Category: Politics
My view and opinion on US Politics.
Hearing Beyond the Door
Sometimes you never want to face up to someone’s argument when you are on the opposite side of the door of an issue when it’s full of bullshit speculation. At least that’s how I am feeling right now. I do not want to put up with someone trying to argue for an outlandish plane system in order to save Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg and at the same time the guy keeps sending out his opinions to me (his desires) as facts. His bending of the facts to give people the idea that they very much should support his effort.
He wants to piggy-back a space-age-plane-transit idea on the Florida amendment for High Speed Rail. An amendment that is already neglected, maligned and considered a waste due to lack of support from the government.
He’s a pilot that doesn’t want his airport (personal airport) in downtown St. Petersburg closed. He wants political support to save the airport… Yet the airport isn’t anything grand. In fact I learned to detest it when I went to the Tall Ships festival last year (and got buzzed over and over again by private planes)….
The city of St. Petersburg is losing tons of money with this airport and if they need / want to close it – so be it.
Yet my new “friend” wants not only the airport to stay open but a new “Mega Airport” to open in Florida to FURTHER support air transit.
Right…
In a state that’s already bowed to too much development and has not centralized it’s cities, air transit and complex air plans are only going to further encourage sprawl by letting distant places seem closer. That’s the last thing I want. I’d like to see city centers become just that with RAIL connections to the suburbs. Not distant suburbs several dozen-to-hundred miles away get connected by a plane-taxi like service.
It’s groovy, it’s space age, it’s a plan that everyone would have wanted for the 2000’s to be — easy travel by air — but it’s not plausible. Not now. Not in this state. Not in this ms-developed county.
Musical Justifications
I didn’t get to sleep last night until… well. this morning. It must have been 5 AM when I finally conked out. Pretty shitty if I do say so myself. I woke up around nine and stayed in bed until 10…. And yet I am still going strong right now without the urge to nap? WTF is up with that shit, y0?
Today I have politics on my mind a good bit. I haven’t talked about the WMD’s or much at all about the war in general since military operations started in Iraq. Of course, EVERYONE who has ever read this journal and knows me knows that I am against the war and think it’s unjustified. Well, the administration is continuing musical-justification for the war and now is stating that 9-11 is the reason why the United States attacked Iraq.
Give me a fucking break.
To say 9-11 justified the war is to say that any time someone acts suspiciously then you have every reason to kill that person in order to protect yourself. I mean, if I am walking down the street and someone is wearing baggy pants and looks intimidating, do I have the right to shoot the bastard on site because I am afraid? No. The White House is justifying everything that it does through 9-11 and it’s saddening that people actually believe it.
At any rate, Assignment 3 for my correspondence course is in the mail and on it’s way to the Lou-one and I still have bad bad feelings about the assignment. I sent him a copy of the Times article about me from last year as well as Re Elect JF’nK (he’s a Hudson Valley Renegades fan and they have a soft spot for Joe up there). I don’t know, i just feel really odd about it.
Oooh, before I forget to add this: have any of you been having problems with pop-up ads in Windows? I don’t mean pop-up ads while you are surfing web pages… I mean static messages that appear out of no where while you are online. You will want to look at this nifty little remedy to get rid of those pesky little fuckers. Windows Messages suck ass.
Republicans = Perverts
What is it with Bill Frist and other like minded, conservatives who fear Homosexuals?
Why are these perverts so obsessed with homosexuality?
Frist’s declaration of support for a constitutional amendment against Gay Marriage just seems to be saying is, “Hi! I can’t stop thinking about men having sex with each other!”
Act for Change?
I signed up with Act For Change web site a few years ago to protest stuff going on with the election – and then with some of Bush’s choices for government. Working Assets is supposed to be a sit that tries to rally citizens to do things for the better and provide a voice of the people to government.
…Just why the hell are they trying to get me to sign up for long distance phone service? I signed up to be an activist – not a capitalist.
They are a non-profit organization… Why are they sending me note-pads and address labels? Why not use those resources to help their own cause? Why is a group that’s has decried special interests treating me like a special interest and coddling me with the most mundane things? Mailing labels? Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream?
Just food for thought.
Homeland Security and NaderNation
I’ve been debating this on Skyscraperpage.com for a few days now and basically I’m still put off — or all out LOST – trying to understand the logic that Herr Bush is using:
Since the Office of Homeland Security came into being shortly after the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks against the United States, I’ve been trying to see George W. Bush’s logic in the creation of this new department in the first place. One might tell me that the Office of Homeland Security is specifically there to help “Protect the Homeland” and the only logic I can give you is this:
So is the Defense Department. Read the title of that department over: the Defense Department. Defense, as defined by our friends over at Dictionary.com give us the following definition:
de·fense ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-fns)
n.
1. The act of defending against attack, danger, or injury.
2. A means or method of defending or protecting.
3. Sports. The act or an instance of defending a championship against a challenger: will box in his third defense of his title.
4. An argument in support or justification of something. See Synonyms at apology.
5. Law.
The action of the defendant in opposition to complaints against him or her.
The defendant and his or her legal counsel.
6. The science or art of defending oneself; self-defense.
7. (often defns) Sports.
Means or tactics used in trying to stop the opposition from scoring.
The team or those players on the team attempting to stop the opposition from scoring.
8. The military, governmental, and industrial complex, especially as it authorizes and manages weaponry production.
Wowwie, gee whiz, lookie here.. There are so many definitions to Defense but the key to it all that keeps coming back to is guarding or protecting. Does this mean the Office of Homeland Security gives the Defense Department a chance to be the Offense department? Is this like Los Buccaneeros firing Tony Dungy for the sake of hiring Jon Gruden and being able to take what they want instead of protect what they have?
I made an analogy that Dungy used to preach and I firmly believe in – Defense wins championships. You streamline, you get back to basics, you do the basics really well and you will have success through that. The US Government doesn’t believe this though. Why would they? They have the biggest military in the world (one that has not been tested by full scale war – thank god – since WWII) and only have use for it in an offensive capacity. No one figured that the military might be better if it was tied together and not so many loose branches. That’s part of the reason 9-11 happened: red tape and bureaucratic bullshit and loose ties between government agencies. If the CIA and the FBI were one intelligence and Investigative agency instead of two units, they wouldn’t have ignored each others warnings. If the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines were all one entity instead of 4 groups that resent each other, maybe we would have seen air force jets scrambled a lot faster than they were on the morning of 9-11? Or less cost in waging war for that matter?
Homeland Security is a farce. They aren’t even in charge of those dandy Color Coded warning levels that they keep pushing on us to warn against possible terrorist actions. The Justice department was originally in charge of that, and now the President and upper administration officials are overseeing it.
In other news, I’m annoyed at the Green Party and Ralph Nader just a tad right now. There is a common enemy for those who are moderate or on the left side of the political fence right now and that’s the entire Bush administration. Ralph’s got political ambitions and it would be wise for him to get somewhere in the political world for both the Green Party sake and his own – but he’s aiming real high with the presidency. Right now we need a unified left and having the Greens and the Dems wage war is not the way that it’s going to happen. It would be better if Nader was running for Senate or the House of Representatives.
But Ralph won’t. He’s got ego to go along with his beliefs.
I love the guy – I really do – but at the same time I don’t want to see what another 4 years of George W. Bush will give to the American people and the world. They are an elitist group as is that gives money back to the rich and steals from the poor – they use a false sense of patriotism to push their will, etc. It’s manipulation on the masses and it must end and I don’t see Ralph as a legit way to get things to that end. The Green Party in the United States needs to continue building up from the ground up and having someone run for president (who isn’t even allowed to debate with the other Presidential candidates) is not a strong way to build things.. Especially when the left is already angry with Nader for getting enough votes to put Bush into office.
I’m a registered Green and I am supporting Howard Dean or Bob Graham as of right now. I don’t want the other fence-poll Democrats. If they (the fence-poll Democrats) end up with the nomination, I may very well vote for a Green, but if Dean or Graham end up with the nomination – they have my vote fully.
Heavenly Shades of Bombs are Falling / Limbo Time!
I don’t get on people for being spoiled very much – though I think of myself as spoiled in a lot of ways… That’s helped along mostly because I am a pain in the ass and I act like a pain in the ass until I get my way… (current situations are proof positive). There are only a few times where I complain about others being spoiled and I happened upon one of them tonight.
Now, one of my friends goes to private school and they are approaching Spring Break rather fast now. Their private school has a trip set up for the senior class — a trip to Hungary — for Spring Break. That’s quite a senior trip now, ain’t it? I didn’t have one going to public school – I don’t recall anything as special offered from the school to the students.
Now there’s a little situation in Iraq, maybe you heard of it? :rolleyes Just like 9-11, things got changed by that little situation and the trip quote may endquote be off for these kids. Lets see – international crisis that we get to watch through the TV, Europeans and the rest of the world tiring of US arrogance in dealing with the rest of the world, anti-American sentiment spreading… Hmmm, do you think it’s time to cancel that trip to Hungary for safety sake?
So my friend is upset that the trip quote may endquote because of this slight situation in Iraq. I got upset at my friend because they seemed to be oblivious to the situation at hand. I think a lot of Americans are – we have the luxury of being in homes that are wired to the core and news stations beaming us the latest briefings and updates – they also have been avoiding showing us much of the anti-American sentiment abroad and the censors, of course, have also done there job of preventing that from coming to light…. It appears safe from our side of the pond but is it safe?
Going to Europe right now for anyone is a risky proposition and canceling this trip for safety sake is needed. I know it’s a class trip, but it’s really just a HS class trip. There have been plenty of other events in HS that were enjoyed with the senior class. Getting upset over this trip being nixed, though understandable, seems kind of pompous and arrogant and dismissive of the dangers that lurk out there right now and the risk…
Changing subjects I’m in limbo still and I’m feeling better than I have in a while – I’m also in need of some cash more than I have been in a while… I don’t know if I am going to keep feeling ok the next few days/weeks but I do need to find something to do to cover costs. Unfortunately I’m a bit picky at what I do and I’m also a bit clueless as to where to look – where should a hearing impaired guy go to find work? I lucked out with Target back in October when they hired me, but that was just before the busiest season of shopping… There are certain jobs that I think of as “beneath me” but at the same time I don’t even know how long I would be at any given job before …. snip snip.
As for the war – I’m getting sick of all the coverage and how much attention me and my family are paying it. It’s like watching a car wreck – you can’t turn away.
Gobble Gobble
Turkey Day….
Just what am I thankful for? Just what is there to be thankful for?
For starters, having readers like you actually viewing my web page. Hello, how are you? 🙂
I’m thankful for electronics and for the mesh of the electronic and the biologic that gives me a chance to hear again.
I’m thankful that George Dubya Bush hasn’t blown us all to hell yet – though I don’t think it will be much longer if the fool gets to remain in charge for a while.
I’m thankful for the internet….
For Sarah Marie….
For Target Corporation and giving a guy who can’t hear that well a chance to do a job on the sales floor.
Speaking of Target, I’m thankful I still have use of my legs, feet and arms after getting worn out pushing, shoving and lifting stuff and putting them on to shelves.
I’m thankful for Jon Gruden, for the Glazer family proving that they aren’t as incompetent as they are shrewd, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneer sand 9-2 as of this writing….
For the Tampa Bay Lightning proving me wrong and starting off very hot this season. I am very thankful for that.
For Lou Pinella Coming back to TB to coach the Devil Rays who play like Deviled Eggs.
For the Beatles and Sony Music not suing my ass, and for the fans who supported me while they threatened… I am most certainly thankful for this.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving everyone 😀
Wall Off Wal-Mart!
Last night I finally got a good night of sleep after tossing and turning all weekend and getting up early. Nice refreshing change back to the norm – me sleeping in….
I went downstairs and I read the newspapers like usual and one of the top stories in the local “North Pinellas Times” section of the St. Petersburg Times simply enraged me. I ought to find something normal to get pissed off about, because politics and business (especially here in Florida) will be the end of me…
You see, Wal-Mart is proposing a new Supercenter along the bank of Lake Tarpon, which is entirely ridiculous. Where the building would be is not more than 10 miles from another Supercenter, nor is it 2 miles from a current Wal-Mart location….
The story’s headline? “Wal-Mart proposal includes traffic signal”…
You mean to tell me that a building that 1) adds to sprawl in North Pinellas, 2) hurts the environment, 3) Paves over a wooded RV Park and D) is useless, should make me feel more comfortable because they would add a TRAFFIC SIGNAL at their entrance point? Give me an f’n break!
I ended up going all out this morning over this – I emailed the stories writer with a complaint that he did not include the information that the proposed store rests only a few thousand feet from another Wal-Mart. I also went out and emailed my County Commissioners expressing displeasure over the proposal which now rests in their hands:
Commissioners:
My name is John Fontana and I’m a Pinellas County resident in North
Pinellas County. What I read in the newspaper today disturbed me and it
also made mention that the County Commission controlled the outcome of this
planned development – so I am emailing you in order to voice my displeasure
and concerns about what has been proposed.Walk Mart Corporation and Wilder Corp development have proposed a
Supercenter to be built adjacent to Lake Tarpon and U.S. 19 south of
Klosterman Road. While Wilder Corp argues about how the region suffers from
a lack of shopping (which has been their public argument since attempting to
build a Target and Lowe’s Home Improvement center on the property), it does
not seem to take into consideration why people oppose it and why residents
do not like the proposed.For starters, Wal-Mart has both a Supercenter and a standard Wal-Mart store
within driving distance of the proposed location. It is not a problem for
any resident to drive from Klosterman or points around the area to either
Alderman Road or Oldsmar where the locations of Wal-Mart’s stores are. The
proposed construction also adds more apartments to an already over-saturated
market here in North Pinellas. Innisbrook Resort gutted it’s property to
add hundreds of apartments within the last 5 years, and other Apartment
options surround the area…. Adding a new set of apartments would not just
drive down opposing apartment complexes value, but just continue to add
clutter to the sprawling North Pinellas area.Another problem with this proposal is environmental impact. Wilder Corp’s
plans would gut it’s wooded RV park and pave over the spot… It would also
disturb the Lake Tarpon ecosystem due to rain run-off that would end up in
the lake from the parking from both the proposed Wal-Mart and also the
proposed apartment’s.What is to become of the Wal-Mart that is currently located at Alderman Road
and U.S. 19? Would it be vacated and left to be an empty and ugly “box”?
Don’t we already have enough of these in the Bay Area and Pinellas County by
carpet-bagging developers? How much development are we going to allow to
tarnish Lake Tarpon? How many green-spots in Pinellas County are left to be
paved over with additional suburban sprawl? Is Wilder Corp’s vow to pay for
a traffic signal at US 19 and Cypress Pointe supposed to put my mind at ease
that my tax-payer dollars will not be spent on this? If that is the case,
it doesn’t. This development should be stopped in it’s tracks. There are
other uses for the property that are more sound than the current proposal.
That was sent to four of seven County Commissioners… I only pray they don’t just file this away and ignore the complaint.
I’m so sick of backing up and giving ground to large, ominous corporations…. I’ve done it with Sony and Apple Corp LTD…. I’ve bowed to the Corporate structure by getting a minimal job with Target Corp…. What’s next? I have to name my first born Microsoft Fontana in order to get to use Windows XP 2.0? Or have UPC codes tattooed to my skin in order to be able to purchase items from a specific company? Will I have to move because someone wants to build a gas station on my property and the County uses some hidden law to evict me? I want to fight it, I want to lobby against it, I want to protest it… And yet I can’t find many like-minded people near me.
Pray For me and to hell with US 19!
One thing I am proud of with this site is being able to come on here and leave one rant each time I leave a journal entry. For those of you still reading my journal you’ll know I was bummed out after the Beatle Lyrics fallout and didn’t quite know what I would do with the web space at hand. I did turn it into your venerable Stonegauge… but there’s still more that can be covered in the future and I hope I can do that….
Anyway, lets get to the rant now shall we? :smile
You hear me complain politics all the time, at times you hear me moan about Tampa and/or Tampa Bay… If I haven’t, well you should be thankful. One thing that irked me the other day while thinking about stuff is the biggest special-interest group in the area. It’s not a company, it’s not a person… It’s a roadway.
US 19 is the worst 30 mile stretch of roadway in Florida and arguably the US. It’s a volume of 80 thousand + cars and trucks a day driving in stop-and-go conditions from the county line to the tip of Pinellas County. Half the people who drive it are trying to commute south, the other half are trying to make minor neighborhood trips.
Why is US 19 a special interest group? The Businesses along it….. Commissioners of Pinellas County do a lot of planning specifically for businesses that are along the corridor. The roadway would be best if it was a freeway with limited access…..
But that would not make the businesses or the consumers happy, now would it?
So Pinellas County gets money from the state, and the National Government in order to “improve” the roadway with minor bits of glam – an overpass here, sidewalks there, streetlights. It still never helps the problems that pop up – the Highway cannot have open access like it does, Pedestrian Overpasses are needed, more flyovers in both directions to help traffic flow….
But why would they do THAT? It wouldn’t help businesses directly. It wouldn’t fill coffers at Election time. It’s political bullshit I’ve been viewing for the past 5 years from a political level and it sucks.
Median breaks, a continuous right hand turn lane, more traffic lights… It’s just adding to the problems while avoiding the solutions.
Election results are in…
*Grumble, Grumble* Stupid Republicans…:mad
*Grumble, Grumble* Stupid, stupid Democrats…:mad:rolleyes
Sniper Stuff
The Sniper case finally broke late last night. If you have been living under a rock the past month you would not be aware of Sniper attacks that have been going on in Maryland and North Virginia — 10 (?) killed, several wounded – and the fact they had no leads on who was doing this or how to catch the guy.
What really irks me about this – forget them finally catching the guy for a moment – is the guy called the task force that was investigating these attacks. He called several times at that. And what happened? They hung up on him. They disregarded him. They brushed off the calls.
And five more people got shot and died because they were that ignorant not to take his calls seriously.
It’s screw ups like this that got thousands killed on September 11th… You know,” intelligence” not taking possible scenario’s seriously enough to acknowledge the threats…
Crazy, just too frigging crazy.
