differed as to whether the man used a small firecracker or a more powerful rocket.

Either way, he suffered burns and other unspecified internal injuries in the incident in Sunderland, 275 miles north of London.

Katherine Shenton, a spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service, said a caller reported the victim was bleeding after the device exploded in his rectum.

Several of the man's friends recorded the incident on a mobile phone. The blurry images show a man bent over with his pants down and a white flash as the firecracker explodes.

Hysterical laughter follows, with someone shouting: "Ha ha ha ha" and then an expletive.

The Times newspaper reported the man was a soldier who recently returned from Iraq. He was thought to have been imitating a scene from Jackass: The Movie, a controversial film featuring a series of edgy pranks.

He is now recovering in a Sunderland hospital after sustaining internal injuries, including a scorched colon.

Some of you may remember it as this Knucklehead of the Day award. Thanks to the Times of London I was able to name this man.

There are other examples of Reuters taking names out of stories. This story out of Italy for one, or more seriously the London bomber story. Why does Reuters do this? I don't know if I'll get find out, but Reuters News Service is our thirteenth Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Third World County, Jo's Cafe,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Twelve

Our twelveth winner is Caribbean Pool Service and Repair. They get the award for the following.

A Riviera Beach pool-cleaning company is being accused of dirty dealing after it allegedly tried to bill customers more than $200,000 in illegal ''special cleanup'' charges in the wake of hurricanes Francis and Jeanne in 2004.

In a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's Office last week, Pool Companies, which does business as Caribbean Pool Service and Repair, is accused of charging some 1,700 South Florida customers an additional $45 to $250 on top of their regular maintenance fee.

Those who balked at the special hurricane fee were threatened with a lien on their property. The lawsuit claims Caribbean Pool eventually squeezed more than $170,000 out of its clients.

Calls to Caribbean Pool owner John Hynes, who is also named in the lawsuit, were not returned.

The Attorney General's Office said Caribbean Pools eventually filed 31 mechanics' liens against customers during that period, but the office could not confirm if all the liens were tied to the alleged scam.

Mechanics' liens are most commonly used when property repairs or improvements go unpaid. In this case, the state argues pool maintenance and cleaning chemicals do not constitute ''improvements'' and that the liens were illegal and abusive.

The state is asking for civil penalties of $10,000 per violation or $15,000 if the victim was disabled or a senior citizen.

The Attorney General began investigating the company in January 2005 after receiving complaints, including some from homeowners who said they had scrubbed their own pools after the storm but were charged anyway.

If this company loses the lawsuit, they should have to not just re-imburse their customers but put out of business also. Before any of that happens I make Caribbean Pool Service and Repair the twelveth Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Bright & Early,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Eleven

Our eleventh winner is The Orlando Expressway Authority. They get the award for the following.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is moving ahead with plans a toll increase -- the first in 15 years.

The board approved setting up three public meetings next month to explain the need for an increase and to get feedback on the best way institute a new toll. It might be 25-cent increase for all users, for cash customers or during certain peak times.

All five members of the agency's board supported the idea that expressway may have to raise tolls by as much as a quarter to continue to meet the transportation demands of the growing region. Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, however, raised several issues about the need to "restore the public's trust" for the toll agency that has been hit with controversy before charging commuters more money.

Crotty said that a toll increase may be justifiable, but commuters must first understand the need and also trust the authority to use money properly.

Crotty previously expressed concern that the agency's Chairman Allan Keen approved a financial arrangement with political agitator and toll opponent Doug Guetzloe without the board's approval. The arrangement resulted in payments of $107,500 for a two- page report on why people dislike tolls.

Earlier this week, Guetzloe was convicted of a misdemeanor election violation and sentenced to 60 days in jail, three months of probation and $7,500 in fines.

The Expressway Authority has a serious credibility problem at present. and has recently undergone an audit. It would only be appropriate if it waited for the audit result but no this is Florida where the government usually puts the cart in front of the horse.

Orlando Sentinel Columnist Mike Thomas compares the toll increase to Enron making another stock offering. LOL but I wouldn't go that far. I will however make The Orlando Expressway Authority today's eleventh Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Bright & Early,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Ten

Our tenth winner is Philippine Congresswoman Faysah RPM Dumarpa. She gets the award for the following.

A Muslim congresswoman from Mindanao flared up when she was reportedly served a pork dish at the Shangri-la Restaurant during a dinner break Monday night at the House of Representatives in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.

Investigators from Station 6 of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said the supposed slapping incident was triggered when a waiter served a pork dish to Rep. Faysah RPM Dumarpa of the First District of Lanao del Sur.

Complainant Virginia Fernando-Altamirano, 36, married, and a caterer of Shangri-la Restaurant at the corner of Times Street and West Avenue, Barangay West Triangle, Diliman, Quezon City said the incident happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Monday at the South Lounge of the House of Representatives.

Altamirano said Congresswoman Dumarpa confronted her when the waiter served her pork. Upon realizing that the lawmaker is a Muslim, Altamirano quickly apologized to her.

Dumarpa, however, allegedly disregarded Altamirano’s gesture and reportedly slapped and berated the caterer in the presence of her colleagues.

Dumarpa’s fellow lawmakers intervened and asked Altamirano to leave.

At a press conference later yesterday afternoon, Dumarpa gave her side, saying she felt "betrayed and insulted" when Altamirano denied there was pork in the noodles served House lawmakers.

Congresswoman that doesn't mean you can slap someone around. You're insulted fine, but your behavior was uncalled for and for that you Faysah RPM Dumarpa are today's tenth Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Pirate's Cove,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Nine

Our ninth winner is the University of Alabama. They get the award for the following.

In the solemn cathedral of college football devotion and instruction that is the Paul W. Bryant Museum here, a large painting dominates the main chamber. It is called ''The Sack,'' and it shows an encounter between a Notre Dame quarterback and a human locomotive in crimson and white.

''I've never been hit like that before,'' the quarterback, Steve Beuerlein, said after his near-lethal sack by Cornelius Bennett in 1986, in the University of Alabama's first victory ever over his team.

Daniel A. Moore, who painted ''The Sack'' and scores of other renditions of signal moments in Alabama football history, said he felt something similar last year, when his fax machine began to spit out a lawsuit from the university.

Mr. Moore's paintings, reproduced in prints and on merchandise, violated the university's trademark rights, the suit said. It asked a federal judge to forbid him to, among other things, use the university's ''famous crimson and white color scheme.''

Athletes, sports leagues and universities around the nation have become increasingly aggressive in protecting what they say is their intellectual property, and their claims have met with a mixed response from judges and fans. But almost no one here thinks the suit against Mr. Moore is a good idea.

''This lawsuit is the equivalent of the Catholic Church suing Michelangelo for painting the Sistine Chapel,'' said Keith Dunnavant, an Alabama alumnus and the author of ''Coach: The Life of Paul 'Bear' Bryant.''

A university spokeswoman, Cathy Andreen, declined repeated requests for interviews with university officials and lawyers, on what she said was the advice of counsel.

James Glen Stovall, who taught journalism at the university for 25 years, said only one sort of person would support the suit.

''I can see why, if you're sitting in a roomful of lawyers, you might come to that conclusion,'' Mr. Stovall said. ''But no one outside of that room would say: 'Hey, that's a good idea. Let's sue Daniel Moore.' ''

What an idiotic lawsuit. Mr. Moore is honoring the school's football tradition but some fools see dollar signs. The University of Alabama is our ninth Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Pirate's Cove,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Eight

Our eigth winner is James Michael Jackson, a police officer with the New Jersey state Department of Human Services. He gets the award for the following.

MANCHESTER, N.J. - A police officer who claimed he was conducting his own prostitution sting and strip search ended up being the one arrested. Authorities arrested James Michael Jackson, a police officer with the state Department of Human Services, and charged him with sexual assault and sexual misconduct for the so-called sting.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to authorities, Jackson, 34, of Toms River, arranged through a service for a woman to meet him Wednesday at a local hotel in Manchester.

When she arrived, Jackson, carrying a badge and gun, told her she was under arrest. He made her take off her clothes and consent to a body cavity search before letting her go, said Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Martin Anton.

The prosecutor said Jackson overstepped his bounds as a law enforcement official when he placed the female prostitute under arrest and performed a strip search.

As a police officer, Jackson had authority to make arrests, but not through an undercover operation of his own, Anton said.

"And a male to strip-search a female is just not done," he added.

The woman reported the incident to authorities the next day, after she talked to law enforcement officers she knew who said Jackson's behavior was illegal.

Jackson had been a police officer with Human Services for about six years.

I don't work in law enforcement but know that a male doing a strip search of a woman just isn't done. James Michael Jackson should lose his job for what he did, but first he is today's 8th Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Right Wing Nation,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Seven

Our Seventh winner is the PGA Tour's Sony Open. They get the award for the following.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Michelle Wie appetite for playing in men's tournament shows no sign of abating and she will kick off 2007 by competing in the PGA tour's Sony Open on her home island of Oahu.

Sony, one of the 17-year-old's key sponsors, granted Wie an exemption to play in the early-season event for the fourth straight year.

Wie will round off her 2006 campaign by playing in the Casio World Open in Japan against a field mostly comprised of home based male professionals.

She has failed to make the cut in six events of the PGA tour but did survive the halfway cull at an Asian tour event in Korea earlier this year.

CNN fails to note that Michelle has finished dead last in her last two men's events and would have made it three if not for her collapse at the John Deere Classic last summer.

The Michelle Wie playing with the men story has become a farce instead. It needs to be stopped, not just for pro golf's sake but Michelle's also. Her golf game is starting to show cracks. The Sony Open is only inviting Michelle because of her drawing people to the tournament. This is becoming exploitation, there is no other justification for what this tournament is doing. The PGA Tour's Sony Open is our seventh Knucklehead of the Day.

Update- Michelle shot 81-80 in the Casion World Open yesterday and today to miss the cut. Enough is enough already.

Linked to- Third World County, Right Wing Nation,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Six

Our sixth winner is The United Church of Canada. They get the award for the following.

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The United Church of Canada, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has added another ``immoral'' act to a list including the Iraq war and gambling: drinking bottled water.

Prompted by an 18-year-old student from rural Ontario, the church urged its 3 million members in August to drink tap water instead. The church says water is ``God's sacred gift'' and should be available to all people and not exploited for profit.

The boycott has pitted the activist church -- representing about 10 percent of Canada's 32 million people --- against beverage giants such as Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. The bottled-water industry had $10 billion in North American sales last year, including about C$653 million ($572 million) in Canada.

``There is this insidious, creeping sense promoted by people who have a vested interest that it's better if you buy your water,'' says Richard Chambers, an executive minister in the church, based in Toronto.

``If a family has 50 dollars to spend on groceries, there is now a sense they should be spending eight or 10 dollars of that on a couple of cases of bottled water.''

Mr. Chambers you're not preaching religion but economics instead. If wasting money is a sin, we'd all be going to hell yourself included. So save the hypocrisy, but first I make The United Church of Canada the sixth Knucklehead winner of the Day.

Hat tip- Right Wing Nation
Linked to- Third World County,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Five

Our fifth winner is Lesley Harris. He gets the award for the following.

A 38-year-old Lake Worth man was arrested Sunday and charged with possession of child pornography and capital sexual battery on a child after a video of himself molesting an 8-year-old girl was found on his cell phone.

Lesley Harris, of the 3200 block of Kirk Road, called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to report his cell phone lost on Wednesday, but earlier in the day someone had already turned in the phone to sheriff's deputies who recovered a short film clip that showed a white male's hand wearing a distinctive ring on his pinkie finger sexually molesting a girl.

The phone also contained a photo of the girl lifting her shirt up. Harris was arrested at his house after admitting the phone was his.

Following the arrest he also acknowledged that he was the man in the video and that he molested the girl in the bathroom of her home while her parents were home but believed he "didn't cross any sexual boundaries."

What stands out more, this man's crime or his stupidity in reporting the phone as lost? Don't matter, Lesley Harris is our fifth Knucklehead winner of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Bright & Early,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Four

We have a rarity- Linked knucklehead awards.

Today's fourth winner is Associated Press. They get the award for the following.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A small black object that was found attached to the bottom of a woman's Jeep and prompted an evacuation of a three-square block area on Friday wasn't a bomb after all. It was a tracking device planted by the woman's husband.

A temporary shelter was set up at the Queen of Peace Church to house the 45 people who had been evacuated, while authorities investigated for more than two hours.

After learning the woman and her husband were going through a divorce, detectives learned that the woman's husband had hired a private investigator. He admitted attaching the tracking device to the woman's Jeep, Maynard said.

Bomb technicians used a robot to confirm the box was indeed a Global Positioning System device, Alachua County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Stephen Maynard said.

The names of the woman and her husband were not released.

Apparently the AP reporter doesn't read the local newspaper. This is the same story as the one I used for today's third Knucklehead. What the heck was this nameless AP reporter doing when he filed the above story? Not his job apparently.

For absent-minded and careless journalism, Associated Press is today's fourth Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Cao's Blog,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Three

Our third winners are Maher Fanous and Bob Goldberg, a private investigator. They get the award for the following.

About 45 people in 30 homes in southwest Gainesville were evacuated late Thursday night after a woman found a device that looked like a bomb attached to her SUV.

The woman told deputies she had been going through a "messy divorce."

The device turned out to be a Global Positioning System unit that her husband hired a private detective to attach to her SUV.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office received a call at about 9 p.m. about the suspicious device from Dousa Fanous, 35, of 10412 SW 23rd Ave., in the Cambridge Forest subdivision, said spokesman Sgt. Steve Maynard.

Fanous said she first noticed the device when she was picking up her children, ages 7 and 11, from The Family Visitation Center at NW 13th Street and NW 39th Avenue, Maynard said. Fanous handled the device, put it back on her SUV, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, drove home with her children, and then called her attorney, who told her to call police, Maynard said.

The Sheriff's Office dispatched its bomb squad to the scene and evacuated about 30 homes within a three-block radius of Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 10900 SW 24th Ave., Maynard said.

The woman told deputies she was going through a "messy divorce," so deputies talked to her husband, Maher Fanous, 47. He told deputies to call Bob Goldberg of Palm Beach County, a private investigator he had hired, Maynard said. Goldberg told deputies he attached a GPS device to car, co-owned by couple, to track her whereabouts, Maynard said.

Deputies let residents return home at about 11:45 p.m.

"Aside from this being a major expenditure for the taxpayers, it was a huge inconvenience to the 45 residents who had to be evacuated from their homes on a chilly night," Maynard said.

I certainly wouldn't like it if I had been one of those evacuated. TFM does hope the Alachua Sheriff's department, if not the temporarily displaced residents also, go after Fanous and Goldberg for costs for what they did. Before that ever happens, I make Maher Fanous and Bob Goldberg our third Knucklehead winners of the day.

Linked to- Third World County, Blue Star,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part Two

Our second winner today is Joel Havemann of the LA Times. He gets the award for the following in a story about Blue Dog Democrats. Mr. Havemann describes why the Blue Dog Coalition was founded.

The Blue Dog Coalition was founded in 1995, a year after the election that cost the Democrats the majority they had enjoyed for decades. The name refers to the founding members' sense that they had been "choked blue" by extremists in both parties.

Unfortunately the description doesn't jar with what is said on the Blue Dog website.

The 35 conservative and moderate Democrats in the group hail from every region of the country, although the group acknowledges some southern ancestry which accounts for the group's nickname. Taken from the South's longtime description of a party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat, the "Blue Dog" moniker was taken by members of The Coalition because their moderate-to-conservative-views had been "choked blue" by their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election.

Tsk, Tsk Mr. Havemann. You fail miserably at the most elementary of fact checking. The Times should put you on the obituary desk, that's If the paper wants to protect its credibility. But first, I make you Joel Havemann the second Knucklehead of the day.

Hat tip- Florida Cracker
Linked to- Basil's Blog, Third World County,

Knucklehead Award Friday Part One

Some people call the day after Thanksgiving 'Black Friday' because of all that shopping that is done this day. Instead here at TFM we'll have Knucklehead Friday! Knuckleheads and only Knuckleheads for twenty-four hours. Sound like fun?

Our first winner is Robert Butler. He gets the award for the following.

When Robert Butler sped at 103 mph in a 55 mph construction zone on Interstate 95 near Okeechobee Boulevard early Monday, Cpl. Kevin Strickland knew he would charge him with reckless driving, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith said.

But Strickland was shocked to see a 13-year-old boy asleep in the front seat of the silver van.

"He said, `I was amazed, I was amazed,'" Frith said. "`When I walked up there and a saw that child in that car, I couldn't believe it.'"

Strickland charged Butler with child abuse without great harm, a third-degree felony, in addition to the misdemeanor reckless-driving charge.

It is thought to be the first time in the state a driver was charged with child abuse without being charged with driving under the influence, Frith said. Even in the DUI cases, the driver had a blood alcohol level above 0.20, well above the legal limit of 0.08, Frith said.

A state law enacted Oct. 1 requires a mandatory court appearance for anyone going 30 miles over the speed limit, Frith said.

Butler, 38, who lives west of West Palm Beach, had a suspended license and the smell of alcohol on his breath, according to the FHP. But he did not seem drunk, so a breath test was not performed, Frith said. Butler's license was suspended twice before for failure to pay fines, records show.

Did Butler commit child abuse or child endangerment? I don't know the legal differences between the two, but to me it would seem the later. It don't matter, Robert Butler put his son's life in danger by his reckless driving and for that he is today's first Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Samantha Burns, Jo's Cafe,

Weekly Dolphins prediction

Miami(4-6) plays at Detroit(2-8) today, Thanksgiving Day. The Dolphins are coming off three consecutive wins, the last of which was a 24-20 over Minnesota. Dolphin QB Joey Harrington will be playing against the team that traded him away only last spring.

I don't have much to say on the game other Miami's winning streak hasn't impressed me but they are a better team than Detroit. My prediction- Miami 27 Detroit 14.

Linked to- Bright & Early,

Give thanks

For we all have something to be grateful for today. Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. God bless you all.

The wife and I will be spending the next two days at Leonette's(My Sister-in-law) home in Miramar. Blogging will be light today but tomorrow I'm celebrating Black Friday in a way only TFM can. Knucklehead Friday!

Also giving thanks- Jo

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Delores and Joshua Thompson. They get the award for the following.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A church that wanted to do something special for Hurricane Katrina victims gave a $75,000 house, free and clear, to a couple who said they were left homeless by the storm. But the couple turned around and sold the place without ever moving in, and went back to New Orleans.

"Take it up with God," an unrepentant Joshua Thompson told a TV reporter after it was learned that he and the woman he identified as his wife had flipped the home for $88,000.

Church members said they feel their generosity was abused by scam artists. They are no longer even sure that the couple were left homeless by Katrina or that they were a couple at all.

"They came in humble like they really needed a new start, and our hearts went out to them," said Jean Phillips, a real estate agent and member of the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ. "They actually begged for the home."

The church was also shocked by an ungrateful interview the couple gave with WHBQ-TV in Memphis.

"I really don't like this area," said Delores Thompson. "I really didn't, and I didn't know anybody, so that's why I didn't move in and I sold it."

Thompson, reached at a New Orleans phone number by The Associated Press on Tuesday, thanked the church for its generosity but said she saw nothing wrong in selling the three-bedroom, two-bath house.

"Do I have any legal problems? What do you mean? The house was given to me," she said. "I have the paperwork and everything."

She refused further comment and hung up.

The church had decided that it would do something special for one Katrina-displaced family, in addition to its other efforts to help evacuees. The church set up a committee to find the right family and conducted several dozen interviews.

Delores Thompson, who did most of the talking for her family, told the committee that she had lost her job as a nurse and that her husband had lost an import-export business in New Orleans, committee member Joy Covington said.

The committee also heard how the family had lost its home and most of its possessions and how the children, a 14-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy, were eager to get back in school. The family said it wanted to resettle in Memphis.

After the church settled on Thompson, real estate agent Phillips helped her pick out the house she wanted, and it was bought in Thompson's name. She took possession in February and sold it in September. Property transfer records for the resale list her as unmarried; the papers from the original sale list her as married.

"I feel like it was a sham or a ripoff," Covington said.

I don't blame you Mr. Covington. At the very least the Thompsons were ingrates, and for that they are Thanksgiving Day's Knuckleheads of the Day.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Mudville Gazette,

Zamboni races

Some news from Idaho. Not all the nuts live in Florida.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Bullwinkle,

Two employees have been fired from the city of Boise's ice skating rink after making a midnight fast-food run — in a pair of Zambonis — earlier this month.

The ice-groomer jockeys, both temporary city employees whose names and ages weren’t released by Boise Parks and Recreation, had to negotiate at least one intersection with a traffic light on their late-night creep from Idaho Ice World.

An anonymous caller who alerted a telephone hot line set up by Boise Mayor Dave Bieter was gassing up his car at a nearby service station at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 10 when he saw the Zambonis roll through a Burger King drive-through, order food, and then return to the skating rink.

The rubber-tired vehicles, whose top speed is about 5 mph, drove about 1 1/2 miles in all, said Parks Department Director Jim Hall.

“They were fired immediately,” Hall said. “We’re pretty sure it was just the one time. When we interviewed them, they didn’t seem to be too concerned about it. I don’t think they understood the seriousness of it. Even if they had felt bad about it, they’re not going to be employed here.”

The incident was reported on a Web log, www.boiseguardian.com, whose author, David Frazier, has fought City Hall over such issues as whether the city must ask voters before going into debt to build an airport parking garage.

A manager at the Burger King contacted Wednesday confirmed the incident happened, but declined to comment further.

Although neither of the $75,000 Zambonis nor their $10,000 blades appeared damaged, Hall said Boise may still try to press charges against the former employees for allegedly operating an unlicensed motor vehicle on a public street.

Amended wishful thinking

The latest news on the ongoing Palm Beach County Schools payroll debacle.

Five months after the Palm Beach County School District issued more than 1,000 inaccurate paychecks because of problems associated with a new software program, many employees have finally gotten paid properly.

But for some employees who were overpaid, the glitches could have an effect next year when it's time to pay Uncle Sam. Officials still are trying to figure out how to identify the employees who could be forced into another tax bracket and will need amended W-2 forms before filing their returns.

Since the district hired PeopleSoft guru Mike Guay, who rescued the San Diego school district in its implementation of the program, there haven't been any more bus driver protests and the phones at the human resources department aren't ringing off the hook anymore.

"But that doesn't mean we don't have problems," Guay said.

"A vast majority of W-2s are going to be accurate," said Guay, who estimates fewer than 1,500 employees will need amended W-2s. "We're trying to correct the worst ones first."

The implementation of the new $19 million program called PeopleSoft during the summer resulted in more than 1,000 errors in paychecks, including many for the county's lowest-paid employees: bus drivers, night-school teachers and temporary workers. The new system also created a backlog of invoices from vendors.

PeopleSoft software, which many large companies and institutions use, has proved difficult to implement at dozens of school districts and colleges nationwide. Transitions to the system have caused errors in paychecks, financial records and W-2 forms.

Five months after the software was installed, officials are troubleshooting. It could take as long as nine months to solve all the problems.

Though some vendors have not been paid for supplies sent during the summer, Guay said it's unlikely they would end their relationship with the district or refuse to deliver additional supplies.

I blogged previously about these payroll/computer problems in posts here, and here.

Don't mind me if Mr. Guay's statements aren't very re-assuring to me. There are several reasons.

1- What's this talk of amended W2's? These are not sent out to employees till January and therefore none have been sent out yet. People have been paid incorrectly but no W2s would need amending.

2- It would be interesting to know if some school employees got overpaid, how much the amount comes to, and if the School board plans on re-couping the money. There is also the matter of taxes paid on wages that were reported and sent to the IRS. That's the tricky part of this whole mess. I don't know if overpaid Income or SS taxes can be recouped. In the later case, the School Board has paid more taxes than it should have. That total would be interesting too.

When Mr. Guay talks amended W2's what I really think he is mentioning is the overpaying of employees and how to untangle this tax mess.

3- As to the vendors, some may very well cease business with the Board. It all depends on the size of the company involved. The School Board by being behind in payment would almost certainly be in breach of contract with these people. They would be under no obligation to continue serving the schools(Though most would probably continue to do so) and be possibly able to collect damages because of non-payment.

Bottom line- The Peoplesoft software debacle is going to cost taxpayers dearly in this County. If the School Board or Art Johnson want to retain both taxpayer's and employee's trust, they need to fire those responsible for this. Maybe beginning with Superintendent Johnson himself.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Bullwinkle,

Disturbing

I don't see how else you can describe this news from Iraq-

BAGHDAD, Nov. 21 -- A car bomb exploded inside the heavily protected Green Zone on Tuesday in an apparent attempt to kill Iraq's controversial speaker of parliament.

About 2 p.m., a small bomb exploded in one of the armored cars in Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's motorcade as it approached the convention center where parliament meets, said Lt. Col. Christopher C. Garver, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq. Mashhadani was not in the car, and the driver survived, Garver said

*****

Garver said he was not sure how the explosives made it so far into the Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government, the U.S. and British embassies and thousands of foreign troops and private contractors. Anyone trying to enter the zone must pass through several checkpoints -- first to get into the complex, then to enter individual buildings.

The Green Zone has been a frequent target of mortar and rocket attacks, but although bombs have exploded at checkpoints at entrances to the zone, they rarely infiltrate the fortresslike compound. "Obviously, there is an investigation going on," Garver said.

This news is not good. It just further states how bad the security situation in Iraq is. If an area as well guarded as the Green Zone can be penetrated, no one or nothing is safe in that country. I don't see how anyone can spin the news out of Iraq anywhere as being good. For I only see chaos and things getting worse not better.

Hat tip- Dr. Taylor at Poliblog
Linked to- Adam's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Holes and illogic everywhere

Lauren Ritchie at the Orlando Sentinel continues to do the best reporting on the Melinda and Trenton Duckett story. Her work today is just the latest example. Was last weekend's press release by the Marion County Sheriff all a deliberate stunt for CNN's Nancy Grace?

Leesburg police said in mid-September that the toddler likely is dead. Then, two days before Grace arrived, Marion County sheriff's officials blared the news in a gushy release that the boy is alive. The final line on the release: "It's all about Trenton Duckett -- nothing else!"

Sheriff's officials acted offended when reporters asked whether the "new development" was timed to coincide with Grace's shows. Surely, they cannot wonder at the question. After all, the "news" that prompted the announcement was seven weeks old. The more appropriate question from reporters should have been whether Grace's publicity agent wrote their release.

During a news conference that followed, Marion investigators revealed that a Wendy's server in Belleview told them Sept. 27 that she saw Trenton's mother, Melinda, at the restaurant three times on Aug. 27, the day Trenton was reported missing. The first was at 11:15 a.m., and Trenton was with her. The second was 20 minutes later, about 11:35 a.m., and he wasn't, and the third was Melinda alone again at 4 p.m. On Tuesday, they brought forward a co-worker who remembered seeing Melinda and Trenton.

If true, this information would be significant, because the last time anyone saw Trenton alive was 4:30 p.m. on the previous day, Aug. 26.

Marion sheriff's Maj. Chris Blair appeared on Grace's program to talk about the sighting. Nobody bothered to ask him why it took seven weeks to confirm a tip. Or why the witness waited a month to come forward. Or why anybody should believe her first two sightings when it is impossible that her third one was correct. (Melinda made a cellular-telephone call that shows she was nowhere near Belleview at 4 p.m. as the witness stated. She was, in fact, in south Lake County.)

But in their haste to hype the story, Grace and Blair raced on, spewing erroneous information about where Melinda was at what time and fueling more illogical speculation about what happened to the child. The spectacle was degrading.

Marion officials had said Melinda, who fatally shot herself Sept. 8, likely handed the child off to someone. They have not explained why it's not equally likely that the child was killed in that 20 minutes. Or why a friend couldn't have been watching him for Melinda. Or why anything pivotal at all had to happen to him in that time rather than later.

It's a much sexier story to scream that a missing child is alive, isn't it?

If Marion County's "new" information and a private investigator's witness touted on the Grace program are to be believed, Melinda Duckett was one hungry woman who drove a lot.

Consider her odyssey:

She was at a Leesburg grocery store at 8 a.m. Aug. 27, supposedly buying air freshener and trash bags. She drove to a convenience store in Ocala, where the PI stated that his witness saw her make "strange" purchases at 9:30 a.m.

Then she drove back to Leesburg, where she used the SunTrust ATM at 10:49 a.m. (Aren't there any SunTrust ATMs in Ocala?) She turned around and zipped back to Belleview by 11:15 a.m., where she used the Wendy's drive-through twice in 20 minutes.

Then she motored farther north to within five miles of the Paddock Mall, where a cell tower picked her up at 12:08 p.m.

She reversed directions and turned south again, where a cell tower recorded her yakking on her cell phone near Wildwood at 12:30 p.m. She must have raced to south Lake, where more cellular chat was noted on a tower near Grassy Lake Road at 12:45 p.m.

Cell records show she was in Tavares at 3:42 p.m. and cruising by Bassville Park five minutes later. A witness saw her arrive alone at Windemere Villas in Leesburg about 4 p.m., and all the amateur and online sleuths know she was on a computer and posting in MySpace.com at 4:20 p.m.

Whew.

The server who put her at the Wendy's in Belleview at 4 p.m. clearly was mistaken. But a co-worker verifies one. How reliable can the second sighting be, considering that the server passed a polygraph on all three?

Those are questions Marion detectives should be answering. They should be telling the public where the specific time gaps are and asking for help in confirming the sightings.

Unfortunately, they are too busy scheduling their next TV appearance. Their bubbly enthusiasm that "little Trenton is alive!" can be seen only in one light: food for Grace histrionics.

Everyone hopes the child is alive, but it seems an unnecessary cruelty to say so if it were to turn out that he is not. Why make a declaration either way without strong evidence?

Nothing useful can be expected from a bottom feeder like the CNN host, who has turned Trenton Duckett into a ratings machine with tedious parroting of wrong "facts" and "experts" who belch opinions on a case about which they obviously know little. And now that Grace is being sued over her vicious treatment of Melinda Duckett on her show the day before the young mother took her life, the viewing public likely is in for more melodrama.

From law enforcement, however, the community has a right to expect much more, starting with the application of logic.

Detectives who take seven weeks to verify the sighting of a missing child have some explaining to do, other than the vague "it took some time to interview other employees and schedule the polygraph" offered by a sheriff's captain. That should be two days' worth of work on such a high-profile case. Investigators who claim that a missing child is alive should be backing that up with facts instead of dancing around the obvious inconsistencies and contributing to the babble of hysterics. Leesburg police have been smart enough to realize that the Wendy's sightings might or might not be authentic and have been smart enough to say so.

Melinda's cell phone records call into question the whole Wendy's sighting. You do have to wornder why police in such a high profile case would withhold that info if it was really true also. A boy is out there dead or alive, and information that could help find Trenton needs to be made available quickly, not a month and a half later.

I think the Marion County Sheriff's Office has some explaining to do. It will be interesting to see what is said if anything.

Note- Read Lauren's column in its entirety. Also check out this Orlando Sentinel reporting that recounts Melinda Duckett's cellphone use. Heck read a Nancy Grace transcript.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Is it just me?, Wakeup America,

The case of the bogus grouper

Where's Perry Mason when you need him? From the St. Petersburg Times-

The Florida Attorney General's Office has subpoenaed records from more than a dozen Tampa Bay area restaurants as part of an investigation into the sale of fake grouper.

Investigators are seeking purchase orders, vendor invoices and a list of wholesale providers from chain restaurants such as Hooters and the Winghouse, as well as independent operators such as the Fourth Street Shrimp Store in St. Petersburg.

The attorney general's investigation began after a St. Petersburg Times story on Aug. 6 disclosed that six of 11 area restaurants in a random survey advertised grouper but served something else. One Palm Harbor restaurant charged $23.95 for "champagne braised black grouper" that was actually tilapia.

*****

Carrin said that the investigation is continuing and that the state had conducted its own DNA testing.

According to a subpoena issued to the Fourth Street Shrimp Store on Nov. 16, "The general purpose and scope of this investigation extends to the possible unfair and deceptive trade practices."

The documents in question concern "customer orders for menu items relating to 'grouper' during the period September 3, 2006, through October 13, 2006."

Vicki Loges of the Fourth Street Shrimp Store said she was not aware that any of her restaurant's products were tested.

"The Shrimp Store has never purchased anything but grouper," she said. "We buy our grouper from one supplier and it is certified as grouper."

Chuck Riley, purchasing director for the Hooters chain, said three of his company's restaurants were tested and then subpoenaed.

"They told us that they pulled samples from three of our stores and all three said that they were not grouper," he said. "We don't know what is going on. We get our grouper from Thailand and it is certified by the government there as grouper. If it isn't, we are going to have re-think what we put on the menu."

Larry Jackson, owner of the Casual Clam on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N in St. Petersburg, said his records were subpoenaed and he will hand-deliver them to state officials today.

"We want to cooperate any way we can," Jackson said. "The invoice says grouper, the box says grouper; we thought we were buying grouper."

According to some industry insiders, fish substitution is so prevalent in Florida that it may be unstoppable.

In May, a federal grand jury indicted a Panama City seafood wholesaler on charges of importing 1-million pounds of frozen Asian catfish for as little as $1.52 a pound, then passing it off as grouper, which can wholesale for four times as much.

That same month, the Times purchased grouper meals from 11 restaurants around the bay area.

Therion International, an animal DNA testing service in Saratoga, N.Y., determined that five of the restaurant samples were fakes. They included an Asian catfish called basa, tilapia and European hake. A sixth fish could not be identified, except that it was not of the grouper genus.

Last month in California, the National Fisheries Institute, the nation's largest seafood trade association, approved a new policy requiring all members to sign a pledge that they will not substitute seafood products, a move unprecedented in the industry.

Bob Jones, president of the Southeastern Fisheries Association, said the Times article was discussed in length at the conference.

"Those kind of things go all through the industry, from St. Pete to Kalamazoo to Sacramento to Portland," Jones said.

It may be the restaurant's fault or it could be supplier's. I don't like being defrauded or cheated any more than the next person, but trying to stop this or even find out who is at fault is going to take a lot of time and money. Is it worth it? Give me your opinion.

The best policy may be to eat at home. Or buy seafood right at the docks as my wife does sometimes here in Lantana.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Bright & Early,

A for Atlantic or A for Anywhere?

From Japan Today-

WASHINGTON — U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Tuesday that President George W Bush will propose at the upcoming NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, a program to bring Japan, South Korea and Australia closer to the military alliance.

The three countries "do not seek NATO membership, but we seek a partnership with them so that we can train more intensively from a military point of view," he said. Japan, South Korea and Australia have all deployed troops in Iraq as members of the "coalition of the willing," Burns stressed. Japan has been seeking closer ties with NATO, with Foreign Minister Taro Aso having expressed Tokyo's willingness to strengthen coordination in his speech at a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels in May.

I have no objection to these countries partnering with NATO. Though I do think the organization is going far beyond any boundaries not just those when NATO was created but newer ones that formed since the end of the Cold War. Is the organization to be remain Western oriented or to encompass interests and security world-wide? If the later, what will be the grounds for inviting further members? It will be interesting to see where NATO goes in the next 20 years.

Hat tip- GI in Korea
Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Wakeup America,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Uwe Gerhard Lorenz. He gets the award for impersonating an FBI agent here in Palm Beach County.

Read the Palm Beach Post story below. As dumb as Mr. Lorenz is, there are some other dim bulbs in the story. From the police who failed to arrest Lorenz last summer to the gated community that gave Lorenz access. As I say the world is full of nuts. Unfortunately half of them seem to live in South Florida.

Uwe Gerhard Lorenz is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Outside the Beltway, Mudville Gazette, Is it just me?, Pirate's Cove, Wakeup America,

WELLINGTON — Uwe Gerhard Lorenz had all the trappings of an FBI agent.

The gun.

The unmarked patrol car.

The "FBI" T-shirts.

The scanner.

And the police bravado to boot.

It turns out, however, that Lorenz, 45, was a skinny-dipping, nanny-canoodling, police-impersonating German import who authorities believe shook down local motorists for cash and brandished his police persona like a 100-pound billy club.

"He claimed he could kill people with his bare hands, so obviously he was trying to intimidate people as well," said Lt. Jay Hart of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

But local law enforcement say they don't believe his tales, including the one about him being a former colonel in the German military. And some of his other lies have already unraveled, they add.

The FBI is investigating whether to charge him with impersonating a federal agent, agency spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said.

On Monday, however, they did charge Lorenz of 4532 Emerald Vista Drive in Lake Worth with illegally possessing a firearm as a foreign national.

Days earlier, deputies arrested Lorenz in Wellington on charges of having a expired driver license and possessing a police scanner. A resident of The Isles tipped off investigators.

Florida issued Lorenz a concealed weapons permit to carry his .45-caliber hand gun after the state had denied him a similar license earlier, according to a sheriff's office investigation.

"The thing that bothers me the most is, how in the world did this guy get a concealed weapons permit?" deputy Juan Olivia said. Olivia began investigating Lorenz after a woman in her 70s found Lorenz swimming nude with a woman five months ago at the Journey's End clubhouse pool west of Lake Worth.

There was insufficient evidence then to prosecute him on charges of indecent exposure or for allegedly impersonating an officer after he was confronted by clubhouse staff, according to a sheriff's report.

"It's not normal for someone to go around with a gun and impersonate a police officer with lights on his car," Olivia added.

There may be more victims.

"We're asking the public, if they recognize this gentleman, to come forward," Hart said Tuesday while announcing Lorenz's arrest. "He has claimed that he has stopped people in the past, and he has taken money from them."

He also told Wellington residents he had killed several people as an FBI agent, an arrest report said.

Deputies in Wellington were alerted to Lorenz last week, when a resident of The Isles complained about him. The resident hired a nanny who was engaged to Lorenz. The resident said Lorenz repeatedly bragged about his FBI undercover work and used fake police credentials to gain access to the gated community, deputies said.

Deputies set up a sting operation and caught him displaying fake police badges to a security guard, according to a sheriff's report.

Deputies stopped Lorenz after he ran a stop sign in the community. They found police gear in his 2000 black Ford Crown Victoria: It was decked out with tinted windows, two mounted spotlights, a DUI video camera and strobe lights in the front and rear.

"Truly, he had more equipment in his vehicle than some of my deputies," Hart said.

That didn't include three cases or so of ammunition and shotgun shells, a Taser, pepper spray and "Police" and "FBI" T-shirts, according to a sheriff's report. Deputies also said later he had about a half dozen bottles of prescription medicine, including the sleeping pill Ambien.

An earlier Presidential primary date for Florida?

Florida's March primary date may be no more if Mario Rubio gets his way. From the Orlando Sentinel-

TALLAHASSEE -- When Republican Gov.-elect Charlie Crist was campaigning, he attracted a flock of likely GOP presidential contenders eager to make political inroads in Florida.

Now, the state's new Republican House leadership is intent on bringing those White House wannabes back earlier and more often -- by making the state a tantalizing political prize in 2008.

Incoming state House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, this week is expected to unveil a plan to move Florida's March presidential primary closer to the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary.

Rubio and others have decried Florida's later primary date, saying it excludes the mega-state from playing a significant role in choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees.

"Florida voters deserve a greater role in choosing our nation's leaders," Rubio said.

Florida's last presidential primary occurred in March 2004, six weeks after New Hampshire's. It also came after 28 states and the District of Columbia held caucuses or primaries and the nominations of President Bush and Democrat John Kerry were virtually certain.

Rubio earlier this year talked of moving Florida's primary to a week after New Hampshire's. He includes the proposal in his book, 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future, expected to be released today at the state Capitol.

Has their been a meaningful Presidential primary in Florida since the 70's? I don't seem to re-call any, but I was an absentee voter for much of the 80's.(Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) Moving up the primary date is a good idea, and I don't see a reason for any Florida politicians to oppose it.

What do you think?

Hat tip- State of Sunshine who calls this a great idea.
Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Adam's Blog, Bright & Early,

Suicide by decapitation

I'm not joking. From the Pensacola News Journal-

A man's decapitated body was found Tuesday night near the railroad tracks in downtown Pensacola, according to a Pensacola police report.

Police received a call about the body at 7:30 p.m. near the tracks between Hayne and Tarragona streets, just south of LaRua Street.

The man's identity is not being released until his family is notified, Officer Maria Landy said in the report.

"We are having trouble locating the next of kin," said Assistant Chief Chip Simmons. "We believe they are out of state."

No foul play is suspected at this time.

"We are looking into the possibility of suicide," Simmons said.

Part of the man's head was severed from the body, Simmons said.

The incident occurred after a CSX Transportation train left the CSX rail yard south of Brent Lane traveling south at about 6:20 p.m. Another train left the yard in the same direction about 7:20 p.m.

A later News-Journal story confirmed the death of Lance Shane Clodfelter as being a suicide. Death by getting one's head chopped off? It wouldn't be my choice for the method of my own demise. Then I'm with Lou Costello who when in a movie was asked how he would like to die, replied-

"Old age." Rest in Peace Mr. Clodfelter.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Random Yak, Third World County,

Palm Beach Pravda

Powerline has made some nominations for the worst newspaper in America-

The Minneapolis Star Tribune: Nominated by Scott, citing Mark Steyn: “Unreadable sludge.”

The Houston Chronicle: A reader who worked for the Chronicle for “quite a while”: “Its main problem is not even its liberalism, which it suffers from, but its vapidity. On top of that, the editor from Hearst Corp. is trying to teach Houstonians how to be proper liberals. The fact that no one ever hears about the newspaper at America’s fourth largest city should tell you a lot.”

The Olympian (Olympia, Washington): MHJ: “From their editorial about how good it is that the Governor is going to direct the employees of the State Department of Transportation to cooperate with the State Auditor on taxpayer-directed performance audits, to their choice of letters to the editor, the Olympian begs for an editorial staff with common sense and analytical skills.”

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Thomas Nast (among many other readers of Stefan Sharkansky): “Consistently, and I do mean consistently, substitutes liberal dogma for 'facts' (which it then prints on the front page as 'news') and conjures the most knee-jerk editorials I've ever seen.”

The Los Angeles Times: Max Wyeth: “All around worst paper, general purposes.” See generally Patterico.

*****

The St. Petersburg Times: Rob Riordan: “Have you even seen the Pravda of the south? This is the paper that took Howell Raines after the New York Times dumped him. But the topping on the cake was when TWO of its reporters were caught on tape by the FBI coaching convicted terrorist Sami Al-Arian." See Daniel Pipes's report here.

*****

Washington Post: Max Wyeth: “Slavish liberalism (probably all those gummint workers)."

Some excellent choices, but I find the WPO more readable than most of its liberal bretheren. Powerline left the NYT off the poll they are conducting so as to level the playing field.

Guess what other newspaper is on the list?

The Palm Beach Post: Ronald Griffis: “Since the early 80's, many locals have referred to it as the 'Palm Beach Pravda' for the nearly comical level of progressive propaganda in its pages. For good examples of this, you can visit the op-ed pages online (particularly the local columnists) or check out their latest multimedia Special Report.”

TFM's regular readers know how often I rant about the Post. Now you can see I'm not the only person to think the Post is terrible newspaper.

And guess what newspaper is 2nd in the polling at present? Please go over and vote, maybe John Bartosek, Randy Schultz and company will finally get the message if the paper finishes 1st. Then again, I don't think the paper has learned one bit from the multiple Knucklehead awards I've handed that newspaper.

For saying balloting in Florida on November 7th went without a hitch
For their editorial cartoonist comparing registered Republicans to the KKK
For columnist Dan Moffet using shoddy statistics in a Sunday column
For insulting the troops in Iraq
Randy Schultz got one for calling students who do well in class, insignificant i.e. nerds

I could go on, but just the words Knucklehead and Palm Beach Post makes the Blogger search engine at my manage Posts section freeze and eventually give up as if a computer virus had struck. It's only a little better at TFM's eventual new home. Give it a try yourself and you'll see what I mean. The Post has to have racked up between 15-20 Knucklehead awards since I began giving them out.

TFM asks you to vote for the Post.

Hat tip- Lorie at Wizbang
Linked to- Adam's Blog, Wakeup America, Right Wing Nation,

Distraction

The parents of Melinda Duckett are filing a lawsuit against Nancy Grace.

The parents of Melinda Duckett will file suit today in Lake County against CNN Headline News talk-show host Nancy Grace, accusing the ex-prosecutor of pushing their daughter to suicide with an insensitive, fist-pounding TV interview.

The wrongful-death lawsuit accuses Grace and her producers of luring the young mother onto the show by misrepresenting their intentions to find her missing 2-year-old son, Trenton.

"I believe it to be an ambush," South Florida lawyer Kara Skorupa said. She provided a copy of the nine-page complaint and said it would be filed today in Circuit Court in Tavares.

The lawsuit, which claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeks an undisclosed amount of monetary and punitive damages from Grace and Cable News Network.

Melinda Duckett's parents, Beth and William "Jerry" Eubank of Lockport, N.Y., also want a judge to stop Grace and the network from rebroadcasting the interview. They say they and their younger daughter have sought psychological counseling to deal with emotional distress from the "continual and excessive airing of the interview."

Grace, who broadcast shows from Leesburg on Thursday and Friday, declined comment through CNN Headline News spokeswoman Janine Iamunno. Iamunno, however, e-mailed a response on the network's behalf.

"While we have no comment on pending litigation," it read, "we stand by Nancy Grace and fully support her, as we have from the beginning of this matter."

Joshua Duckett also named

The lawsuit also will name Joshua Duckett, 21, Melinda's estranged husband, who appeared on the show that probed into Trenton's Aug. 27 disappearance from his mom's Leesburg apartment.

Melinda Duckett used a shotgun to kill herself at her grandparents' home in The Villages on Sept. 8, a day after Grace's grilling. The taped interview was broadcast hours after the suicide.

As a parent who lost a child, I can sympathize with the Eubanks. I know the pain they are suffering.

However a lawsuit at this moment is premature to say the very least. Does anyone involved in this lawsuit know for a certainty what happened to Trenton? Till Trenton's fate is ascertained, no one should be held at fault for Melinda Duckett's suicide. We may still find out that the mother is responsible for the boy's disappearance and maybe even Trenton's death.

Right now all parties involved should have one goal. Finding out what happened to this little boy. There will be plenty of time later to judge who was at fault in the tragic story of Melinda and Trenton Duckett.

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Bright & Early, Is it just me?,

Who left the refrigerator door open?

From the Sun-Sentinel-

Temperatures dipped into the low 40s around West Palm Beach this morning as South Florida got a pre-Thanksgiving chill.

At 6 a.m., the National Weather Service reported temperatures of 37 in Fort Pierce, 41 in West Palm Beach, 50 in Boca Raton, 52 in Fort Lauderdale and 54 in Miami.

If you're already tired of bundling up, there's good news -- forecasters expect temperatures to climb back into the 70s just before Thanksgiving.

My readers are probably saying- "TFM you're just feeling a bit of what we put up with but worse for 4 months out of the year. Don't expect any sympathy from us."

TFM isn't looking for sympathy. There is one concern for Florida when temperatures drop this low.

Today's low temperature in the Glades was expected to be in the 40s, lower than in coastal metropolitan areas, the National Weather Service said.

But farms in Belle Glade and nurseries in western Palm Beach County did not plan on taking any added measures to protect crops because they did not expect temperatures to reach harmful levels.

The citrus industry. If temperatures drop too low, oranges and other tropical fruit are destroyed. So never wish a cold snap upon those living in Florida. You may just end up paying for it the next time you buy some orange juice.

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Third World County, Pirate's Cove,

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau and its CEO Warren "Mac" McLaughlin. They get the award for the following.

Tourism officials did not take the advice of auditors in 2005 after an employee stole $6,280.02 that he should have used to pay off his corporate American Express card.

Auditors at McGladrey & Pullen recommended corrective measures when they discovered the employee had not paid his credit-card bill even though the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau had reimbursed him for his expenses. But bureau officials took no action until last week - after learning this month that another employee had stolen $1.5 million without anyone noticing.

Bureau officials ended up paying the bill of former employee Chris F. Rodriguez, bureau attorney James Stuber said Monday.

The debt was written off on Oct. 29, 2004, as a miscellaneous expense to CollectCorp, the collection agency hired to try to collect from Rodriguez.

"What happened was we sent (Rodriguez) a demand letter and soon after that he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy," Stuber said. "Lee Davis and I consulted, and the cost of recovery was high and the chance of recovery was low."

Davis is the bureau's former vice president for finance and administration.

Auditors at McGladrey & Pullen recommended in January 2005 that the bureau directly receive and pay all American Express bills instead of reimbursing employees for their credit-card expenses and expecting the employees to use the money to pay the bills.

"We noted during inquiry with management that the organization has 19 credit cards in the name of its employees, which the organization is liable for," the auditors wrote, also finding that employees had used the cards for personal expenses. "Upon default of payment by the employee, the organization is ultimately responsible."

Davis resigned Nov. 10 after tourism officials learned of an alleged $1.5 million theft by Donna Duffer, the bureau's former controller. Duffer, who allegedly wrote more than 200 checks to herself over three years, was fired.

West Palm Beach police are investigating but have not filed charges.

Longtime bureau CEO Warren "Mac" McLaughlin was forced from office last week after the alleged theft was discovered and a preliminary audit of the bureau's books revealed lax accounting procedures.

The auditors' recommendations were part of a critical audit that found serious problems, called "reportable conditions," in 2005.

In an effort to explain how he would correct the problems, Davis wrote in February 2005 that he had obtained procedures from American Express for "waiver notification." According to Davis, the waiver would relieve the bureau of any responsibility for paying the bill "as long as the employee has been reimbursed for all business expenses."

However, Davis failed to mention that the waiver would apply only to charges made after an employee's card had been canceled. He said he believed that the waiver "procedures will protect the organization from suffering additional losses."

Despite the recommendations, no changes were made, according to a preliminary review of procedures by an auditor for Sharon Bock, the county's clerk of court and comptroller.

Here is my earlier post on the mess at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

What happened at the Convention and Visitors Bureau was totally avoidable if the people who ran it practiced the most elementary of safeguards. Instead people either passed the buck or got complacent. Either way, taxpayer money was wasted and the CEO takes much of the blame. The bed tax was just raised again and bureaucrats can argue the money is needed. We just threw away 1.5 million!

The Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau and its CEO Warren "Mac" McLaughlin are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Random Yak, Third World County, Pirate's Cove, Is it just me?, Outside the Beltway, Mudville Gazette,

It's all about advertising money public opinion

The OJ Simpson book and television special have been canceled.

NEW YORK -- After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the O.J. Simpson book and TV special ``If I Did It.''

``I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,'' said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. ``We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.''

A dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before the Nov. 30 publication of the book by ReganBooks. The publishing house is a HarperCollins imprint owned _ like the Fox network _ by News Corp.

In both the book and show, Simpson speaks in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman.

It is good to see Fox, News Corp and ReganBooks come to their senses. They still deserve the knucklehead award I gave them last week. For the outrage this book and show would produce was easily predictable. What people are going to stand for a murderer being given a forum? Heck what would be next, Saddam Hussein tells how he had a half million Iraqis butchered?

Murdoch didn't just suddenly come to his senses. Look at the rag he puts out called the New York Post. Most people with the power and or money like a Murdoch are far removed from reality. Circled by kiss butt sycophants, they rarely have bad news told to them. Murdoch is no different than this fellow. What happened with the OJ special, is the network couldn't find companies that would buy commercial airtime. What firm would want be associated with such odious affair? Just News Corp, and Murdoch soon found that out. Even those on top of the world can't ignore the stench sometimes.

Lorie at Wizbang is also blogging on this news.
Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Florida the rules are different here Chapter LXIV

Cattle rustling isn't dead in Florida. Here it is still done by teenagers. Don't you just love Florida?

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe,

OCALA -- "Moose," the steer that was believed to have escaped from his pen on Oct. 24, was allegedly stolen by friends of the 15-year-old boy who was raising him for scholarship money -- and sold at a livestock auction.

"We're working real hard to see if he's still alive," said Marion County Sheriff's Detective Edwin Mobley of the 862-pound steer.

Investigators have arrested Jonathan Stodghill, 16, and Joseph Reynolds, 17, and charged them with grand theft.

The animal was sold through the North Florida Livestock Auction approximately one week after his disappearance. The Marion County Sheriff's Department is working with the Department of Agriculture to track the transaction.

The red Beefmaster steer belonged to West Port High School student Jason Hillman. Jason planned to show Moose through the Future Farmers of America in February at the Southeastern Youth Fair -- where he had the possibility of earning scholarships for college by qualifying as a state farmer -- and he then planned to sell him. Now, Jason will have to wait until next year to enter another steer.

The teens who were arrested also attend West Port High School and are involved in the same farm programs as Jason.

Jason's mother, Sandy McCormick, is shocked. The boys had been over to their house and even helped Jason with breaking the steer in, she said.

"I can't believe that two children would do that to another child," she said.

Jason was taken by surprise as well. He said the three weren't "best buddies," but were friends.

"They're the last people you'd think. I guess they just did it for kicks, like a prank," he said.

According to the sheriff's report, the two boys allegedly used Reynolds' horse trailer to transport the animal to property in Dunnellon. The two broke the top board on the steer's pen and pushed on the wire to make it appear as if the animal broke out.

But McCormick said he had a feeling from the beginning that Moose didn't just escape.

"They seemed like all right kids on the surface, but obviously they're not," said Jason's father of the suspects.

When Moose was reported missing, authorities notified area livestock markets and provided them with his ear tag number. However, the teens allegedly removed the tag and burned it before taking the animal to the auction.

Believing they would need to be at least 18 years old to sell the animal, the boys asked an older friend to accompany them to the auction. The name of the accomplice has not been released. He told authorities that he was unaware that the steer was stolen.

The check was later mailed to Stodghill and then cashed by the friend. Reynolds and Stodghill paid the friend $50 or $60.

Moose was originally purchased by Jason's father, Mike Hillman, for $850. Stodghill and Reynolds sold the steer for only $575. Depending on where they took him, they could have easily gotten $1,200 to $1,600, McCormick said.

Shooting the messenger

Charles Rangel called again for the re-instatement of the military draft.

D-N.Y.) has long advocated returning to the draft, but his efforts drew little attention during the 12 years that House Democrats were in the minority. Starting in January, however, he will chair the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Yesterday he said "you bet your life" he will renew his drive for a draft.

"I will be introducing that bill as soon as we start the new session," Rangel said on CBS's "Face the Nation." He portrayed the draft, suspended since 1973, as a means of spreading military obligations more equitably and prompting political leaders to think twice before starting wars.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way,"

The list of bloggers who are taking aim at Congressman Rangel is very long. They include- Bullwinkle, Jo, Flopping Aces, Don Surber, Iowa Voice, Stop the ACLU, A Blog For All, Kim at Wizbang, Mudville Gazette, Betsy, Sister Toldjah,

Please read the rest of Rangel's comment-

said Rangel, a Korean War veteran. "If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft."

TFM says instead of attacking Rangel, maybe we should be asking the question- Does the US have enough troops to do the job properly in Iraq.

Lets look at Iraq in 2003- We invaded with something like 125,000(I can't find the figure but correct me if I'm wrong). Today we have 150,000 troops stationed there.

Daily attacks in Iraq have risen from 1000 monthly in the late 2003 to over 3,000 a month in late 2004 and even higher today. I think that says clearly the troops we have in Iraq are insufficent for the job.

Can anyone out there tell me where more troops are to come from? Unless we extend the tours of troops in Iraq and maybe even not then, its clear the US military doesn't have the numbers.

South Carolina Senator and Republican, Lindsay Graham said so yesterday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), a South Carolina Republican who is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Standby Reserve, said he agreed that the U.S. does not have enough people in the military.

"I think we can do this with an all-voluntary service, all-voluntary Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. And if we can't, then we'll look for some other option," said Graham, who is assigned as a reserve judge to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.

If there isn't enough people in the military to do the job as Graham says, what is the US to do?

Which leaves the US with one of two ugly or unpleasent choices- Withdrawal or re-instatement of the draft. TFM thinks the US badly botched Iraq and that what former Sec. of State Henry Kissinger said yesterday could be true. A military win in Iraq may be impossible. There is no denying, the Bush administration has made a mess of Iraq.

Can the conservative blogosphere stop drinking the kool-aid for once? I guess some of still haven't learned a lesson from the November election that so many people were wrong about also. A few bloggers accuse Rangel of scare tactics, but why use such tactics weeks after an election? It kind of reminds me of this. Where people claim something is being done for political effect. Are conservative bloggers acting just like Congressman Stark did five months ago?

Rangel didn't present the message in the best way possible, but shooting the messenger isn't going to make the situation in Iraq any better.

Update- James Joyner at OTB points out a Thomas Ricks' article in today's Washington Post. A third strategy other than Going Big or Going home is Going Long. Which I think is the US most likely choice but I think the US can only win with Going Big at this point and I don't see that happening.(As does James)

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Princeton University. They get the award for the following.

Yale freshman Jian Li has filed a federal civil rights complaint against Princeton for rejecting his application for admission, claiming the University discriminated against him because he is Asian.

The complaint, which was filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Oct. 25, alleges that the University's admissions procedures are biased because they advantage other minority groups, namely African-Americans and Hispanics, legacy applicants and athletes at the expense of Asian-American applicants.

"We've been notified of the complaint and asked to provide information to the Office of Civil Rights, and the University will provide the Office of Civil Rights with the information that it has requested," University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 said yesterday. "But I will say that we do not believe that the case has merit."

The case, first reported this weekend by The Wall Street Journal, injects new life into a longstanding debate surrounding affirmative action and whether race can or should be a factor in college admissions. Li's minority status adds a new twist to the story, however, since previous complaints about universities' racial preference policies have been filed by white students alleging bias.

*****

Li said in a phone interview yesterday that people have misconstrued his motives for filing the complaint. "I'm fine here," he said of being at Yale. "I'm just doing this because I want to do something about the situation. I want to bring attention to it."

Currently, Li said, colleges discriminate against Asian-Americans on the basis of their ethnicity or race. "I'm not saying that people with the highest SAT scores should be admitted to universities," he said. "Lots of things should be considered beyond that, but I don't think race should be one of them."

Li, who has a perfect 2400 SAT score and near-perfect SAT II scores, was rejected this past year from five of the nine universities he applied to — Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania — and accepted to four: CalTech, Rutgers, Cooper Union and Yale.

Princeton maintains that its admission policies do not discriminate against Asian-American or members of any other race. "We treat each application individually and we do not discriminate on the base of race or national origin," Cliatt said. "To the contrary, we seek to enroll and do enroll classes that are diverse by a multitude of measures."

You get a perfect score on a college admission test and the school rejects your application. What other reason than race can their be for the rejection.

I'm not a fan of lawsuits, but Mr. Li's Civil Rights complaints may finally drag an ugly truth out into public view. That Asian-Americans are discriminated against because they are TOO SMART. The proof is out there, California universities raise the standards for Asian-Americans. If this was done with any other ethnic group or race, the outrage would be overwhelming by both the group and the media. Why is this allowed to happen?

I find it inexcusible. If my two children would have lived, they may have had to face this bullshit. My wife is Asian, I'm white, we should all be treated the same. But for Asian-Americans the standard is raised and they aren't treated the same. Its an outrage that needs to end.

For practicing blatant racial discrimination, Princeton University is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Hat tip- Joanne Jacobs. David Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy has a differing opinion.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

Take that Cuba

Ybor City Florida re-claims the biggest cigar record.

TAMPA - Historic Ybor City, once known as the cigar capital of the world, wrested the record for the world's longest cigar away from Cuba late Saturday afternoon.

The 101-foot cigar was finished in front of hundreds of people at the Cigar Heritage Festival in Ybor City's Centennial Park. They watched as Wallace and Margarita Reyes, co-owners of Gonzalez Habano Cigar Co., went for the final assembly.

"Put your hand on the cigar," Vienna LoCicero, co-founder of Cigar City Magazine, told cigarmakers there.

"You are touching history."

The cigar rolled Saturday bested the world record of 66 feet set last year in Havana by Jose Castelar.

The 85th anniversary of the fourth-generation cigar company served as the impetus to break the record.

"I wanted to do something special," Wallace Reyes said. "I wanted to do something big."

The stogie - rolled over several weeks - weighed 53 pounds and 8 ounces. The cigar cost $5,100, including labor and material, Reyes said. Local cigarmakers spent 75 hours making it.

The accomplishment will be recognized by Guinness World Records, according to Arturo Fuentes Jr., president of Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Co.

If no one beats that record before July, the feat should be recorded in the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records.

You have to wonder what other things can be measured for Guiness World Records. On second thought I won't touch that with a......

Linked to- Woman Honor Thyself, Cao's Blog, Uncooperative Blogger, Wake up America,

Million dollar birthday present

From AP-

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Julieta Granada gave herself the perfect birthday gift, surely not minding that it arrived a bit late. Two days after turning 20, the LPGA Tour rookie from Paraguay got her first victory — and, perhaps more importantly, took home the first $1 million prize in women's golf.


Granada shot a bogey-free round of 68 Sunday, beating an eight-player final-round field to win the ADT Championship at Trump International and take home most of the event's $1.55 million purse.

The win pushed her season's earnings to $1,633,586 — not bad for someone who finished outside the top-10 finishers in 23 of 30 events this year.

Player of the year Lorena Ochoa (70) was second, earning $100,000 and securing the top place on the season-ending money list. Karrie Webb (71) was the only player who could have passed Ochoa in that department, needing a win to do so. But Webb went home with $20,500 — meaning she and Granada were separated, essentially, by $326,500 per shot.

"Obviously, it was in the back of your mind all day," Webb said of the huge winner's share. "Because of that, you knew it was in the back of everybody's mind."

Only 32 women qualified for the event, where the field was trimmed to 16 after the second round, then down to eight for the final round — when the scores were wiped away and everyone teed off at even-par in an 18-hole shootout for $1 million.

Granada, the youngest of the eight players Sunday, somehow never flinched. And even if the scores hadn't been wiped out, her four-round total of 276 would have been three shots better than anyone else in the field.

*****

Granada backed away from her second shot on the 18th fairway, distracted by the roar two holes away, where Ochoa had made birdie — giving her two in a row — to get within one of the rookie's lead.

Granada got her 5-iron approach — her mother, correctly, thought it was one club too much — on the green, but well behind the hole. Her first putt got to about 3 feet, and the par try was perfect, protecting her one-shot lead.

And when Ochoa and Webb — Granada's two closest pursuers — each found the water with their tee balls at the par-3 17th, the outcome was all but sealed.

It was the veteran players that cracked today. Granada played steady the entire round and was a deserving winner. One million dollars is a nice way to celebrate one's birthday. Congrats to Julietta. As for a certain Palm Beach Post columnist, Dave George how does that crow taste?

Note- If scores had been carried over from the first 54 holes, Granada would have won in that format also.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Bullwinkle,

Happy Blogging Anniversary

To fellow South Florida blogger Rick at Stuck on the Palmetto. He is one of my daily reads. Go over and wish Rick well.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Jo's Cafe, Samantha Burns,

Weekly Dolphins prediction

Miami(3-6) plays Minnesota(4-5) at home this afternoon. Most of the pre-game talk revolves around Daunte Culpepper who used to be QB for the Vikings and is currently sidelined by the Dolphins because of a bum knee.

I've been wrong about the last two Dolphins games. Can I break the streak this week? My guess- Miami 21, Minnesota 17.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early,

What book are you reading now?

Jo did this type of post at her blog. I thought I'd do the same.

I'm currently reading Bob Woodward's 'State of Denial'.

Waiting to be read-

The Greatest Story ever sold by Frank Rich
In defense of internment by Michelle Malkin
My Life by Bill Clinton
Journalistic Fraud by Bob Kohn
Castles of Steel by Robert Massie
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Off with their heads by Dick Morris
China wakes by Nicholas Kristof
Ten minutes from Normal by Karen Hughes
The Mission Song by John le Carre
Now it's my turn by Mary Cheney
Dean Acheson by Robert Beisner

There are a few more books waiting around to be read too.

From the list you can see I like to read non-fiction and from very differing points of view. Malkin and Rich?

The same could be said for books I completed recently-

Mark Levin's Men in Black
Thomas Ricks' Fiasco
Frederick Forsyth's The Afghan

So what are reading and what is on your bookshelf waiting for you? Anyone out there as schizophrenic in their reading material as TFM? LOL.

Linked to- Woman Honor Thyself, Cao's Blog, Is it just me?, Uncooperative Blogger,

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Planet Fitness and their manager of the Wappinger Falls gym, Carol Palazzolo. They get the award for the following.

WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y., Nov. 13 — Albert Argibay, a bodybuilder and a state correction officer, was at a Planet Fitness gym with 500 pounds of weight on his shoulders one afternoon this month when the club manager walked over and told him it was time to leave. Mr. Argibay, the manager explained, had violated one of the club’s most sacred and strictly enforced rules: He was grunting.

“I said to her, ‘I’m not grunting, I’m breathing heavy,’ ” recalled Mr. Argibay, 40, an energetic man with the hulking appearance of a pro linebacker. “I guess she didn’t like the fact that I challenged her, because she said to me, ‘Meet me up front; I’m canceling your membership.’ ”

He continued lifting, but soon was surrounded by town police officers, who told him to drop the weight slowly and pack his bag, then escorted him from the gym. Now Mr. Argibay is considering suing the club, claiming the notoriety the incident earned him in this cozy 5,000-person town 75 miles north of Manhattan is tantamount to defamation. Mr. Argibay said he has endured ridicule from colleagues who call him and make grunting noises, and he fears that inmates will lose respect for him.

Grunting, rude as it may be, has been commonplace in gyms for as long as weights have been lifted. At most health clubs, grunts elicit little more than annoyed looks or sighs of irritation. But at Planet Fitness, a national chain with 120 locations, it is a matter not only of etiquette, but also of club policy: one too many offending noises can get a membership revoked in the time it takes to do a sit-up. Nationwide, the chain expels roughly two members a month for various reasons, most commonly grunting and dropping weights.

The no-grunt policy is one of several eyebrow-raising rules — no bandannas, no jeans, no banging weights — that managers say are intended to make their target clientele of novice exercisers feel comfortable.

The manager who confronted Mr. Argibay, Carol Palazzolo, said without hesitation that people who feel the need to grunt should take their sweat elsewhere, though she said Mr. Argibay was expelled largely because he became hostile when she confronted him, a claim he disputes.

“He immediately created an intimidating atmosphere not only for me but for the guests around me,” Ms. Palazzolo said. “He got very offensive and very loud, so I walked away and I called the police department.”

Planet Fitness bills itself as “The Judgment Free Zone.” But in the weeks since Mr. Argibay was booted, a number of members have accused the gym of judging with extreme prejudice, saying the club humiliates members whose physiques are too chiseled and who take their workouts too seriously. And the incident has raised other imponderable questions.

How does one distinguish between a grunt and a very deep breath? Must a grunt be “characteristic of a hog,” as one dictionary defines it? And what if there are no patrons around to take offense? What would happen if Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova, known for their noisy exertion on the tennis court, showed up wanting to work out?

Don't grunt, don't breathe. Better yet, just pay your membership dues and don't ever come to the gym. That's what the company's policy looks like to me. Planet Fitness and Carol Palazzolo are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

Hat tip- James Joyner at OTB
Linked to- Woman Honor Thyself, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Samantha Burns, Third World County, Clash of Civilizations, Right Wing Nation, Wake up America, Adam's Blog, The World According to Carl, Stuck on Stupid, Stop the ACLU, Point Five, Is it just me?, Uncooperative Blogger,

Take your hands off my VCR

Variety declares Vertical Helical Scan, better known as VHS, dead in the following article.

After a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old.
No services are planned.

The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened its final decline.

"It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general manager North America Lori MacPherson on Tuesday.

VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs.

Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in this, the video biz's all-important fourth quarter. Retailers decided to pull the plug, saying there was no longer shelf space.

As a tribute to the late, great VHS, Toys 'R' Us will continue to carry a few titles like "Barney," and some dollar video chains will still handle cassettes for those who cannot deal with the death of the format.

Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult childhood as it was forced to compete with Sony's Betamax format.

After its youthful Betamax battles, the longer-playing VHS tapes eventually became the format of choice for millions of consumers. VHS enjoyed a lucrative career, transforming the way people watched movies and changing the economics of the film biz. VHS hit its peak with "The Lion King," which sold more than 30 million vidcassettes Stateside.

The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career, VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in 2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time.

What is a man to do when he has over 200 VHS tapes at home? I won't be disposing of them any time soon. There are some movies or I taped, like 'Crack in the World', that are impossible to find today. The days where channels like TBS showed mid-day or morning movies is long past.

VHS isn't dead yet in this part of Florida.

Hat tip- Below the Beltway
Linked to- Woman Honor Thyself, Right Wing Nation, Basil's Blog, Jo's Cafe,

AP- Associated Press? No, Absolutely Preposterous

Today's example of bad journalism.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A small black object that was found attached to the bottom of a woman's Jeep and prompted an evacuation of a three-square block area on Friday wasn't a bomb after all. It was a tracking device planted by the woman's husband.

A temporary shelter was set up at the Queen of Peace Church to house the 45 people who had been evacuated, while authorities investigated for more than two hours.

After learning the woman and her husband were going through a divorce, detectives learned that the woman's husband had hired a private investigator. He admitted attaching the tracking device to the woman's Jeep, Maynard said.

Bomb technicians used a robot to confirm the box was indeed a Global Positioning System device, Alachua County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Stephen Maynard said.

The names of the woman and her husband were not released.

Then compare it with this Gainesville Sun article.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office received a call at about 9 p.m. about the suspicious device from Dousa Fanous, 35, of 10412 SW 23rd Ave., in the Cambridge Forest subdivision, said spokesman Sgt. Steve Maynard.

Fanous said she first noticed the device when she was picking up her children, ages 7 and 11, from The Family Visitation Center at NW 13th Street and NW 39th Avenue, Maynard said. Fanous handled the device, put it back on her SUV, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, drove home with her children, and then called her attorney, who told her to call police, Maynard said.

The Sheriff's Office dispatched its bomb squad to the scene and evacuated about 30 homes within a three-block radius of Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 10900 SW 24th Ave., Maynard said.

The woman told deputies she was going through a "messy divorce," so deputies talked to her husband, Maher Fanous, 47. He told deputies to call Bob Goldberg of Palm Beach County, a private investigator he had hired, Maynard said. Goldberg told deputies he attached a GPS device to car, co-owned by couple, to track her whereabouts, Maynard said.

If I could find this, why couldn't the AP reporter? The story is filed out of Gainesville, so the reporter should have seen the local paper. Actually I saw the Gainesville Sun story almost 24 hours ago. I didn't blog about it, because I was saving it a 24-hour Knucklehead marathon I am planning for November 24.

So where did this AP reporter file the story, Dunkin Donuts? I have rarely seen a more lazy piece of journalism in my 21 months of blogging.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Clash of Civilizations, Point Five, Woman Honor Thyself,

Fanatics and birth control

From The Corner-

Does Anyone Really Disagree with This? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

A Bush administration HHS nominee is getting grief for his involvement with a pregnancy center that believes: "that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness."

Passing out contraception without any deeper context or conversation is degrading and disrespectful — to men and women. Tell me I'm crazy.

Yes you are. Now go take your meds Kathryn.

Andrew Sullivan and James Joyner also agree on the state of Ms. Lopez mind. What an incredible trinity we form. LOL. At least none of us support Rick Santorum.

I'm Catholic and Dear Wife and I don't practice bc. That's our choice, but my religious beliefs don't extend to others who want to have some control over their lives. They should have that right, not have fanatics like Ms. Lopez standing in their way.

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Stop the ACLU, Basil's Blog,

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Franklin Scott Williamson and Titan Lawn Services the company of which he is President of, plus David Buser and Infrastructure Corporation of America the company Buser is a project manager for. They get the award for the following.

GIBSONTON - A maintenance worker mowing after dark on Interstate 75 intruded into traffic, setting off Wednesday's deadly collision between a car and a fully loaded gas tanker, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Franklin Scott Williamson, 28, president of Titan Lawn Services, was mowing hours after his required 4 p.m. stopping time, state officials say. Troopers say his slow-moving tractor was headed south in the inside lane, going about 30 miles an hour under the road's minimum speed.

At 9 p.m., a car approached from behind, going the speed limit, 70 mph. The driver slammed on the brakes.

The car avoided the tractor but was rear-ended by a pickup behind it. The car veered sharply to the right, crashing into the side of a tanker truck, also headed south, with a full load of 9,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, troopers said.

The tanker pulled over, and driver Sarria R. Yury, 39, of Tampa climbed out. Moments later, the tanker and the car exploded. Fire crews could not save the car's driver, and the fire burned for 41/2 hours, said Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

The crash halted traffic, and two people who suffered minor injuries were taken to a hospital, Yeakley said.

Reached at his home, Yury said his company asked him not to talk with reporters. He said he pulled off to the roadside after the collision and saw that the tanker was on fire.

"I got out quickly," he said.

The car involved belongs to a Bradenton family, and the family has been notified, Trooper Larry Coggins said. Investigators are waiting for the medical examiner to identify the victim.

Coggins said no charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing.

Pickup driver Dennis Aaron said he saw the car's brake lights ahead and tried to stop his truck, but it was too late.

Aaron, a golf course maintenance worker and dirt bike racer, and his girlfriend were headed home to Apollo Beach on I-75 after celebrating his 18th birthday at a Hooters in Brandon. He said he drank tea.

Troopers say Aaron wasn't speeding or tailgating when the car in front of him slammed on its brakes.

"It was just, like, instant," Aaron said, recalling the crash Thursday.

As soon as Aaron's truck rear-ended the car, he saw it veer into the tanker, he said.

Aaron wonders why Williamson was mowing so late and why he drove so slowly.

"At night, what can you mow at night?" Aaron said. "I didn't even see him at all."

That's a question that wasn't answered Thursday, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson.

Williamson's company, Titan Lawn Services, is a subcontractor in charge of mowing I-75 in Hillsborough County. Williamson is the company's president, and he has had a contract for 31/2 months with Infrastructure Corporation of America, a Tennessee company that has a contract with the DOT.

As part of the contract, Williamson agreed to mow only between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., unless he has written permission from the contractor, said ICA project manager David Buser.

"He was specifically excluded from working at night," Buser said.

"We've talked to him this morning and made sure he understands that's a no-no."

Subcontractors are not allowed to mow after dark because it's difficult to see the grass, he said.

"We get a better quality job during the daylight," Buser said.

Williamson also is required to follow state guidelines about the safety lights for his equipment.

"There's no formal inspection unless there's a reason to believe that something was really wrong," Buser said. In Williamson's case, ICA had no reason to think there was a problem, he said.

Buser declined to discuss Williamson's reasons for mowing that night. "If it's related to the crash, I don't want to talk about it," he said.

Well frankly Mr. Buser you said enough already.

Where do we start?

Williamson is mowing an interstate median.

At night.

Driving his mower into the passing lane of a major highway.

And working beyond the hours he is supposed to by contract. This is the Company President!

Buser is a work of art too. He calls Williamson and says what he did was a no-no. That sounds like a father disciplining his five-year-old, not a company speaking to an employee that caused a major automobile wreck that killed one. Since ICA subcontracted Titan, they are partly responsible for this debacle.

The above all speaks for itself. For stupidity and incompetence that resulted in a person's death, Franklin Scott Williamson and Titan Lawn Services the company of which he is President of, plus David Buser and Infrastructure Corporation of America the company Buser is a project manager for, are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

Linked to-Blue Star, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Samantha Burns, Third World County, Clash of Civilizations, Right Wing Nation, Wake up America, Adam's Blog, The World According to Carl, Outside the Beltway, Stuck on Stupid, Stop the ACLU, Point Five,

What's tougher- Winning a million dollars or a Major Championship?

Dave George at the Palm Beach Post thinks it's the former.

WEST PALM BEACH — Can't tell you who will win the LPGA's first million-dollar jackpot Sunday afternoon, but figuring out who won't is a cinch.

Ai Miyazato, Thursday's first-round leader at the ADT Championship with a sweet 68, she's toast.

Same goes for Il Mi Chung and Julieta Granada, two more hard-chargers from the tour's international ranks, even though they barely missed grabbing the early lead themselves.

Oh, and here's the part that may turn my newspaper photo into a dartboard around here. Boca Raton's Morgan Pressel, an iron-willed tour rookie, and LPGA glamour girl Natalie Gulbis won't be winning here, either, regardless of their early climb into the tournament's top 10.

The logic is simple enough, if not exactly infallible.

No player who has yet to win an LPGA tournament can be expected to hold her nerves together Sunday afternoon with a cool million on the line.

All that talk about getting one putt for all the money on No. 18 is just talk. False bravado. Pure practice-green fantasy.

More likely, everyone will be gagging by the turn at No. 9, no matter how experienced. After that, one or two veterans, probably multiple-winners of major tournaments, will stumble forward into championship position, but even then it may be no prettier than Shaq shooting free throws at the NBA Finals.

Sorry, but that's the spectacle the ADT's new format provides, with fresh scorecards issued to the elite eight players Saturday night and a heart-racing Sunday sprint to the finish from there.

Mr. George who writes about LPGA golf or any golf all of two weeks out of the year, thinks of himself as an expert on the tours. Lets put that to rest right now.

*- As the ADT Leaderboard stands at present, 6 non-LPGA tour winners will make the cut to Saturday's 16. That is out of a possible eight non-winners. At present Annika Sorenstam will miss the cut and Lorena Ochoa is on the cut line.

*- More importantly, Non-winners have won majors on the LPGA on a regular basis. Last year it was Birdie Kim and Jeong Jang. Birdie's win may have been a fluke, but Jang was arguably the best non-winner on tour at the time. At present JJ is one of the 10-15 players on tour.

Don't forget Se Ri Pak winning the 1998 LPGA for her first LPGA win either.

*- Miyazato and Chung have both been either player of the year or a top 3 money winner of respectively the JLPGA and KLPGA tours. Miyazato's record of wins is more impressive, but as we all know the KLPGA is becoming almost an LPGA minor league. The talented players coming from that tour to the LPGA is as long as its talented.

Talented non-winners win major golf tournaments all the time. The ADT may be for more money, but a major like the US Open or LPGA is just as stressful or more so. Winning tournaments under alot of pressure is an regular happening on the LPGA. For both the great players like Pak, or unknowns like Hillary Lunke.

Bottom line- Dave George is clueless about pro golf. He ought to stick to writing about the Dolphins and Marlins.

Linked to- Clash of Civilizations, Blue Star, Bright & Early,

Mark and Ed Foley plus the MSM

The latest Mark Foley news-

Mourning the death of his father, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley has returned to Palm Beach County to find himself the focus of a state criminal investigation.

During a preliminary inquiry, Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators found enough evidence to justify a full-fledged investigation into whether Foley broke any laws during his Internet exchanges with former congressional pages, agency spokeswoman Heather Smith said.

"Our focus is on incidents which may have occurred in Florida with regard to inappropriate communications between Mr. Foley and former House pages," Smith said, although she couldn't say specifically what triggered the shift.

State criminal investigations usually entail interviews with suspects and witnesses, subpoenas, reviews of documents and examination of seized property, Smith said.

A spokesperson for the FBI, which is also looking at Foley's messages, couldn't be reached for comment on whether the shift in the Florida investigation will affect its probe.

Maybe the police are co-operating together. That's been known to happen. If Foley potentially broke any Florida laws. FDLE should be investigating.

Rick at SOTP thinks Foley won't get anymore than a slap on the hand. I'm not as certain. The Post article went on to say-

Foley's 85-year-old father, Ed Foley, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Foley arrived in South Florida Wednesday with plans to attend his father's funeral, a source close to the family said.

The 52-year-old former congressman kept a low profile Wednesday and Thursday, although a television station showed footage of him Thursday outside the Palm Beach home of his longtime partner, Dr. Layne Nisenbaum.

The Lake Worth native had not been seen publicly since he checked into a 30-day alcohol recovery program at an Arizona rehab center on Oct. 1, just days after resigning from Congress amid the disclosure of his sexually explicit Internet messages to congressional pages. He extended his stay at the A-list center, Sierra Tucson, at least once, isolating himself from the national furor.

Foley and his family have made no public comments, but his attorney released a statement on the family's behalf Thursday asking for privacy while they grieve Ed Foley's death.

A visitation is scheduled Friday, and the funeral will take place Saturday.

I've discussed with Dear wife if we will attend the funeral. She met the Foleys(Not Mark though) when they were parishioners at the church we attend and where Dear Wife works. We also know the pastor of the church where the mass will be held.

If I attend the funeral, I'm going as a private citizen. There will be no blogging about it. I'm more likely to be attending this tomorrow instead.

Will the Foleys get the privacy they request tomorrow? I talked to a friend at the Post today and she said there would be a reporter there. If TFM had to guess, I suspect their will be both television and print media outside the church.

Bob at The Daily Pulp wrote-

Channel 5 in WPB got the first images of Foley, which were taken outside the home of longtime partner Layne Nisenbaum, since the scandal broke. Today there will be a visitation and tomorrow the funeral will be held at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church (with such an emphasis on the false ideal of immaculate conception, which implies there is something wrong with actual conception, it’s really no wonder there’s so much gay perv shit going on in the Catholic hierarchy).

Foley’s attorney, of course, is asking for privacy for the family. So here’s a question: How does the media handle the funeral? Do reporters go and question people — including Foley if they get a chance — outside the church? Do they just stake it out and get images? Or do they leave it alone altogether?

My bet is that the vast majority of the media will be respectful. Why? Because they know the former congressman himself isn’t going to talk and they recognize that the funeral itself is barely news. They’ll set up across the street from the church. If the family is smart, it will send the lawyer or a spokesman over to answer questions. When it’s over, the media hordes will play it by ear. Ideally they’ll already have sources who they can ask about the service well after it’s over. If they don’t and need quotes, well, that’s when every bit of tact and common sense they have needs to come into play.

This is a weird brew. We’ll see what happens.

The less said about Bob's inaccurate diatribe against Catholicism the better.

What I said in Bob's comments section still holds-

What’s the news about the funeral anyway? Its a mass for Ed Foley not about Mark Foley. The media should be respectful of that.

*****

What will happen at that mass is what happens at any such mass for the dead. Friends and family come to mourn the person who died. These masses are held every day in Palm Beach County and around the world. Is any of this really news?

The MSM is only there hoping there hoping someone lashes out at them. Much like people who watch car races just for the crashes. Tells you something about the MSM's mindset. What do you think?

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Wake Up America, Adam's Blog,

From the silly news desk

Some news from Hollywood Florida. These boys have no imagination. For they could have put super glue on some teacher's chairs. LOL.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Jo's Cafe,


HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A sticky situation at a school has come unglued. Police on Wednesday arrested two teenagers who they believe broke into their school last week and put glue in all the door locks.

The teens, whose names are being withheld because of their age, were charged with burglary and criminal mischief, police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode said.

The damage cost McArthur High School nearly $30,000, Rode said.

Police and school officials were able to break into most of the classrooms before students arrived, but witnesses said some students were still stranded outside classrooms, according to The Miami Herald.

Investigators used surveillance video to help catch the pair.

Starting at a very young age

Some news from the Fort Myers News-Press. Unbelievable is all I can say when it comes to this news.

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Outside the Beltway,

LARGO - A seven to eight year old girl is on the lam from authorities today after a failed armed robbery attempt at Wal-Mart.

The child hid some Lego toy blocks under her coat and tried to slide out the door but was confronted by an employee who undoubtedly said something like, drop the legos little girl.

The girl did not comply but instead brandished a 10" carving knife she said carried for protection.

The employee talked the girl into putting down both the toys and the knife, but the culprit fled on her bicycle before authorities could apprehend her.

Another Dolphin Bust?

From the Sun-Sentinel-

DAVIE · Sidelined Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper said Thursday the mending of his surgically repaired right knee is not going as smoothly as he had hoped and acknowledged that he may not play again until 2007.

"Right now, I'm at a point in my patella, I get a sharp pain when I'm trying to push off," said Culpepper, who will miss his sixth straight game Sunday. "The strength is coming back better. I think the little sharp pain ... if I can get past that point, I think I could be very explosive. But I also want to get to 100 percent so I can be effective and be a dominating player."

Culpepper said he wants to play again this season but that he understands the risk could outweigh the reward.

"Of course I want to [play], but I'm going to be very smart about it," said Culpepper, who is signed through the 2013 season. "I'd be disappointed, but at the same time I've got to keep my eye on the big picture. It's really not about short term; it's about long term."

Culpepper, who owns the NFL record for combined passing and rushing yards in a season, said the pain doesn't occur when he plants to throw, but rather when he begins to make a "quick move."

"I don't know if I have to have [more] surgery. I doubt that as of right now," Culpepper said. "I think it's more strengthening my quad."

Did Nick Saban and the rest of the Dolphin coaching staff know how much Culpepper's knee was troubling him? The more I read about Saban, the more I notice his stubborn streak. Once his mind is made up, he sticks to a decision and doesn't like being second guessed even when things are going poorly. In TFM's opinion, Saban did just that with Culpepper through the first four weeks of the season. The result is Miami went 1-3 against four teams with losing records.

Long-term I think Miami has just squandered money and a draft pick on Culpepper. His knee hasn't healed in a year and I think this is a sign of how damaged it truly is. Duante's effictiveness as a QB is very reliant on his mobility. With one very damaged knee I think Culpepper's future career as an NFL starting QB is looking very doubtful. As do the Dolphins's short-term prospects. This team needs to re-build, and quick fixes at QB are just not working. Where's Jay Feeley these days?


Linked to- Bright & Early, Basil's Blog,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is former Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards. He gets the award for the following.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday that a staff member for former Sen. John Edwards — a vocal critic of the retailer — asked his local Wal-Mart store for help in getting the potential 2008 presidential candidate a Sony PlayStation 3. Edwards said it was true, but a mistake on the staffer's part.

Edwards told The Associated Press that the volunteer "feels terrible" about seeking the game unit at Wal-Mart a day after his boss criticized the company, saying it doesn't treat its employees fairly.

"My wife, Elizabeth, wanted to get a Playstation3 for my young children. She mentioned it in front of one of my staff people," Edwards said. "That staff person mentioned it in front of a volunteer who said he would make an effort to get one. He was making an effort to go get one for himself.

"Elizabeth and I knew nothing about this. He feels terrible about this. He made a mistake, and he knows he should not have used my name," Edwards said.

Edwards is an obvious hypocrite for his stance against Wal-Mart while at the same time wanting to purchase a product at the store chain. His blaming an assistant is just as lame as he is. All of this makes John Edwards today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Hat tip- James Joyner at OTB
Linked to- Basil's Blog, Blue Star, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Samantha Burns, Third World County,

Grossly deficient

The latest news on the Michelle Fontanez/DCF story.

The Department of Children & Families didn’t break any laws but was “grossly deficient” in its dealings with a 13-year-old Lehigh girl killed in February, a grand jury ruled Wednesday.

Michelle Fontanez, 13, died Feb. 23, several days after DCF officials sent her home despite her complaints about being sexually abused by her stepfather, Alberto Hernandez, 38.

He faces trial March 12 on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and sexual battery.

Fontanez’s uncle, Luis Fontanez of Cambridge, Mass., had hoped the grand jury would come down harder on DCF.

“We are outraged at this decision,” Luis Fontanez said. “As far as we are concerned, DCF put the bullet in the gun and Alberto (Hernandez) shot it. They basically put the bait in his face and waved it. We are sickened by these results.”

DCF officials began making sweeping changes following reports by The News-Press and an internal investigation by the agency.

The grand jury acknowledged DCF’s mistakes and the steps it has taken to fix the problems.

“While we can never know whether appropriate protective steps would have, in fact, prevented the criminal acts which killed Ms. Fontanez,” the grand jury wrote, “they could well have reduced the risk to her. Clearly, the DCF, which had the legal responsibility to protect her, failed to do so.”

Note- Earlier related posts of mine are here, here, here and here. Also check out this video of Michelle Fontanez being interviewed.

What the @#%^!??? If DCF had listened to Fontanez, they would never have put the girl back into the custody of her mother. Plus the agency never did a background check on Hernandez as required. There were sufficent warning signs for anyone to see if the caseworkers had bothered to l Therefore DCF would have prevented this girl's murder by not placing Michelle back with her mother.

What Alberto Hernandez did was murder, but he had an unwitting accomplice in the DCF caseworkers plus attorney Andrea Lang. These people deserve to be prosecuted, for a girl is dead because they did nothing. I can't believe there isn't some crime these people can be charged with. Doing nothing here is only letting DCF have the chance to do another Michelle Fontanez. DCF never learn till they can be held accountable.

The grand jury that handed down this ruling is as perverted as the agency they ruled on. A 13-year-old girl is dead and some of those responsible for it will walk away from this scot free. What a monumental screwup the both social services and the justice system in Florida is.

Linked to- Wakeup America, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe,

A long time

A man convicted of a 1979 murder has finally gotten a date with the needle.

TALLAHASSEE - Angel Diaz, the convicted murderer and two-time jail-breaker whose 1979 shooting of a Miami barkeep put him on Florida's Death Row, will be executed next month, Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday.

A death warrant signed by the governor sets Diaz's death by lethal injection for the week of Dec. 11 through Dec. 20, ending the murderer's 20-year stay on Death Row and 13 legal appeals.

Diaz, 58, was convicted in December 1986 of killing Joseph Nagy, manager of the Velvet Swing, a dicey bar on Southwest Eighth Street, one of the toughest areas of 1979 Miami. He locked several customers into a restroom at gunpoint, leaving no witnesses and no obvious trail.

Police revived the cold case in 1984 when a jailhouse snitch in Boston bragged of being Diaz's accomplice. Angel Toro, who was serving a life sentence for a Boston murder, pleaded guilty to Nagy's murder and received another life sentence.

Diaz, who was believed to have been a leader of a Puerto Rican terrorist gang called Los Macheteros, Spanish for ''machete men,'' was sentenced to 834 years in prison in addition to death for the Velvet Swing killing.

His record includes a life sentence for murder in Puerto Rico, from where he escaped, for killing the director of the prison's drug rehabilitation project. He later escaped from a Connecticut prison and unsuccessfully attempted to break out of the Dade County jail.

*****

Diaz attempted several appeals over 20 years and faced one previous death warrant, issued by former Gov. Bob Martinez in 1989. He exhausted his last appeal in December 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court denied his petition for a court review.

Mr. Diaz death will be no loss to mankind. I'm astonished by the 17 year gap between deah warrants. Then it looks like Death penalty appeals are taking 20 years or more all the time now. I'm starting to question if the Death Penalty is worth it when the appeals process is this drawn out. TFM has supported the death penalty for years but is beginning to question if it would be wiser to let convicted killers like rot in jail for life with no chance of parole. It would be cheaper for taxpayers and justice would still be served. What do you think?

Linked to- Pirate's Cove, Wakeup America,

Boy thats gotta hurt Part III

Some news from Kansas. Something tells me a band aid wouldn't work with these wounds.

Linked to- Jo's Cafe, Stuck on Stupid,

Maybe it was karma.

Three men attempted to kidnap a teenager in a dispute over stereo speakers shortly before 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Wichita police reported. One of the three pulled out a gun and fired it at the teen in the 1000 block of South Wichita.

The shot missed the teen. But then the shooter jammed the gun back into the waistband of his pants -- and it went off.

The bullet struck the 23-year-old man in his left testicle, causing him to cringe -- which caused the gun to fire again.

The second shot struck him in the left calf.

Police did not release information about the size of the gun he was using at the time.

The wounded man walked into Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus seeking treatment, police said, and was later booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated attempted kidnapping.

Trading the beach for cactus

From the Palm Beach Post-

For nearly 60 years, Dodgertown has remained a true gem in the chaotic world of professional baseball, a reminder of why baseball became the nation's pastime in the first place.

While other teams raced to follow the highest bidder and modernized stadiums to the point of building stalag-like compounds, Vero Beach's Dodgertown stayed true to its roots, preferring simplicity to technology.

Until now.

Baseball executives confirmed Tuesday they're negotiating with city officials in Glendale, Ariz., to move the Dodgers' spring training camp closer to their fan base in Los Angeles.

Although the talks come only six years after the team rejected a bid to move its spring home to Las Vegas, Indian River County officials fear the Arizona discussions could be the end of an era in Vero Beach.

And no one in Indian River County is cheering.

"Obviously, it's serious," Indian River County Administrator Joe Baird said Tuesday. "They have a memorandum of understanding with Glendale, but that's just the beginning stage and they have a long way to go."

Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' senior vice president of communications, said she could not discuss the details but confirmed that the team is talking with Glendale. Nothing has been decided, she said.

"This is just a first step," she said. "This is not a done deal."

A move to Arizona would bring the team much closer to home for spring training.

"The reason to do it would be to get closer to our West Coast fan base," she said.

The Dodgers still have to negotiate a formal agreement with the Phoenix suburb's officials for a publicly financed stadium they may share with the Chicago White Sox.

The Dodgers have trained in Vero Beach since 1948, which was nine years before the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and signed a new agreement just five years ago to use the stadium at Vero Beach Airport.

They'll either have to pay off a bond issue or buy the stadium to get out of the local agreement, Baird said.

It could cost the Dodgers about $16 million to break the lease, which expires in 2021.

Anyone who lives in Florida knows how transient the community is here. People come and go, as do businesses. Baseball is a business and it should hardly us that the Dodgers are starting to look for greener(or browner as in desert) pastures. Vero Beach was a sleepy Florida community 60 years ago. Not anymore, and the Dodgers may have outgrown their long-time spring home. Or is the move being made so the team can be closer to the west coast? Does it matter?

To the city of Vero Beach it does matter. Unfortunately they may have little say in whatever the final decision of the Dodgers is.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Random Yak,

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are Regan Books and the Fox television network. They get the award for the following.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Former American football star OJ Simpson describes in a Fox television interview "how he would have carried out" the murder of his ex-wife and her friend, which he has denied committing for more than a decade, the network said.

The two-part interview with Simpson, who was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, will broadcast November 27 and 29 in a special titled "OJ Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened."

"OJ Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes," Fox said.

"In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade," it said.

Simpson has written a book published by Regan Books, titled "If I Did It" and due out November 30, that hypothetically describes how the murders would have been committed, Fox said. Publisher Judith Regan will conduct the television interview.

After his acquittal, Simpson was found liable for the deaths in a subsequent civil action brought by the victims' families.

To say this is in bad taste is an understatement. Anything for the almighty dollar. Is that what this world is coming too?

For giving an unrepentant killer a forum, Fox television network and Regan Books are today's Knuckleheads of the day.

Note- OJ Simpson isn't a Knucklehead. He is a cold blooded killer.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Random Yak, Outside the Beltway, Stuck on Stupid, Third World County, Right Wing Nation,

Cup Time

From The Palm Beach Post-

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens said she has no knowledge of drug use among tour players. The tour still plans to start checking.

The LPGA Tour said Wednesday it will begin testing players for performance-enhancing drugs in 2008, a move that makes it the first major golf tour to announce a drug-testing program.

Specifics of the testing plan will be worked up over the next six to nine months, Bivens said. The tour plans to announce the program details, including testing methods and banned substances, in the second half of the 2007 season.

"While we have no evidence to date that any of our players are using performance-enhancing drugs, we need to have a very clear policy and a program in place," Bivens said. "We want to take a proactive role."

Players learned of the decision with Wednesday's announcement.

Annika Sorenstam, the top-ranked women's player, said she had no problem with the decision, yet called it "sad that we have to have testing."

"Golf is not like other sports," said Sorenstam, who was tested as a college player. "I believe in this sport. I believe in the people out here. ... I don't think you're going to see anything out here, so it might be a waste of time. But if it's peace of mind for people and if we need to prove that the LPGA's clean, then let's do it."

LPGA player Cristie Kerr said the testing would protect "the honor of the game."

"If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to worry about," Kerr said.

I'm sure a few players will have their feathers ruffled because of the new policy. Then Carolyn Bivens has a history of doing that with people etc etc.

TFM has no objection. After all most pro sports have some form of testing. That said, I don't look forward to blogging on golf's first drug scandal. If history teaches us anything, it will happen one day.

And I'll have a Knucklehead award to hand out when it does. LOL

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Pursuing Holiness, Random Yak,

Majoring in blogging

From the Palm Beach Post-

This spring, as 13-year-olds across the country break in their baseball gloves and count down the days until summer vacation, students in Florida will have important questions to mull over.

That's because Florida's eighth-grade students, including more than 13,000 in Palm Beach County, will be the first in the country who must select high school majors. The statewide majors are a provision of Gov. Jeb Bush's "A-plus-plus" plan designed to make Florida schools more relevant to children.

More than 50 of the state's 138 "major areas of interest" will be available to Palm Beach County students, from the academic, such as social studies and science, to the more technical and career-oriented, such as assistant automotive detailing specialist.

"This is intended to be a career plan to help them better engage in making plans for their future," said Elizabeth Decker, director of the school district's department of K-12 curriculum, adult and community education.

I blogged my opinion of majors in high school in this earlier post. TFM's opinion hasn't changed, its still a dumb idea.

Here's the list of majors available. I checked, blogging isn't on the list. Teaching teenagers how to do sarcastic commentary and snide remarks is just impossible. For its an skill one must be born with. Right?

Rick at SOTP is also blogging on this news. He thinks this is a major waste of the time.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog,

Ed Foley dead at age 85

The father of former Congressman Mark Foley passed away yesterday.

Ed Foley, a former teacher, high school principal and father of former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, died Tuesday.

Mr. Foley had been ill from cancer since 2003. His daughter, Donna Foley Winterson, notified The Palm Beach Post of her father?s death.

Mr. Foley was 85.

He was a former teacher who became principal of Lake Shore Middle School and later South Area High School. He also was a former commissioner for the South Lake Worth Inlet District. He was a former president of the Greater Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Foley, a native of Massachusetts, moved to Florida in the 1950s after living briefly in Arizona. He came to Florida with his wife, Frances, a girl he met in Catholic school. They had been married more than 60 years.

Well-known in the Lake Worth area, Mr. Foley was active in his church, community and politics.

Until his health failed him, Mr. Foley frequently campaigned for his son, Mark, in races including Lake Worth City Commission, the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives.

His son abandoned a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2003 saying the family needed to rally around his father who been diagnosed with cancer. Mark Foley resigned from Congress in September.

Mr. Foley is survived by his wife, Frances, their five children, Donna, Mark, Cathleen, Eddie and Elizabeth.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

If the funeral is held locally, it is possible dear wife and I may attend.(We don't have any details and haven't discussed plans with Leonita yet) For now I want to express our condolences to all of Ed Foley's family. May they find solace in the love of God at this time.

Ed Foley 1921-2006. RIP.

Disclosure- My wife and I attend the same parish the Ed Foley and his wife used to attend. Through her work at the church, dear wife got to meet the Foleys but not the former congressman.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Right Wing Nation,

Is Trenton Duckett alive?

From the Orlando Sentinel-

The Marion County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday it will launch its own investigation into the disappearance of toddler Trenton Duckett, this time "the focus being that little Trenton is alive."

The Sheriff's Office will have a news conference at 11 a.m. today to provide details about an eyewitness at a Marion County Wendy's restaurant and cell-phone records that link Trenton's mother, Melinda Duckett, to the area around the time her son went missing.

The new information prompted Marion County sheriff's officials to review investigative work by the Leesburg Police Department, the FBI and other agencies.

"We just want to go at it with the outlook that Trenton Duckett is still alive," said Marion sheriff's spokesman Capt. James Pogue. "There are a lot of people out there that assume because we spent days and weeks searching the Ocala National Forest that he is dead."

The 2-year-old was reported missing Aug. 27, after his mother told police he had been abducted from her Windemere Villas apartment through a bedroom window.

TFM has blogged on the Trenton and Melinda Duckett story previously. Check my posts, here, here and here.

I pray that Trenton is alive. That said, I wouldn't jump to conclusions based on these news reports. Details are very sketchy at this moment.

One thing I will re-iterate- If Trenton is found alive, Knucklehead Nancy Grace should be fired by CNN and blacklisted from ever working on television again. Her actions helping to push Melinda Duckett over the edge. That is IF Trenton is found alive.

I'll update this post after the news conference.

1230 Update- The news conference was held.

THE VILLAGES -- Marion County Sheriff's Office officials said today they are conducting an investigation into Trenton Duckett's disappearance in late August working under the premise that the 2-year-old is still alive.

Marion Capt. James Pogue said statements from a new witness who said she saw Trenton and his mother Melinda in Belleview early in the day on Aug. 27 -- the day he was reported missing -- have led investigators to believe the child may have been handed off to someone. Pogue and other sheriff's officials also cited cell phone records from the area to support their working theory.

Calling Melinda Duckett a "very creative person," Pogue said, "We believe there was a conspiracy with someone else to keep Trenton away from his father."

"He [Trenton] could be anywhere in the nation," Pogue said. "Anything is possible."

Melinda reported Trenton missing from her apartment in Windemere Villas in Leesburg the evening of Aug 27. She said he had been abducted through his bedroom window. But Leesburg police doubted her story from early on in the investigation.

Duckett, 21, shot and killed herself Sept. 8. She was later named the prime suspect in her son's disappearance. Melinda and her estranged husband Josh Duckett had a stormy relationship and an ongoing legal battle over custody of the child, according to court records.

Pogue and other officials said a drive-thru worker at a Wendy's restaurant in Belleview remembered seeing Melinda and Trenton between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that Sunday. About 20 minutes after the first sighting, the Wendy's worker saw Melinda come through the drive-thru again. This time, Tenton was not in the car. The Wendy's worker was interviewed and passed a polygraph test, officials said.

Marion Sheriff's officials also said they intend to conduct more polygraph tests, but they would not disclose who those witnesses are.

The officials said they have no evidence or information indicating Trenton is dead.

I could add that the police don't proof Trenton is alive either. This boy's photo has been in the news constantly. Wouldn't someone have seen him if Trenton was alive.

I do pray the police are right. If you think the Duckett story hasn't taken enough twists, go read this. Melinda Duckett was making porn videos.

Linked to- Third World County, Jo's Cafe, Bullwinkle Blog, Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Outside the Beltway, Pursuing Holiness, Random Yak, Right Wing Nation,

Bumper Cars

From the Sun-Sentinel-

Police received a call that a burglary was in progress in a home on Tropicana. Police investigated and spotted a dark gold Nissan Maxima leaving the driveway.

After confirming a burglary had been committed, police followed the Nissan east on Pembroke Road into Hollywood. At I-95, the car got stuck in heavy traffic and was unable to move. Police got out of their units and approached.

The driver of the Nissan began ramming vehicles both in front and in back of him in an attempt to escape. An approaching policeman, Officer Joe Caliechio, was struck by the car. Other cops ran up and began breaking out the side windows of the lurching car. Another officer fired into the front windshield, but it was not known if anyone was hit.

At that point, the Nissan escaped from its prison and crossed the median. In the process, the car's back window fell out onto the roadway. The vehicle headed east in the westbound lanes for a short distance, then sped onto I-95. It was last seen heading south.

These South Florida policemen could use some remedial classes in criminal apprehension. I was just down in Miramar last night and am glad not to have seen this spectacle.

Hat tip- Rick at SOTP who says A dented up Altima with broken side windows, a missing rear window, and at least one bullet hole in the windshield will have no problem blending into Miami-Dade traffic. LOL.

Linked to- Third World County, Jo's Cafe, Bullwinkle Blog,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Gibbs High School teacher Sharion Thurman. She gets the award for the following.

LARGO - The offense was so brazen, so egregious that Pinellas School Board member Linda Lerner almost laughed as she read the account aloud.

A veteran Gibbs High School teacher with a long history of work troubles had falsified hundreds of student ballots in an attempt to get her niece elected homecoming queen in September.

A wave of chuckles rose during Tuesday's School Board meeting, where Lerner and other board members were asked to approve a 25-day unpaid suspension for the teacher, Sharion Thurman, 56.

"This is not a gray area; this is cheating," Lerner said.

"It's so ridiculous, it's so outrageous that all you can do is uncomfortably laugh at it," said board member Mary Russell, normally one to give a teacher the benefit of the doubt.

So why not fire the teacher, who earns more than $50,000 a year? Her 20-year record includes numerous reprimands for poor judgment, insubordination and misconduct.

Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said firing was an option. But he looked at Thurman's file and noticed that the last discipline she received was a 2005 reprimand for making "negative references." He noted that the board has urged him to use progressive discipline with employees.

Stuffing the homecoming queen ballot box. Is that worth losing your job over? Then maybe Ms. Thurman shouldn't be a teacher. One thing is certain, Sharion Thurman is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Outside the Beltway, Pursuing Holiness, Random Yak, Right Wing Nation,

Florida the rules are different here Chapter LXIII

Add bats to the list of hazards(Bears, Pythons, Alligators, Clown Statues) both Florida citizens and visitors to the state have to endure. Don't you just love Florida?

Linked to- Bullwinkle Blog, Jo's Cafe, Bright & Early,

Thousands of bats have been dive-bombing families around a popular Brevard County restaurant, according to a WKMG-TV Local 6 News report.

Officials said the bats have infested the attic of the Back Bay restaurant in Palm Bay.

"They scare the customers basically and also they create quite a mess," Back Bay restaurant owner John Maltese said.

"It is just kind of spooky, you know," a resident told Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio said.

Monday, a wildlife specialist was called to help control the infestation. Chris Gangraw plugged a space in the building's roof where the bats are getting in.

"Earlier today we hung some check-valves or one-way netting systems to let the bats out but they can't get back in," Gangraw said. "There are probably hundreds coming out at a time."

From the Silly news desk

Some news from Houston. Maybe the burglar thought if he kept cool, the police wouldn't nab him.

Linked to- Bullwinkle Blog, Jo's Cafe,

HOUSTON - A burglary suspect tried something very uncool, trying to hide in an air conditioning unit at a Houston shopping center on Monday.

At first, officers who responded to the burglar alarm couldn't find anyone. But, they later noticed the man atop the building and summoned a ladder truck.

Officer John Dickerson said the suspect was nabbed inside an air conditioning unit. Copper wire was stripped from several other industrial AC units at the complex.

No coincidence at all.

From the St. Petersburg Times-

Frank Pallini had his suspicions, but he took the gamble anyway.

The day Pallini canceled his auto insurance with Liberty Mutual so he could save nearly $1,000 by going with another company, he joked to his wife, "You watch, Liberty Mutual is going to cancel our homeowners policy."

About a month later, that's exactly what happened.

Pallini, a 52-year-old St. Petersburg real estate consultant, was notified last week that the homeowners policy he has had with Liberty Mutual for 17 years would not be renewed, even though it is not up for renewal until late August.

Pallini's dilemma spotlights the question of whether property insurers can essentially hold a policyholder hostage by threatening, either directly or indirectly, to cancel a homeowners policy if an auto policy is dropped.

The question becomes even more important as Florida's property insurance market continues to dry up while the auto market becomes more competitive, and as auto-only insurers make a frontal assault for more business.

Pallini says he never got a solid reason from Liberty Mutual why he was dropped. But he suspects he was being punished by the company. His crime: disloyalty.

In one of his conversations with a Liberty Mutual representative before he was dropped, Pallini said the agent told him he would be "more susceptible to being canceled" if he moved his auto policy to another company.

"She didn't say I would be canceled," Pallini said, referring to the agent, "but the inference was clear."

Because his home was built in 1965 and is not far from Tampa Bay, Pallini's only alternative now is Citizens Property Insurance, the state insurer of last resort. His property insurance will more than double to about $3,000, wiping out any savings he'll get from the cheaper auto policy.

Florida law prohibits insurance companies from tying one line of business, such as homeowners insurance, to another, such as auto.

But how often that happens is difficult to say.

"We've always taken the position that state law prohibits a carrier from threatening to pull coverage based on another insurance product being purchased," said Bob Lotane, a spokesman for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

"But in reality, we don't have blinders on. Do carriers consider auto in underwriting homeowners? They probably do. But to come out and threaten someone, that's prohibited by statute."

There are no set penalties for violating the statue, although regulators could impose a fine.

So basically you have a teethless law and the insurance companies take advantage of it. As my father used to say- "You can't beat lawyers, banks or insurance companies."

Maybe Governor elect Charlie Crist and the State legislature will fix this loophole the next time the later meets. For some reason I don't see it happening. First because insurance companies donate heavily to both parties, secondly because companies like Liberty Mutual can blackmail the state by threatening to stop doing business in Florida entirely.

In other words, Florida residents will continue to get screwed.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Blue Star, Adam's Blog,

Celibacy

From AP-

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has called a meeting Thursday with top Vatican officials to discuss lifting the celibacy requirement for priests seeking to marry or who have already married.

Benedict called the summit to examine the implications of the "disobedience" of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, the Zambian prelate excommunicated in September for installing four married American men as bishops, the Vatican said Monday.

The Vatican stressed the meeting would not open a general discussion of the celibacy requirement but would only examine requests for dispensation made by priests wishing to marry and requests for readmission made by clergy who had married in recent years.

I think its long overdue for the Catholic Church to dump the celibacy requirement. Still I don't see any change happening in my lifetime.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Third World County,

The real thing

From the Washington Post-

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), a close White House ally and a Cuban American, has agreed to become the next general chairman of the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters.

Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the party's chief spokesman and fundraiser heading into the 2008 elections. Mike Duncan, the RNC's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Republican aides said.



Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, addresses the RNC state chairmen's meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., in this May file photo. Mehlman will step down from his post when his two-year term ends in January, GOP officials said Thursday. (Ed Andrieski - AP)

The current RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman, will step aside in January, after spending much of his tenure updating the party's technological infrastructure and reaching out to minority groups, especially African Americans and Hispanics. Exit polls last week showed that Mehlman's efforts were overwhelmed by voter concerns about the war, corruption and the hard-line approach some Republicans assumed in this year's immigration debate.

Many conservative bloggers are unhappy with the Martinez selection. Ed at Captain's Quarters, Stop the ACLU, Michelle Malkin and Iowa Voice to name a few. Much of the unhappiness stems from Martinez's views on illegal immigration. So what does TFM think?

Who cares.

That's my bottom line. The only problem I have with the Martinez selection is that this will be a distraction from the Senator's true job. To serve the people of Florida. Otherwise I could care less.

Note- TFM is a registered Democrat.

President Bush is the actual head of the Republican party in any case. The RNC chair's job is to raise money, not be the face of the party(Unlike Howard Dean and the Democratic Party).

So get over it everyone. As Don Surber notes, Republicans got a actual Senator instead of a unsucessful Senatorial candidate.

Update- The Professor at Right Wing Nation thinks some of the conservative blogosphere is seriously out of touch with reality at present.

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Third World County,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is The Panera Bread Co. They get the award for the following.

WORCESTER, Mass. - Is a burrito a sandwich?

The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall.

Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill.

But Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke cited Webster's Dictionary as well as testimony from a chef and a former high-ranking federal agriculture official in ruling that Qdoba's burritos and other offerings are not sandwiches.

The difference, the judge ruled, comes down to two slices of bread versus one tortilla.

"A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans," Locke wrote in a decision released last week.

In court papers, Panera, a St. Louis-based chain of more than 900 cafes, argued for a broad definition of a sandwich, saying that a flour tortilla is bread and that a food product with bread and a filling is a sandwich.

I don't know anyone who thinks a burrito is a sandwich. For filing a dumb lawsuit, The Panera Bread Co. is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Linked to- Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Outside the Beltway, Mark My Words, Pirate's Cove, Mudville Gazette,

Florida the rules are different here Chapter LXII

The town of Palm Coast wants to seize some property via eminent domain. What will the town use it for? How about a public golf course. Don't you just love Florida?

Its a little more complicated than that. Supposedly Palm Coast can use the land to improve the town's water system. The owner of the property, Ravonier Inc., has turned down a proposal from Palm Coast to buy the land. Still Ravonier said they want dialogue. Dialogue has to mean more money. It will be interesting to see if Palm Coast spends more money in legal fees than the difference between the town's offer and any counter offer from Ravonier. When it comes to business acumen, our elected officials most often have only a small supply.

Linked to- Bullwinkle Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early,

PALM COAST -- City officials approved a resolution this week that would allow the acquisition of a 1,200-acre site along U.S. 1 to improve the city's water system. It also could solve officials' quest to find a site for a future public golf course.

But the plan calls for the city to take the property through eminent domain -- a move that could set the stage for a battle between Palm Coast and Jacksonville-based Rayonier Inc.

Fed up with the lack of affordable golf in the area, Palm Coast Mayor James Canfield formed a committee with Bunnell Mayor Joann King and Flagler County Administrator Doug Wright earlier this year to study the feasibility of building a golf course in the county. The committee has reviewed various locations and made inquiries about the purchase of at least one site. Officials made an offer to Rayonier to purchase parcels of land it owns on U.S. 1 near Palm Coast, but were turned down.

Now, officials are considering the Rayonier site beyond the possibility of locating a golf course there.

City Manager Dick Kelton told the council at a meeting Tuesday that the land, about 1,203 acres, contains well sites that could improve the city's water system. The site also has the space needed for a golf course, he said.

Rayonier officials have said they are not ready to sell the property, which is appraised at $4.7 million, Kelton said.

Discussions with the company are at a "dead stop," he said.

"They have no interest in talking with us further," Kelton said.

A Rayonier spokesman, meanwhile, said the company wants dialogue.

"We look forward to working with Palm Coast to better understand what their interests are," spokesman Mike Bell said in a telephone interview Friday morning.

Under the resolution, the city's utility system would acquire the property. The golf course would pay rental fees to the utility system to continue operation, Kelton said.

According to city documents, Palm Coast would acquire the property through a "quick take" procedure. That method would allow the city to acquire the property quickly, but determining its cost could take years.

Councilman Alan Peterson, who favors a public golf course, initially opposed a "quick take" because its true cost was unknown.

"That's like saying we'll give this process a blank check and we don't know what it's going to coast, and we don't know what it is going to take for the city to break even in the acquisition," he said.

Peterson also opposed language in the resolution that said the property would only be used as a golf course.

Vice Mayor William Venne said the city needed to seize the property now because control of Palm Coast's water was paramount.

"We're protecting the water source that Palm Coast is going to need in the future," he said.

Councilman Jon Netts agreed, saying officials could be haunted years later if they city didn't acquire the well sites now. Netts also noted that the city still would have to purchase the well sites even if a more suitable site for a golf course was located.

Peterson later threw his support behind the resolution, but only after language was changed to reflect that the land could be used for public purposes such as a golf course, but did not commit the city to that single use.

Parking space

Its proving to be quite a week in Florida. When people aren't falling out of the sky, planes are. From the Sun-Sentinel.

WEST LANTANA -- A small single-engine airplane crash landed on a driveway southeast of the Lantana Airport shortly after 11 this morning, downing power lines and cutting power to nearby homes, but injuring no one seriously.

The pilot, 71-year-old Allan Schultz, of Palm Beach Gardens, sustained minor injuries in the crash near Lake Osborne, according to Palm Beach Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera. Schultz already was out of the plane and was walking around when emergency crews arrived. He had a cut over his nose. Schultz declined to be taken to the hospital.

*****

The Viking plane, built in 1967, slid to a stop on a patch of grass only a few yards from the home of Chris Gius, 6821 Pine Drive, west of Lantana. Gius, who was working from home, described the sound of the crash like an earthquake. The fuselage of the plane appeared intact, but the wings were heavily damaged.

The plane, with its wings shredded and almost sheared completely off, came to rest against a car. Footage from news partner NewsChannel 5 indicated the plane may have clipped, then snagged some power lines while attempting to land. The impact uprooted or snapped several power poles and lines in the area.

"The power lines saved me and saved him, too," Gius said.

Schultz's wife, Glenda, said she learned about the crash from televised news reports shortly before noon. She said she had not heard from her husband or emergency responders, but recognized the blue and white plane when it was shown from TV helicopter reports. She described her husband as a "long-time" pilot.

By noon, Florida Power & Light was at the crash site trying to restore power.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

TFM kept his electricity in spite of living less than a half mile from Lantana airport. I've been living in this neighborhood for 17 years and in that time there have to been at least six other incidents here.(A Carnival Airlines 727 jet almost mistook Lantana airport for PBIA about 10 years ago) Just pray I don't have a plane come down in my driveway one day.

Linked to- Mark My Words, Pirate's Cove, Right Wing Nation,

The Sky is falling

From the Sun-Sentinel

MARATHON -- A man was injured while skydiving in the Keys after becoming entangled in power lines near the Marathon airport.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the lines burned Mike Wysong of Tequesta, Florida after he leapt from a plane at approximately 9:50 a.m. Sunday morning. Once Wysong and the lines landed on the ground, the wires remained live for an additional 10-15 minutes until employees of the Florida Keys Electric Coop could arrive to cut power.

Wysong, 43, told MCSO deputies that he periodically felt surges of electricity the entire time he was lying down after the incident. Due to the risk of electrocution, responders could not assist him for medical transport until the power had been shut off.

After being airlifted from Fishermen's Hospital in Marathon to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, it was announced that Wysong had suffered burns over 15-20 percent of his body.

When Wysong hit the power lines, it caused power surges as far south as Key West.

I'm sure if Mr. Wysong lives he'll re-pay all Florida Keys residents who had appliances fry because of the power surge.(Cue the sarcastic laughter)

Is Wysong nuts? What is a skydiver doing in the keys anyway? The islands are small and the Marathon area heavily developed. You'd think Mr. Wysong would jump somewhere with more room for mistakes.

Then I think anyone who jumps out of a plane is nuts. I guess I answered my own question. Get well Mr. Wysong(and please stay away from the Keys or Lantana).

Linked to- Mark My Words, Pirate's Cove, Jo's Cafe,

They didn't get the memo Part II

George Bennett writes the following in today's Palm Beach Post.

Forget about a honeymoon. Before Democrats Tim Mahoney and Ron Klein are even sworn in as members of the 110th Congress, Republicans are already speculating about how to win back their heretofore GOP-leaning House seats in 2008.

Here is another example of people at the Post not getting out much. The speculation about who would run for President in 2008 started the day after the 2004 election.

That's what politics has become- 24/7 Talking heads and political blogging. When one election cycle ends, the next starts up immediately.

After a lackadasical start, Bennett does get around to who may be the potential GOP candidates for the Florida 16th and FL 22nd in 2008.

Negron seems to be the GOP's leading 2008 contender, if he wants a rematch.

"I have always been interested in public service and I'm sure that will continue, but I'm spending time with my family and I'm not addressing that issue," Negron told the Politics column.

State Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, has shown interest in the past. Jupiter attorney Tom Rooney, whose family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers, is another possibility for either Mahoney's or Klein's seat.

I'm not sold on Negron being the best candidate in the 16th and think voters felt the same on November 7th. It would be wiser to find someone else. With the right candidate, the GOP should be able to win back the 16th in 2008.

On the other hand there is the FL 22nd.

Klein presents a tougher challenge for the GOP after he unseated 26-year Republican U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw in a hard race for a soft Republican district. Klein raised $4.1 million as a challenger and will be harder to beat as a majority-party incumbent in a presidential year in a district that votes for Dems for president.

When it was assumed Shaw would leave on his own terms, Republican names bandied about as potential successors included Boca Mayor Steven Abrams, state Sen. Jeff Atwater and state Reps. Ellyn Bogdanoff, Carl Domino and Adam Hasner. They continue to be worth watching as potential Klein challengers, but Atwater and Hasner would have to shelve leadership ambitions and Domino staggered to reelection Tuesday. Wealthy young Delray activist Nick Loeb is another potential candidate.

County GOP Chairman Sid Dinerstein, always promoting his party's talent, lists County Commissioner Mary McCarty and nearly every other coastal GOP officeholder and activist as a possible Klein foe. McCarty's reaction: "No, no, no. Nope. No, no, no, no. Not even maybe."

I think the GOP's chances of winning back the 22nd won't be good for sometime. There are a couple of reasons for my opinion.

1- An incumbent will always have the advantage in this balanced district no matter what party they represent.

2- The lack of a strong Republican to challenge Klein. McCarty is the strongest but PB County residents have a love hate relationship with this commissioner. Most everyone has a strong opinion about McCarty one way or another, and I'm not particularly enamored of her because of questionable ethics in the past.

Also McCarty is unlikely to run based on the memory of another PBC commissioner Carol Roberts who tried to unseat Shaw in 2002. Roberts was more popular than McCarty and lost 60-40 in that election.

The other possibilities that Bennett mentions don't stand out either. Wouldn't a chance at being Congressman be better in regards to a long-term political career than a leadership spot in the Florida House where one will eventually have to leave the legislature due to term limits? If that's holding back Atwater and Hasner, then these men have little ambition in TFM's opinion and the FL 22nd would be better off without them. Also Atwater is another politician with a history of ethics lapses. As to Hasner, he got one of my awards.

Bottom line- I don't see the GOP winning back the FL 22nd till after re-districting in 2012 and maybe not then either.

Linked to- Bright & Early, Third World County, Right Wing Nation,