The marathon protest attracted a diverse crowd. College students with dyed hair and tattoos mixed with retirees in dress clothes, the unemployed, artists and business owners.

Demonstrators included people like Amy DeBorja, a 48-year-old Bradenton radiology student sporting a peace sign necklace and “General Strike!” T-shirt, who said she wanted to make sure the left is heard as loudly as the right in the coming elections.

I guess the crowd was as diverse as a typical leftist Sarasota event. There were hardly any young people or minorities. It was a collection of retired pension fed wannabe hippies taking it to the man. The Sarasota Herald Tribune didn’t cover the woman wearing a “eat the rich” sign or the two women chanting “F*** the state,” and “F*** capitalism.” Another dull nitwit had a hammer and sickle sign. How many millions more have to die before idiots in this country realize it’s a symbol of totalitarian genocide?

Pretty much every local media source covered the event. I’ve attended kickball games and dodgeball tournaments in the Sarasota area that had more participants. The Sarasota Tea Party event on April 15, 2009 had well over 1,000 people. The unoccupied in Sarasota barely topped 100. This isn’t a popular uprising.

I’m not a fan of subsidized stadium projects, but the finished project was enjoyable today.

Some questions are better left unanswered

One of my favorite blogs is Creative Loafing’s the941. There’s no better source about what’s going on in the culture of Sarasota, if you could call it “culture.” The contributors lean left, but that’s not really surprising. Once there was a time when counter culture magazines were counter culture. Now it’s more like reading the script for Avatar. Hey, not everyone is perfect. No one reads Creative Loafing for political advice (I hope).

The most obnoxious column in the magazine is a weekly one called “Don’t Panic! Your war questions answered.” It’s written by Andisheh Nouraee who has his own blog and twitter if you like. There’s nothing really interesting about Nouraee’s column. It hits on all the bases that most progressives hit on… Bash Bush or anything that might be conservative, throw in some recycled derogatory rhetoric, and cite Media Matters as much as possible as a credible source for news.

Nouraee writes about various areas of the world and explains what’s supposedly going on in that region. Typically the United States is to blame, or more specifically some Republican administration. If it’s not their fault, it’s probably the state of Israel.

There’s are plenty of people writing drivel like this that are probably worth more time, but it’s just puzzling to me that any would want to read what Nouraee has to write. No one is buying Creative Loafing to read his column. It’s a space filler. I don’t mind leftist writers if they can at least write in an entertaining way. The title of the column suggests that it would be fun to read, but it’s just an angry rant most of the time.

Is there anything less creative than someone who gets offended by flame throwers and reacts by throwing flames? I’m passionate about politics, but this jump out of the trenches and stab each other to death because you’re on the other side is counterproductive. If you’re going to do it at least try to be funny. Nouraee’s column is worthless or as kids like to say an “epic fail.”

The All American Burger

The Burger Bar is only open Friday-Sunday, but it sits on the backside of the building facing the beautiful Sarasota Bay. The burgers start at a very reasonable six dollars. I got the All American Single (doubled) with Bacon. That cost me $10 and it was worth every penny. The shiny plastic silverwear looks like real silver at first. The Ritz Carlton spares no plastic expense. The burger itself isn’t enormous, but is cooked to perfection. For some reason the bartender didn’t ask anyone in our group how they wanted it cooked. That was a bit puzzling and visions of e coli danced in my head.

There are also hand-dipped milkshakes for dessert, but it was to too windy and cold for us to try them out (“cold” being defined in Sarasota as anything under 70 degrees F). Be warned, the prices are reasonable but any domestic beer is more than $5 and cocktails are around $12. One other helpful hint is to remember to get your valet parking ticket verified at the bar.

It’s also time for the public to go after the greedy landlord in a grassroots sort of way. The unreasonably wealthy landlord paid $6M cash for the property. Surely he can reach a compromise with Sarasota News and Books, especially in this market. No tenant that he can find will make a significant difference for this fat cat.
Mr. or Ms. Community Organizer, I know you’re out there.

When the bookstore closes it’s the greedy landlord’s fault. This type of thinking is difficult to combat because it’s just so shallow. It’s easier to be upset with the landlord than the well intentioned “community organizers” who set this in motion two decades ago. What we don’t need is more “grassroots” idiots dictating policy. That’s what created the problem.
If cities across the United States do not start to figure out the root of the problem there will be two types of cities. There will be cities like Detroit where no one wants to live and cities like Sarasota and San Francisco which are quickly becoming rich people theme parks. The only people who can afford to live here will be super wealthy people. Maybe that’s what they’re trying to accomplish.

A 2007 study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found heavily subsidized stadium projects were significantly more expensive on average than largely privately funded projects. The study found stadiums where taxpayers bore a majority of the cost were $65 million more expensive on average than those for which private entities paid the bulk of the tab.
While private financiers have every reason to scrutinize costs closely, “Government bureaucrats … are often more concerned with reelection prospects and PR plaudits than with cost containment,” the study notes.
In addition, the study found the average taxpayer subsidy per stadium is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing. The amount taxpayers paid for each facility rose 41 percent in just the eight years leading up to 2004.

The main argument for the agreement with the Orioles was the fact that it was going to be paid for in part by a tourist tax. Who pays for the shortfall? Here’s a hint; it won’t be the Baltimore Orioles.

According to police and eyewitness reports:
Michael J. Mitchell, 18, a student at the Sarasota Military Academy, was with a group of friends when Dan A. Azeff, also 18 and a student at Sarasota High School and Sarasota County Technical Institute, walked by with another group. Azeff wore a hat with the Confederate symbol and carried a Confederate flag measuring about 5 feet by 3 feet.
Mitchell and a friend questioned Azeff about the hat and flag, asking if he was a racist. Azeff told them no, he was just exercising free speech. The fight escalated and the groups exchanged racial slurs. Mitchell reportedly pulled out a handgun and shot Azeff once in the chest, then ran off.

Right off the set of Jerry Springer and onto the street of Sarasota. A white kid from Pennsylvania sporting a Confederate Flag gets shot by a black kid illegally carrying a handgun. The only thing missing was Geraldo Rivera. The article is kind of funny as the journalist spent more time trying to figure out why the kid is carrying a flag around than asking why an 18 year old is shooting people. Obviously it’s pretty stupid to be carrying around a Confederate battle flag that many people find offensive. It’s even worse when the person is ignorant about the history; however, should Cuban American’s be allowed to shoot every idiot wearing a Che Guevara shirt? This is a story about attempted murder not ignorant teenagers.

There are “missed opportunities” happening right under our noses. Parking meters are the first and easiest thing that comes to mind for me. This is a way to create additional revenue by placing them in high traffic zones in the city. They won’t curb downtown’s appeal and the funds raised from the meters, could be utilized toward downtown improvements.

The only “missed opportunity” is the fact that Sarasota won’t see real change. I guess in Atwell’s version of the world parking meters take pototo chips. The ones I’ve seen take coins. I live downtown and that would mean “increased fees” for me. Instead of finding ways of reducing costs Atwell will try to raise more money for the band of idiot commissioners to waste. One way to free up more money would be to quit authorizing costly feasibility studies.
Then there’s Terry Turner. As we all know Turner is a closet democrat. His first act as commissioner should be to fix his voter registration. Of course Turner was endorsed by most of the established city commissioners.

He [Turner] was also endorsed by Clapp and received a campaign contribution from Kirschner. Both Clapp and Kirschner were elected on slow growth platforms and voted against two recent developments: Whitaker Bayou and the Proscenium, just north of downtown.

Ah, endorsed by Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Is it any wonder Turner was elected? I’ve received numerous items in the mail defending Turner from “unfair attacks.” Pointing out facts about a person is considered unfair in Sarasota. Turner says it is unfair to portray him as being opposed to all growth. I guess every man has his price. I haven’t talked to one person the past six months that’s happy with the direction of the city. The waste and incompetence of these people is staggering; however, until the city limits change the same idiots with different names will be calling the shots. All over the country these slow growth politicians are sucking the citizens dry under the flag of smart growth. Propaganda works.

Sarasota mayor Lou Ann Palmer was on hand to address spectators prior to the game. But she was interupted by repeated booing. “I’m glad so many of you are angry,” said Palmer, wearing a red shirt and red hoop earrings, “because I’m angry that the Reds are leaving, too. “We feel exactly the same way.” But it was evident that many in the crowd did not think the City of Sarasota did enough to make sure the team would not leave.

The mayor was angry and eventually ended up in tears. Someone in the crowd yelled “shut up” a few times. That’s got to be a real confident boost for the council. The city commissioners presented the Reds with a key to the city. I wonder how many feasibility studies had to be commissioned to figure out if that was a good idea. The only reason these people keep their jobs is because the city boundaries are drawn to protect the status quo. The city commissioners got booed for a good ten minutes. The pointless rotating mayor tried to calm the crowd, but she only made things worse. The mob was angry and they have a right to be… these commissioners are a joke.