Hey folks, I don't know why our computer people didn't tell me I needed to do this sooner, (they're computer people, what can I tell you). But this blog site has moved. (Now the computer people told me where to tell you to go to find it, but they don't seem to realize that everytime they open their mouths I'm swearing some sort of Martian language is coming out.) I'll see what I can do to find myself.
HA. HA. A computer person slipped up and spoke English. I'm found..
Go here. Read my blog. Comment, banter, cuss computer people ... Woo Hoo
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/blog/user.php
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Equal time for my GOP friends
Somebody recently responded to a blog I wrote that sorta questioned the sanity of those who worship Bill O'Reilly, by calling me a "good little Democrat."
To that person I say "I ain't a good little nothin'."
Anyway, I've got a little something to make you Republicans smile. 'Cause I do love ya. Really.
A cannibal was walking through the jungle and came upon a restaurant operated by a fellow cannibal.
Feeling somewhat hungry, he sat down and looked overThe menu...
+ Broiled Missionary: $10.00
+ Fried Explorer: $15.00
+ Grilled Republican: $20.00
+ Baked Democrat: $100.00
The cannibal called the waiter over and asked, 'Why such a price difference for the Democrat?'
The cook replied, "Have you ever tried to clean one? They're so full of (poop) , it takes all morning."
To that person I say "I ain't a good little nothin'."
Anyway, I've got a little something to make you Republicans smile. 'Cause I do love ya. Really.
A cannibal was walking through the jungle and came upon a restaurant operated by a fellow cannibal.
Feeling somewhat hungry, he sat down and looked overThe menu...
+ Broiled Missionary: $10.00
+ Fried Explorer: $15.00
+ Grilled Republican: $20.00
+ Baked Democrat: $100.00
The cannibal called the waiter over and asked, 'Why such a price difference for the Democrat?'
The cook replied, "Have you ever tried to clean one? They're so full of (poop) , it takes all morning."
Monday, July 23, 2007
Good quote
Good ol' Ben.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
More plastic stuff
This article was discovered for me by someone who listens to NPR (try it sometime, you may give up Bill O'Reilly forever)
Anyway, it adds a little more information to the discussion we were having about all the plastic that is finding its way into our oceans.
Battle over Method Thwarts Bottle Recycling
by Nancy Cohen
Morning Edition,
July 23, 2007 · Companies that reclaim the plastic resin from empty beverage bottles say they can't get enough of the stuff. However, fewer than one-quarter of the billions of plastic bottles Americans purchase every year are recycled.
Some of the worst places for recycling are large public events. For instance, baseball games at Boston's Fenway Park draw more than 36,000 fans, but there are no recycling containers in sight.
A Little League park in Mansfield, Conn., may have a better game plan — a transparent receptacle with a recycling symbol stamped on the outside. The containers have increased the recycling of bottles and cans in town parks by about 60 percent.
"It was like 'Yes! This is the answer to public events!'" says Virginia Walton, Mansfield's recycling coordinator.
Walton says the key to getting people to recycle more is to give them a way to do it — and make it a no-brainer.
'Bottomless' Demand for Bottles to Recycle
Public recycling bins of any kind are rare in the United States, but the industry that recycles the bottles' plastic resin, known as PET, is hungry for more to make fabric, carpets and new bottles, says Michael Schedler of the National Association for PET Container Resources.
"The demand is almost bottomless at this point," Schedler says. "There's so much new demand coming on and existing demand can't be met."
Across the country, recycling programs for plastic bottles are a hodgepodge — each state and town does its own thing. Some recycle plastic at the curb; others at drop-off centers. Some don't recycle at all.
Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council says container deposit laws, also known as "bottle bills," give a financial incentive to recycle.
"People realize in bottle-bill states that throwing out a can with a deposit on it is, in effect, throwing out a dime or a nickel," Hershkowitz says.
Many Grocers, Bottlers Oppose Deposit Laws
The 11 states with bottle bills account for more than 60 percent of the PET plastic recycled in the United States. But many grocers are against deposits.
"It's somewhat dirty, it's inconvenient and it actually costs us money," says Ken Capano, who owns two ShopRite stores in Connecticut.
Capano says the deposit law in his state places too much of the burden of recycling on grocers, who have to provide space and machines to take the bottles back. It costs each of his stores about $20,000 a year, he says.
Bottlers, who have to administer container deposits in some states, also oppose the laws. Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, says curbside programs work better.
"The key is a comprehensive program that draws in not just bottles and cans but milk jugs and newspapers and magazines and detergent bottles and all the things that make up the waste in our communities," Neely says.
In California, the deposit program funds curbside recycling. Jim Hill of the California Department of Conservation says the state uses the money from bottles and cans that aren't returned. That adds up to $250 million a year.
"Curbside systems, drop-off systems all working together, I think, is the best approach to get the best bang for your buck," Hill says.
California also addresses some of the grocers' concerns. Instead of supermarkets taking back the bottles, independent redemption centers do. The state also puts a deposit on all beverage containers except milk and wine.
Some Say Laws Should Target More Than Bottles
Kim Jeffrey, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America, says he's not against container deposits, but he says beverages should not be the only containers targeted.
"Everybody that sells a plastic container that's recyclable should have some deposit on it if we're going to do this thing the right way," Jeffrey says.
And he means everybody.
"If it's P&G with a detergent container; if it's ConAgra with a peanut butter container; or if it's me with a bottled water container; or if it's a dairy with a one-gallon milk container — this should be a level playing field on this," Jeffrey says.
Hershkowitz says that if Americans don't recycle more plastic, other problems will get worse.
"Petroleum-based plastics emit enormous amounts of hazardous emissions and greenhouse gases during the acquisition of the petroleum and the transformation of that petroleum into a plastic product," he says.
Hershkowitz says recycling avoids that pollution, but making recycling work isn't a national priority. However, the growing market demand for empties may trigger a new commitment.
Anyway, it adds a little more information to the discussion we were having about all the plastic that is finding its way into our oceans.
Battle over Method Thwarts Bottle Recycling
by Nancy Cohen
Morning Edition,
July 23, 2007 · Companies that reclaim the plastic resin from empty beverage bottles say they can't get enough of the stuff. However, fewer than one-quarter of the billions of plastic bottles Americans purchase every year are recycled.
Some of the worst places for recycling are large public events. For instance, baseball games at Boston's Fenway Park draw more than 36,000 fans, but there are no recycling containers in sight.
A Little League park in Mansfield, Conn., may have a better game plan — a transparent receptacle with a recycling symbol stamped on the outside. The containers have increased the recycling of bottles and cans in town parks by about 60 percent.
"It was like 'Yes! This is the answer to public events!'" says Virginia Walton, Mansfield's recycling coordinator.
Walton says the key to getting people to recycle more is to give them a way to do it — and make it a no-brainer.
'Bottomless' Demand for Bottles to Recycle
Public recycling bins of any kind are rare in the United States, but the industry that recycles the bottles' plastic resin, known as PET, is hungry for more to make fabric, carpets and new bottles, says Michael Schedler of the National Association for PET Container Resources.
"The demand is almost bottomless at this point," Schedler says. "There's so much new demand coming on and existing demand can't be met."
Across the country, recycling programs for plastic bottles are a hodgepodge — each state and town does its own thing. Some recycle plastic at the curb; others at drop-off centers. Some don't recycle at all.
Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council says container deposit laws, also known as "bottle bills," give a financial incentive to recycle.
"People realize in bottle-bill states that throwing out a can with a deposit on it is, in effect, throwing out a dime or a nickel," Hershkowitz says.
Many Grocers, Bottlers Oppose Deposit Laws
The 11 states with bottle bills account for more than 60 percent of the PET plastic recycled in the United States. But many grocers are against deposits.
"It's somewhat dirty, it's inconvenient and it actually costs us money," says Ken Capano, who owns two ShopRite stores in Connecticut.
Capano says the deposit law in his state places too much of the burden of recycling on grocers, who have to provide space and machines to take the bottles back. It costs each of his stores about $20,000 a year, he says.
Bottlers, who have to administer container deposits in some states, also oppose the laws. Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, says curbside programs work better.
"The key is a comprehensive program that draws in not just bottles and cans but milk jugs and newspapers and magazines and detergent bottles and all the things that make up the waste in our communities," Neely says.
In California, the deposit program funds curbside recycling. Jim Hill of the California Department of Conservation says the state uses the money from bottles and cans that aren't returned. That adds up to $250 million a year.
"Curbside systems, drop-off systems all working together, I think, is the best approach to get the best bang for your buck," Hill says.
California also addresses some of the grocers' concerns. Instead of supermarkets taking back the bottles, independent redemption centers do. The state also puts a deposit on all beverage containers except milk and wine.
Some Say Laws Should Target More Than Bottles
Kim Jeffrey, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America, says he's not against container deposits, but he says beverages should not be the only containers targeted.
"Everybody that sells a plastic container that's recyclable should have some deposit on it if we're going to do this thing the right way," Jeffrey says.
And he means everybody.
"If it's P&G with a detergent container; if it's ConAgra with a peanut butter container; or if it's me with a bottled water container; or if it's a dairy with a one-gallon milk container — this should be a level playing field on this," Jeffrey says.
Hershkowitz says that if Americans don't recycle more plastic, other problems will get worse.
"Petroleum-based plastics emit enormous amounts of hazardous emissions and greenhouse gases during the acquisition of the petroleum and the transformation of that petroleum into a plastic product," he says.
Hershkowitz says recycling avoids that pollution, but making recycling work isn't a national priority. However, the growing market demand for empties may trigger a new commitment.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Craig's response
Well now I told ya'll yesterday that I was going to eventually talk to Toni Craig, the head of the Okaloosa County Democratic Party and get some thoughts from her on John McDaniel's candidacy for the 5th District House of Representatives seat.
I did.
Craig believes McDaniel's candidacy will represent her party's first real challenge of the Republican Party's complete dominance in this region.
Part of the challenge will be energizing Democratic voters in Okaloosa County, which owns about 35 percent of the total voters in the mostly rural house district that stretches from Fort Walton Beach to out by Marianna, where McDaniel, Jackson County's sheriff, is from .
Craig said the state Democratic Party is also enthused by McDaniel's candidacy ... maybe too enthused. "They're getting him out there sooner than he wants to be," she said.
Craig also said she believes Okaloosa County Commissioner Sherry Campbell will be the front runner in what is now a three person race for the Republican nomination in District 5.
I did.
Craig believes McDaniel's candidacy will represent her party's first real challenge of the Republican Party's complete dominance in this region.
Part of the challenge will be energizing Democratic voters in Okaloosa County, which owns about 35 percent of the total voters in the mostly rural house district that stretches from Fort Walton Beach to out by Marianna, where McDaniel, Jackson County's sheriff, is from .
Craig said the state Democratic Party is also enthused by McDaniel's candidacy ... maybe too enthused. "They're getting him out there sooner than he wants to be," she said.
Craig also said she believes Okaloosa County Commissioner Sherry Campbell will be the front runner in what is now a three person race for the Republican nomination in District 5.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A new day??????
Strange as it might seem to you and I, the St. Petersburg Times is gotten all atwitter at the notion of a Democrat running for office in what they so boorishly refer to as "The Panhandle."
(For the folks that still call this newspaper the "Playground Daily News, our region is long past being called the Panhandle. We're the Emerald Coast, or Northwest Florida --- at least right up until the time the St. Joe Company gets into enough Chamber of Commerce pockets to convince us all that we really should be Florida's Great Northwest.)
Anyway, there's this Democrat, name 'o John McDaniel, who's announced his intention to run to fill the District 5 state House seat currently occupied by Rep. Don Brown, a Republican from DeFuniak Springs.
Mr. McDaniel is the sheriff of Jackson County. So he's a gun-totin' Democrat. That's got to be worth something. Former House Speaker Allan Bense though, told the St. Pete Times he thinks Jackson's got a major undertaking on his hands.
Toni Craig, Okaloosa County's Democratic Party chairman (Hee Hee. Okaloosa's Democratic Party, tickles me even to type it) obviously thinks Mr. McDaniel "Johnny Mac" has got a good chance. She's the one that notified me of the St. Pete story.
Ms. Craig could not be reached for comment for this particular blog, at least not yet.
(always evolving media that Internet.)
And you know, he could. There's a lot more Democrats over there near Marianna where McDaniel is from then there are here. Might be interesting.
By the way, in the interest of fairness, I probably need to mention that there are three GOPers' already chomping at the bit to replace Brown, who is leaving because of term limits. They are Brown's legislative assitant Brad Drake (who has been with the representative since he was first elected in 2000) Okaloosa County Commissioner Sherry Campbell and Andrew Dwyer, who the Times reports is the proud "owner of a janitorial company."
And one other little aside. I'm going to miss Rep. Brown when he's gone. I like his guts ... and ... to this date he is the first and only state representative to ever pull me out of a fire ant bed.
What do you think of Johnnie Mac's chances? What do you think of a member of this Okaloosa County Commission running for state office? What do you think about being referred to as the Panhandle? What do you think about having St. Joe Company shove "Florida's Great Northwest" down our throat.
And what do you think about the vast number of fire ant beds in this region and does knowing that Don Brown pulled me out of one lessen your opinion of him?
(For the folks that still call this newspaper the "Playground Daily News, our region is long past being called the Panhandle. We're the Emerald Coast, or Northwest Florida --- at least right up until the time the St. Joe Company gets into enough Chamber of Commerce pockets to convince us all that we really should be Florida's Great Northwest.)
Anyway, there's this Democrat, name 'o John McDaniel, who's announced his intention to run to fill the District 5 state House seat currently occupied by Rep. Don Brown, a Republican from DeFuniak Springs.
Mr. McDaniel is the sheriff of Jackson County. So he's a gun-totin' Democrat. That's got to be worth something. Former House Speaker Allan Bense though, told the St. Pete Times he thinks Jackson's got a major undertaking on his hands.
Toni Craig, Okaloosa County's Democratic Party chairman (Hee Hee. Okaloosa's Democratic Party, tickles me even to type it) obviously thinks Mr. McDaniel "Johnny Mac" has got a good chance. She's the one that notified me of the St. Pete story.
Ms. Craig could not be reached for comment for this particular blog, at least not yet.
(always evolving media that Internet.)
And you know, he could. There's a lot more Democrats over there near Marianna where McDaniel is from then there are here. Might be interesting.
By the way, in the interest of fairness, I probably need to mention that there are three GOPers' already chomping at the bit to replace Brown, who is leaving because of term limits. They are Brown's legislative assitant Brad Drake (who has been with the representative since he was first elected in 2000) Okaloosa County Commissioner Sherry Campbell and Andrew Dwyer, who the Times reports is the proud "owner of a janitorial company."
And one other little aside. I'm going to miss Rep. Brown when he's gone. I like his guts ... and ... to this date he is the first and only state representative to ever pull me out of a fire ant bed.
What do you think of Johnnie Mac's chances? What do you think of a member of this Okaloosa County Commission running for state office? What do you think about being referred to as the Panhandle? What do you think about having St. Joe Company shove "Florida's Great Northwest" down our throat.
And what do you think about the vast number of fire ant beds in this region and does knowing that Don Brown pulled me out of one lessen your opinion of him?
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