Man… this week has been lousy…

I’m supposed to post three times a week… this is my first… and it’s Saturday.

I’m screwed.
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The other night this frog hopped onto my shoulder. I believe this is a poison one ,originally from Australia.Dogs can die from eating them. He was not afraid and hung around the dinner table for quite a while.

Pelicans on the Old Key Biscayne Bridge hoping for a handout from the fishermen.

And you thought you were having a bad day? The cost of fighting the fire in the Everglades–a fire which has been burning six days, since the April 15th–will be billed to the person who accidentally started it.

The man’s name has not been released, but he has been identified as a buggy driver who accidentally started the blaze when driving through the ‘glades. Was it a spark from his buggy? A smoldering cigarette butt? No word how it began. But somehow, state officials know they have their man. And he’s going to be saddled with a bill well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Personally, I’d like him to also pay me for getting me stuck on the highway, when Alligator Alley was closed due to smoke. My time is worth a lot, thanks.

So if the government can bill you for causing a fire, what about the other errors of human stupidity? For instance, people who decide to go mountain climbing in the middle of winter, and get stuck on an icy cliff 8,000 feet in the air, and need to be airlifted to safety–who pays for their rescue? Logic would lead one to believe they should pay. It might also (a) inspire them to try a little harder to get back down on their own, or (b) not be stupid enough to go mountain climing in the winter in the first place. This may not be an issue in Florida, but we have our own environmental obstacles and the principle is the same. As Edina Monsoon said in Absolutely Fabulous: “Just tax the stupid people!”

It’s just a thought.

Buggy ride backfire: a hefty bill [Miami Herald]

I do have a tendency to be rather heavy and gloomy when it comes to my cynicism of the world… society as a sub genre to my general dismay of unchecked capitalism and the hypocrisy of not just the American people but the world as a whole. I know that this “heaviness” can get a bit unnerving at best… I mean… yeah Mark… we know that such and such is a lying so and so and that the world is unfair… blah, blah, blah.

When most of us (well… okay, I really mean me) spend our time complaining about the sad state of our national affairs… we are of the understanding that those will inevitably work their way down into our local soil. It’s hard to read the paper or watch the morning news every day and sustain any sense of hope when our headlines are formed by pain and sorrow and despair.

It’s very important that we not only protect ourselves from falling into the abyss of hopelessness… but we also combat some of the social injustices that we, as liberals and radicals (at times), rail against.

Here in South Florida… we have plenty of good hearted things to get involved with… and today boys and girls… I will give you some info on a few of these things…
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“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door”
-from “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus (on pedestal of statue)

So… last night 21 Cubans wash ashore in Miami at the Rickenbacker Causeway…. right after Haitian immigrants ran ashore a few weeks ago in Hollywood… and guess what?
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
– Declaration Of Independence, 1776

Equal opportunity is a descriptive term for an approach intended to provide a certain social environment in which people are not excluded from the activities of society, such as education, employment, or health care, on the basis of immutable traits.
– Wikipedia

One of the most ignorant things that come up during a debate concerning the pursuit of Happiness is that somehow everyone has a shot at attaining some fraction of what the pursuit of Happiness has to offer. People love to wash themselves of responsibility… it’s the American way… and wash themselves they do.
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This evening’s dinner – fresh Cobia ,caught this afternoon aboard a charter boat. I won’t tell you where I buy it , as demand would be too high ( leaving none for me) – but it sure beats anything from a store. Cobia ( caught from December to May), is a firm white meat fish – perfect for grilling , rich,but not fishy flavor. A little olive oil, then 20 minutes roasting over the coals. Perfect with cous cous, arugula, and a cold Red Stripe.

Fresh Fish – one of many advantages of living in a Tropical City By The Sea.

Despite this morning’s huge storm – Phase 2 water rationing is going into effect. Go here for details ( soon to be updated). Today’s Herald has a major article about the drought.

The Seminole tribe of Florida stands to make billions of dollars if Gov. Crist agrees to expand gambling in the state, bringing popular games like roulette and blackjack to casinos on Indian land. Crist would allow the expansion in exchange for a slice of the profits the additional games would bring–perhaps a solution to the state’s crippling rates for property taxes and homeowners insurance.

Under current Florida laws, only certain slot machines and poker games are allowed in casinos. Gambling is restricted to certain state lands, usually sovereign Indian territory. Full-service casinos are only legal once gamblers leave the state on ships and head into international waters, on short day cruises or trips to the Bahamas or the Caribbean. This means the state literally watches gambling revenue float away, money that could be applied to government programs.

It’s perhaps an interesting coincidence that only a few weeks ago, the Seminole tribe purchased the Hard Rock chain, including rights to Hard Rock restaurants and casinos. The purchase provides a strong incentive for Gov. Crist to relax the state’s gambling regulations, by dispelling the image of casinos as targeting low-income gamblers. Should Gov. Crist allow the gambling expansion, Hard Rock casinos would undoubtedly explode throughout Florida, and their locations in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale and Tampa would expand (in fact, there are already plans to build a second hotel tower at the Hollywood casino, due to heavy demand for rooms). This would bring in billions of dollars in revenue, with the State of Florida receiving a portion of the proceeds through gambling taxes.