Established 1914 - SEE THE CLEARWATER SUN ON JAY LENO'S TONIGHT SHOW -CLICK HEREPresident Obama Has Given Up Smoking. "I'm fit for duty" ~~~~~Review of Clearwater's Tilted Kilt Pub-Click HereSAVE MONEY BY BUYING AMERICAN - The Humor Harvester Explains How_______________________________________________________________________________________________________From Our Washington News Bureau - PropublicaPrevailing wisdom has it that homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth -- known as being "underwater" -- are forced to stay put because the property is too difficult to sell. So people who would otherwise relocate -- say, to find a job -- are "tethered to their homes." It's a theory touted by prominent New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, Harvard economist Lawrence Katz, and regularly makes appearances in the media.~But according to economist Sam Schulhofer-Wohl at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, they've all got it backwards: underwater homeowners are actually more likely to move. (Click Here for Story)___________________________________________________________________________________________Doctors For DollarsTHE CHAMPION OF PAINKILLERSFrom Our Washington News Bureau, PropublicaBy Charles Ornstein and Tracy WeberThe annual death toll from overdoses of painkillers has reached almost 15,000, prompting the head of the CDC to term it an "epidemic." But the American Pain Foundation continues to claim the risks are overblown. The advocacy group's biggest supporter? The drug industry.~The news about narcotic painkillers is increasingly dire: Overdoses now kill nearly 15,000 people a year -- more than heroin and cocaine combined. In some states, the painkiller death toll exceeds that of car crashes. ~ The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the overdoses from opioid drugs like OxyContin an "epidemic." And a growing group of experts doubts that they work for long-term pain.~But the pills continue to have an influential champion in the American Pain Foundation, which describes itself as the nation's largest advocacy group for pain patients. Its message: The risk of addiction is overblown, and the drugs are underused.~What the nonprofit doesn't highlight is the money behind that message.(Click Here For More)[Tracy Weber won the Pulitizer Prize for Public Service in 2005]Brain Image by Wygliff [Gnu License]FEATURED TALENTLD SLEDGEThe top of the stairs The top of the stairs Shrouded in cloudsMy head a-tiltLooking upI have to knowWhat is up thereBeyond the lastVisible stepI am drawnStep by stepKnees hurting fromOld falls and mishapsI am ready Ready to know, readyLDS Dec 8, 2011-- L D Sledge, Author Author page: http://www.ldsledge.comblog: www.spotofsledge.blogspot.comwww.nofailhiring.comAuthor: "Dawn's Revenge," "Command Influence," "Nimrod's Peril." (Available at Amazon.) Co-author of No Fail Hiring with Patrick Valtin.Heres to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes the ones who see things differently theyre not fond of rules You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you cant do is ignore them because they change things they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. Steve Jobs. Think Different. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________Featured TalentTom Godfrey and Keegen Monahan perform as the 59th Street Bridge, a Simon and Garfunkel Tribute Band. Their recent performance at the City of Dunedin's My Little Town event was a smashing sucess. The duo sang at the Jolli Mon Grill in Dunedin.Tom also is the tenor in the Broadway & Beyond trio with Jim Nelson, piano and Joanie Sigal, soprano. Mr. Godfrey has also performed with the Gilbert and Sullivan Players in Clearwater. In a performance as Nanky Poo, a musician who plays second trombone in the town of Titti Poo band, the talented Tommie actually stepped off the stage periodically to play trombone with the pit orchestra. The duo is scheduled to leave on a road show. Click here for the 59th Street Bridge WebsiteClick here for directions to Jolli Mon (A source of great live music - 941 Huntley Ave. Dunedin) ~ Click here for Broadway & Beyond___________________________________________________________________________________________________Little People to Build a Community of Small HousesThis just in: The Little People of the Phillipines have announced to build a community of small houses for the little people. The Sun endorses the project and encourages the Little People of the United States to embrace the sense of community and follow suit.For More Info: Little People Association of the Phillipines; Phillipines Little People Thinking Big (BBC)_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________EDITORIALS BY JOHN RUANETHE LESSER OF EVILS (Click Here )America has become a mean placeelection campaigns in America used to be_about educating the voters on opposing ideasUnion Pacific Railroad RobbedFowl Play Ruled Out"It's a Swine on Swine Crime"Victorville CaliforniaA Union Pacific train was sidelined for an emergency. While the cars were standing still, daring desparados descended on the waylaid railroad and made off with 20 boxes of prime cargo.~NPR reports that police speculated that the bandits didn't know what they were stealing. The swag was swine dogs, two hundred cases of pickled pigs feet. ~The take wasn't as great as the Union Pacific Big Springs $60,000 robbery of 1877 or the Union Pacific Wilcox $3,000 robbery of 1899. The purloined porcine product had a street value of $200.~ "See, that proves there's no inflation," Sun economic analysit Kathy Baird, said.______________________________________Herman Cain Speaks Out(More)~It's official. Danica May Camacho of the Philippines was born on October 31; that makes her number 1! The United Nations announced her birth as the youngest person in a population of 7 billion. Membors of the GOP have demanded a recount and Faux News has demanded to see her birth certificate.~Click on image above to go directly to the BBC population computer, enter your birth date and find out exactly what your number is.Is Rupert Murdoch Really a Monster?~Michael Wolff is the author of a biography on Mr. Murdoch called The Man Who Owns the News. In speaking of an affair with a girlfriend named Wendi, Mr. Wolff wrote: "This monster, this control freak, this cold bastard, is as blissfully helpless in the face of a determined woman of lowly rank as any lonely, erotically deprived, death-fearing man would be..."~William Shawcross, author a the biography Murdoch" quoted Charlie Wilson about the Chicago-Sun Times: "It was a classic Murdoch-monster-situation." Wilson said he felt like the running dog of a Cyclops." He said the newsroom was a "cauldron of hatred." Mr. Wilson, an editor, said he devoted time trying to convince the staff that Mr. Murdoch was "not Satan."~During Mr. Murdoch's reign, the Sun-Times improved it's content, getting away from "Rabbi Hit In 'Sex Slavery' Scandal" type of stories.~Lately, Mr. Murdoch's media enterprises are the center of Scotland Yard investigations for stealing cellphone messages of politicians, sports stars, celebs, entertainers and others. Illustration by Tiki Parrot - By Charlie Perry, PublisherFrom Our Washington News Bureau:~~~ ~Yet another scandal is bubbling up at Rupert Murdochs News Corp. On Tuesday, the Murdoch-owned Dow Jones announced that the publisher of The Wall Street Journals European edition was resigning, without mentioning why. The next day, The Wall Street Journal reported that the top European exec stepped down after an internal ethics investigation found he had pressured reporters to write two positive stories about a Dutch firm with which the paper had an agreement that helped boost circulation figures.~Circulation numbers matter because theyre used to set advertising rates, and American papers are no strangers to scandals over inflated circulation figures.But that was just the beginning. (Click Here For More)________________________________________________________________________________________Local Man Takes Heroic ActionClearwater resident David Rosen stopped his car Wednesday night and ran to the aid of a wheelchair bound man whose wheel had fallen off in the middle of the street. The intrepid business man went into traffic to save the street-bound invalid. After making the rescue, Mr. Rosen went the extra mile, or extra several blocks, serving as spotter, attendant and spare tire to escort the handicapped man home. Mr. Rosen is the executive director for The Violin Book Dot Com, a program for self-teaching children and adults, using a series of string books written by his wife, Professor Eden Vaning-Rosen. -Story by Gumer, Clearwater Sun Staff Cartoonist______________________________________________________________________________________________Local Actor Resumes Teaching Brian Ward, known nationally for his appearance as a sea monster in the television show Sea Quest, has resumed teaching the art of acting. Mr. Ward developed his skills while attending college in Mississippi. "I saw Brian in the show "One Flew Over the Coo-Coo's Nest,'" Clearwater writer Pauline Plume lauded. "He was awesome. And that monster he played on Sea Quest. Chilling!" Mr. Ward announced he was accepting students again following a brief hiatus for the development of creative projects, including a recent guest appearance as a harp (harmonica) player with the Wailin' Wayne Woodbury Blues Band..For study information contact Mr. Ward at 727-441-4022 or BWard0012@gmail.net_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________America's spirit has been killed. It is tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. Here is my eulogy to the America we all once loved.By John Ruane - Sunday 25 Sep 2011America has become a mean place. Among many things, hearing an audience laughing and applauding at the suggestion that the uninsured should be left to die is as fascist a mentality that one can have. I weep at the loss of the old America.Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your ears;I come to bury America, not to praise it.The evil that nations do lives after them;The good is oft forgotten to history.So let it be with America. The noble BoehnerHas told you America should be selfish:If it is so, it is a grievous fault,And grievously has America answerd it.(click here for the rest of the eulogy)The humorous historical political piece won the bronze award and a cash prize, shown above. To read the article click here. ~The BBC has reported that the United States is involved in a "Secret War" against al-Qaeda in Somolia. The U.S. is said to be increasing the use of a hunter-killer drone called the Reaper. It is possible that American servicewomen will be used to pilot the un-womaned plane. The fighting is done remotely, technically putting the pilot out of harm's way. The weapons sergeant of course remains behind. When asked to comment about that, Master Sergeant Floyd Baird (Ret.) told the Sun, "That's the great thing about being in the air-force. The army sends their guys off to fight while the officers stay behind. In the air-force we sent our officers out to fight while the enlisted guys stayed behind." Reaper's first Air National Guard pilot is Major Tammy Barlette. Right: Staff Sgt. Stephanie Hughes reviews weapons load trainingThe BBC reports that the CIA is most worried about Somalia and Yemen. The Reaper drones, which replaced the slower Predators, are being concentrated in these areas for surveillance. The planes can carry missles and bombs, but have been reported as unarmed. Earlier misses and civilian deaths have created controversery which may have "driven Yemeni tribesmen reluctantly closer to al-Qaeda" according to the British news giant. Photos: 1) Paul Ridgeway 2) USAF 3) Larry E. Reid Jr._______________________________________________________________________________________________________MOLLY GOODHEAD IS 26 YEARS OLD The party started early and went into the night. An android musician (part human, part midi computer) filled the air with a great selection of tunes dating pack to 1985 when Molly Goodhead was born. The quirky Ozona bistro was filled with fungoers arriving in Ozona's signature golf carts. As part of the celebration, a golf cart was being raffled off across the street at $10 a ticket. So many people arrived that the festivity spread down the street to the tasty Ozona Pig. A young celebrant rode the trademark pig, left - (photo courtesy Blind Hot Pepper). The party was a blast - as usual! Left: Dogs are allowed at the outdoor tables. Right: Barbeque Chicken From Ozona Pig_______________________________________________PARE' MOBILE DETAILYour ConvenienceAt Work, At HomeCars, Trucks, SUV's Vans, Boats, RV'sFULL DETAIL INCLUDES:Wash, Wax, WindowsHigh Speed Buff, Vacuum, ArmorallInterior/Exterior, WheelsCall Today For An appointmentKevin Pare'727-744-5088 or 727-460-463by Ariel WHittenbergProPublica, Sep. 16, 2011Experts say the cascading blackout that put millions of Westerners in the dark last week was no surprise: Major power outages have more than doubled in the last decade. "This is just evidence that we need a smarter, better, more secure system," said Massoud Amin, director of the Technological Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota, who has analyzed federal data on the reliability of the nation's electric grid.Blackouts disrupt power to at least a third of U.S. homes each year, and studies show the number of outages is rising. The grid's shortcomings have been well-documented, but efforts to modernize it haven't kept up with demand. Many electrical transmission lines are outdated, and parts of the grid date back to the time of Thomas Edison. The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees the nation's grid, acknowledged increasing problems with the system. (More)Local Decaying InfrastructureThe St. Petersburg Times, an out-of-townnewspaper with an office locally has a windgenerator which has been out of order"forever" according to a receptionist there.The power tower is functioning as a support for a wild bird nest.Photos by Tiki Parrot_______________________________________________________The Clearwater Sun Endorses The Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest The Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog reveals that two law professors, Irene Calboli and Gordon Hylton, are leading proponents of policy contained in the Washington Declaration on Intellectual property and the Public Interest. The article Can Intellectual Property Be a Source of Repression? and the underlying declaration reveal a disturbing trend in intellectual property law - the erosion of the rights of non-copyright owners. In the new digital age, third party rights to develop existing works are undergoing a chilling effect likely to hinder furtherance of new work. Draconian methods for enforcement and penalties to defend owner's rights far exceed any sane, proportionate response. The public domain, a necessary source of material for future writing and art, is deteriorating in the sense that work is becoming "corporate bound" with diminished opportunity for derivative work. Consider these photos. To the right is a news photograph of George Clooney and Senator Obama taken by Manny Garcia, an AP Photographer. To the left is a photo illustration of Mr. Obama made by Clearwater Sun Illustrator Tiki Parrot. Below are side by side images of a portion of Mr. Garcia's photograph and the iconic Obama Hope poster. Self proclaimed "blue collar artist" Shepard Farley used this portion of Mr. Garcia's photograph to make his iconic Hope poster. A law suit between Mr. Farley and Mr. Garcia and the AP was settled. Both the Hope poster and the Sun photo illustration have been rendered into different works of art. Mr. Farley used original texture, coloring, a logo and the word "Hope" to create his work. Mr. Parrot, known for working humor into his art, enlarged the senatorial ears, untilted the head, substituted fur and a textured tunic for the senator's suit of clothes with a remark on Mr. Obama's roots. An artist or writer should be free to create new work without fear of unreasonable search, harsh prison sentence or threat of litigation. Currently the law does not give that certainty or safety. The country needs the policy embodied in the Washington Declaration on Intellectual property and the Public Interest. Washington policy makers are urged to take notice - and take action. -Ed.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________LOCAL SPIDER PREDICTS BEAUTIFUL FALL WEATHER "It's gonna be the most beautiful time of the year!" is the message from a south Clearwater spider known locally as "Rascal." The animal spun a web with an approximate area of twenty five square feet. Indian summer is also called "goose summer." "Goose summer" is derived from the phrase "gossamer summer" which refers to spider webs. So Rascal is sending us an omen. "We can look forward to more dog days of summer," quipped local contractor Bill Lazarony. "It's going to get hotter than normal this autumn."Mr. Lazarony, knows heat. a retired merchant sailor and yacht delivery crewman has logged over a half a million miles in his travels."Dog days" refers to Sirius, the Dog Star, which is the second largest star in Earth's sky. Dog day weather is characterized as being hot and dry.Story by Kathy BairdPhotos by Tiki Parrot______________________________________________________________________________________________________________From our Washington News BureauPropublicaBrand-name drug manufacturers have long used controversial tactics to keep their generic competitors off the market, but a new report by the Senate Finance Committee sheds light on how one firm leveraged hidden financial ties with reputable medical groups to undermine its generic rivals. Facing what it called an imminent threat to its brand-name blood thinner Lovenox, pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis launched an advocacy campaign to influence the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay generic competitors, according to the report. It did so by contacting medical societies and researchers, urging them to write in to the FDA or in one case, to write an advertorial for the Wall Street Journal to raise safety concerns about generics. (More) Ray St. Ray is The Singing Cabdriver!! Besides driving a cab and singing, he is an accomplished poet. The lines above are the finale from his poem, Pass It Along. It is also a song which he wrote celebrating veterans. Besides entertaining his fares with fine original tunes and lyrics, Ray is an accomplished performer. He is well thought of in the Clearwater poetry community and his hometown of Chicago. Pass It AlongWhen we were boys we played with toys and we'd pretend we were men fighting wars on foreign shores, mom called us to supper then suddenly dad gave us rifles and bombs, triplicate orders to South Viet Nam! Paradise lost in a sheet of napalm! We might not be home for Thanksgiving! Brothers are gone, life must go on, bury their bodies, their spirit's a song in each one of us, the lives that they touched, love what they gave us and pass it along.(click here for the rest of the lines)Copyright 2000, 2011 by Ray St. RayThe Singing Cab Driver_________________________________________________________________________________________Clearwater Has a Pink Taxicab!! Travel with class in a hot pink taxi driven by Vickie, an attractive and personable cabbie. What could be nicer? Vickie answered that question. "A portion of each fare is donated for breast cancer research. " Has the idea been well received? "Yes! People think it's fun," Vickie said. "I prefer PinkCab and the other United Taxis," said Sun reporter Kathy Baird. "You only have to call once. With those banana-colored cabs I had to call twice. Once to request a ride and another time to find out why they didn't show up."From Our Washington News BureauOur Sputtering Economy, by the Numbersby Braden GoyetteProPublica, Aug. 2, 2011, 2:08 p.m. With increasing signs that the economy is laboring, most economists agree that a short-term infusion of spending, or an extension of this years temporary cut in Social Security taxes, could help fend off a new downturn. (More) See how a motorcycle can help you beat the price at the gas pumps!<----Click On the jar of money to learn more________________________________________________________________________________________________________HUMOR HARVESTER REAPS SOME PUNNY ONE LINERSJim Nelson, the Humor Harvester, is a serious realtor when he's not trolling the internet looking for the latest in rib tickling wit. His latest catch is better than the publisher's find ("I lobster and never flounder. I octopus his face in, he'll only break her carp. "- Pinkard and Bowden . Mr. Nelson's latest contribution is:LEXIPHILESAh, some new ones among this list. Enjoy a chuckle or two...Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end. From Our Washington News Bureau: Propublica- By Paul Kiel - June 10 After two years of arguing that it had little power to punish banks for breaking the rules of its mortgage modification program, the administration has decided its finally time to crack down. But the punishment wont do much damage to banks that count their profits in the billions. (More)Kazakhstan National Honors American Soldiers Kan Alihan, a former student of American Peace Corp teacher Althea Hyde, posted a video on YouTube honoring American soldiers. The video, which was posted for the Memorial Day Holiday, makes good use of music and images. The film maker displayed skill in panning and sound editing. Click here for link to video._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK The Treasury Department provided the following information on the incidence of national debt during the last five administrations. The graphic was provided by the ODL and has been independently verified. (See the reality check about President Obama's birth certificate, and a copy of it, in the politics pages).____________________________________________________________________________________________________________Geraldo Rivera Behind bin Laden Death The newsman has taken credit for the killing of international terrorist, Osama bin Laden. He said, "Osama bin Laden is dead! Happy days! Happy days, everybody! This is the greatest night of my career!" Cartoonist Gary Trudeau posted a statement saying, "...even the death of Osama bin Laden is about him." Also taking credit for the kill was former secretary of state Condelisa Rice on behalf of former president George W. Bush and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Vice President Dick Cheney who both indicated that water-boarding (a form of torture banned by the current administration) played a role in locating the former Saudi. -C. Perry____________________________________________________________________________________________________________President Obama Toasts Firefighters(more)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Nella Vanilla, Dog Model Nella, short for "Vanilla," is a professional dog model who was born with a natural set of eye goggle markings. You can see her image below in the article on lost cell phones. Nella is the dog of Clearwater Sun reader Diane Phillips. Her mistress is the owner of the website Make A Dif, in which she offers advice on topics ranging from music and art to design and math. Ms. Phillips, an artist in her own right, is a retired marketing executive of the international Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. White House Releases Obama Birth Certificate Again The document shows that he was born in the United States. It makes no mention of his religion. Here's what the certificate looks like. Oddly, "55%" of Republicans still think Mr. Obama was not, or might not have been, born in the U.S. The certificate produced in 2008 has been discussed with views of the embossed seal on the obverse side. The proofs, discussion and images have long been available on the Snopes web site and can be seen at this link. Click here.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From our Washington News Bureau:By Kim BarkerPropublica The oil spill that was once expected to bring economic ruin to the Gulf Coast appears to have delivered something entirely different: a gusher of money. Some people profiteered from the spill by charging BP outrageous rates for cleanup. Others profited from BP claims money, handed out in arbitrary ways. So many people cashed in that they earned nicknames -- "spillionaires" or "BP rich." Meanwhile, others hurt by the spill ended up getting comparatively little. In the end, BP's attempt to make things right -spending more than $16 billion so far, mostly on claims of damage and cleanup -- created new divisions and even new wrongs. Because the federal government ceded control over spill cleanup spending to BP, it's impossible to know for certain what that money accomplished, or what exactly was done. (Photo Melanie Burford, Propublica) Some inequities arose from the chaos that followed the April 20 spill. But in at least one corner of Louisiana, the dramatic differences can be traced in part to local powerbrokers. To show how the money flowed, ProPublica interviewed people who worked on the spill and examined records, including some reported earlier by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, for St. Bernard Parish, a coastal community about five miles southeast of downtown New Orleans. (More)_______________________________________IS UTERUS A DIRTY WORD? - Click here for the answer!Colonel Clearwater Answers Questions About Dropping "Under God" From the Pledge of Allegiance Click Here for MoreClick Here to Find Out Who Wailin" Wayne Really Is!How Do You Kill An Alien? If you want to kill an alien you capture a wounded one and cut him up while he's alive. Probe with your knife point until you find his weakest point. The heart is just to the right of where you would expect it to be - and then slice and dice it! Dick Chaney would have been proud. Got an armed alien on your Humvee windshield? Point your weapon at that oddly located vital organ and pull the trigger. A Latina air force chick (more) -Alan RosenFlorida's Health Report Card Is In!We're number 37! We're number 37! America's Health Rankings results are in. Forty-seven different health measures are counted, ranging from binge drinking to poor mental health days. The results are artfully displayed on the group's website so that states can be compared to each other. For example, New Jersey ranks number 17. The graph shows how poorly Florida does in comparison to the Garden State. New Jersey has climbed one rank since last year, due to less obesity, less poverty and a higher high school graduation rate. Florida's low ranking - which has dropped two places since last year - may be due to a high rate of uninsured people (over 21%) and a high rate of infection. The study may be flawed, however, as the researchers did not consider the Sunshine State's incidence of silver hair. There is an association between old age and poor health. The state with the best overall health results is Vermont. The worst is Mississippi. A comparison between the two states yields this graph:Click on the image above by Sun staff illustrator Kody Moe to explore America's Health Rankings website. "America's Health Rankings" is a registered United States Trademark.Tiki ParrotExotic Pipe Seen In Clearwater Aesthetics are important in life. A pretty pipe is pleasing. Check out this beauty which Sun staff photographer Kody Moe saw at Budget Storage on Drew Street in Clearwater. "It was amazing," Kody said. "The gentleman looked like a handsome Old Man of the Sea. It was a hot looking pipe and he was proud of it." The pipes owner, David, said that he got the idea from his brother. After doingresearch on the internet he found the animal head carved pipe that perfectly suits his visage. "It's imported from Turkey," he added. (Displayed in the illustration above, the smoke and flame were added by the photographer).From Our Washington News Bureau:Hydrofracked?One Mans Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Natural Gas Drilling There are few things a family needs to survive more than fresh drinking water. And Louis Meeks, a burly, jowled Vietnam War hero who had long ago planted his roots on these sparse eastern Wyoming grasslands, was drilling a new well in search of it. The drill bit spun, whining against the alluvial mud and rock that folds beneath the Wind River Range foothills. It ploughed to 160 feet, but the water that spurted to the surface smelled foul, like a parking lot puddle drenched in motor oil. It was no better yet than the water Meeks needed to replace. Meeks used to have abundant water on his small alfalfa ranch, a 40-acre plot speckled with apple and plum trees northeast of the Wind River Mountains and about five miles outside the town of Pavillion. For 35 years he drew it clear and sweet from a well just steps from the front door of the plain, eight-room ranch house that he owns with his wife, Donna. Neighbors would stop off the rural dirt road on their way to or from work in the gas fields to fill plastic jugs; the water was better than at their own homes.<------------Hydrofracked--------------------------------- >National Musicians GalleryThe time for a National Gallery tohonor the country's musicianshas come. Tiki Parrot has created a photo illustrationof such a gallery (right). Shown in the foregroundis a digital oil painting ofLouie Armstrong andlocal jazz flautista,Claude Kennedy.TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK "The average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by age of 21. That's almost exactly as much time as they spend in a classroom during all of middle school and high school if they have perfect attendance." Jane McGonigal, see her recent article on video games Sorry About the Fatwa We apologize for using the word "Moslem," which may be considered offensive. The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has been quoted as saying "Moslem and Muslim are basically two different spellings for the same word." But the choice is a sore spot for some. George Mason University's History News Network states, "...the Arabic roots of the two words are very different. A Muslim in Arabic means "one who gives himself to God," and is by definition, someone who adheres to Islam. By contrast, a Moslem in Arabic means "one who is evil and unjust" when the word is pronounced, as it is in English, Mozlem with a z." Accordingly, Mr. Ruane has authorized the word changed in his letter. - publisherJohn Ruane, Avid Reader, Responds to the Tucson Shooting -Colonel Clearwater/Grayson/Palin Controversery Dear Colonel Clearwater, I disagree with you and agree with the point that Alan Grayson made.Yes the shooter was a maniac. Yes there is nothing to directly connect the shooter's action with Sarah Palin's website. But Colonel Clearwater, suppose a Muslim from Detroit had a website showing certain congressman and women in the cross-hairs of a gun site. Suppose then that one of those congress men or women were shot. Would you be as generous to this Muslim gentleman as you are to Sarah Palin?I saw conservative columnist David Brooks on the PBS Newshour saying that since there is no proof of direct connection to Sarah Palin's website and the shooter, that those criticizing Sarah Palin are just taking political advantage of the incident.Mister Brooks works for the New York Times. Prior to that he worked for the Wall Street Journal. He also is a commentator on other television and cable shows. Every cent Mr. Brooks makes comes from the advertising revenues of the media. The same goes for Rush Limbaugh and the other proponents of hate.And the media makes its money because it can prove decidedly that people of average intelligence will act based on a thirty second TV commercial, a radio commercial, or advertisement in the newspaper.On one hand they argue that no direct action can result from what they say, write, or show, and on the other hand they make their fortunes because they can prove to their advertising customers that direct action does result from what they say, write, or show. They know that the dissemination of a message can get people of average intelligence to act as the advertisers wish. And studies show that the same message can have an even stronger and unpredictable affect on mentally unbalanced individuals.Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Tea-Party activist, and others plant the landmines of hate and intolerance in our society. And when someone steps on one of the landmines, the promoters of hate cry that you can't trace that particular landmine to them.The pen is mightier than the sword; and sometimes the pen can kill like a sword. It did in Arizona.John Ruane.John Ruane holds a masters degree in history from USF. A former Clearwater book store owner, he has a vast collection of superb historical books. He also owns several cats and serves asthe Clearwater Sun's Political EditorRep. Alan Grayson, Retired, Writes Colonel ClearwaterThe Colonel Defends Sarah Palin!!!Dear Colonel Clearwater,When I opened my web browser yesterday, at yahoo.com, there was Sarah Palin, smiling at me. Oh, God, I said to myself, what has she done now?The headline was Palin Defends Blood Libel. Thats interesting, I thought. What else might Palin be defending? Cannibalism, maybe? Well, it turned out to be a report on Palins disjointed remarks on Sean Hannitys show, regarding the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. I then watched the report. Let me summarize it for you: (Continued below): file photos: Tiki ParrotPalin: I am so misunderstood.Hannity: I am so misunderstood.Palin: I am so misunderstood.But there was one person who seemed to understand Sarah Palin quite well. Gabby Giffords, herself, during the health care debate. Discussing threats against Democratic Members of Congress. After the door to her office was shattered. This is what Gabby said: "You know, for example, were on Sarah Palins targeted list, but the thing is the way that she has depicted it is the crosshairs of a gun-sight over our district. When people do that, theyve got to realize that there are consequences to that action. "And here is Palins blithe response, on Hannitys show: That map wasnt an original graphic.What is that remark supposed to be, Sarah? An exculpanation? Even before I heard earlier Palins whining about misguided finger-pointing and irresponsible statements from people who are apportioning blame, I thought about this:Palin came to my district, and told her people to take me out. Palin told people again and again, dont retreat, reload. The day before the health care vote, one of my five-year-old twins received a telephone death threat intended for me.A right-wing commentator offered anyone $100 to punch me in the nose. We received so many threats of violence from teabaggers that we started a file. And the day before Gabby was shot, I received a postcard saying you better get some personal protection. You could very well be getting your ass kicked soon.Cause and effect. As Gabby put it, there are consequences. Of course, I wasnt the only target of these threats. Gabbys tea party opponent held fundraisers in which he invited contributors to fire an automatic weapon. Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultzs opponent conducted target practice on her initials. Democrat Ron Kleins opponent told his supporters to make sure that Klein was afraid to leave his house. Democrat Frank Kratovil was hung in effigy. Democrat Tom Perriello was burned in effigy. And the gas line to his brothers house was cut. Democrat Emanuel Cleaver a minister was spat on. Democrat Russ Carnahan had a coffin left at his home. I could go on, but you get the point. Cause and effect. There are consequences. And the Republicans? The shot supposedly fired at Republican Eric Cantors office was quickly exposed as a hoax. As I observed on MSNBC last week, there has been a stream of violence and threats of violence by the right wing against Democrats. Gabby warned against it, and then became a terrible victim of it. Palin has instigated it, and then tried to pretend that it doesnt exist.What do I think? I think that Gabby said it best: We cant stand for this. We have to stand against it. -Courage, Alan GraysonColonel Clearwater Replies Dear Alan; I respect you for your service to this country as a member of the United States House of Representatives, without reservation. I beg to differ with you regarding the the recent assassination attempt in Tucson. I know that "hate radio" (click here for details) host Rush Limbaugh opined "What Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full support of a major political party [Dem's] in this country." Mr. Limbaugh's irresponsible blather is just another brain-fart from a man who once paid for private probation to atone for his prescription drug offenses. His statements will certainly feed the fiery frenzy of yahoo yammering for some time to come but will serve little public good. But the sad truth about violence committed by the criminally insane is that they are so demented that an act of violence could be triggered by anything, including something as mundane as displeasure with a cheeseburger. Face the fact, Alan. The congresswoman was shot because Mr. Loughner was a raving lunatic and not due to anything Sarah Palin said. I'm not a supporter of Sarah Palin politics, but I don't see how it serves the public good to mix and muddle things up by blaming the actions of a severly mentally person on her. (Click here for a link to the Palin Barracuda Song)RUSH LIMBAUGH REPLIES ON HATE ISSUE"I will have no problem getting people to listen to me who don't like me. In fact, I have to keep giving them reasons. There are some people who listen precisely because they hate, precisely because they don't like. You gotta keep fueling that." Rush Limbaugh __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Pontiac is Dead - Long Live the Muscle Car by Gus Grease The publisher asked me what is a good muscle car now that the Pontiac brand is history. No more GTO, no more Firebird, etc. Well, of course the big three - Camero, Mustang, Challenger. The best deal financially Is with the Mustang, but I would pick the Challanger. The Camaro? You cant see out of it and, as usual for GM, they jacked the price up too much. But wait!!!! There is sort of a Pontiac out there still. A company has taken a Camaro and made a body kit to make it look like a Firebird Trans Am. Still, the car's too gaudy and very, very expensive. Here is a Challenger in a special order color fuchsia - something like the oldPanther pink. Or for the price of the Trans Am, I could buy a new Corvette Grand Sportconvertible and have money left over for a month long vacation cruise. The Corvette is my heart throb car - my lotto car - and to me the ultimate muscle car (with luxury thrown in). (All photo illustrations by Kody)Gus Grease was a soldier who served in the Viet Nam War. After Nam he worked aboard private corporate yachts as a seaman and chef. Take a Bite Out of Soundbites An Ozona citizen has posted a sign in his yard calling attention to Fox News commentator, Glen Beck. Another Fox News commentator, Tucker Carlson, show above with Jack T. Dog, (a Clearwater resident who was not killed by Michel Vick), has come under fire for issuing his personal death-to-dog-killer statement to millions of American viewers. The Ozona sign lauds Glenn Beck. In the past, Mr. Beck said that President Obama "...has a deep seated hatred for white people or white culture...This guy is, I believe, a racist." And, "The run-up to the big UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December could mean the end of U.S. sovereignty." He also asked Sara Palin who her favorite founding father was. Ms. Palin replied, "You know, well, all of them, because they came collectively together with...so much diversity in terms of belief but collectively they came together to form this union." More recently he said in an email to Ms. Palin, "Please look into protection for your family. An attempt on you could bring the Republic down." When asked if Americans should boycott Fox News, Colonel Clearwater of the Sun replied, "No. I'm calling for an end to sound bites all across the airways and print pages of this great nation. Let's boycott sound bites. If you want to bone up on current events, roll up your sleeves and go for the long stories and articles. Here's what I've learned rubbing elbows with the media. Generally, you have to add in some facts and present more than one side of the story when you're trying to fill up airtime or column inches when writing about a single event.-- Tucker Carlson Photo by Gage Skidmore - Photo Illustration by Tiki Parrot: Creative Commons Share-Alike LicensesEtana the Dog Gives Birth to 17 PupsNine were male, eight were females. The birth was natural and all the pups survived. Momma and the litter were photographed by the BBC. Even though a video was made in photographing the animals, the pups were bounding around so lively, that all 18 were never photographed together. The video captures all the elan. Etana is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, who lives in the Berlin area of Germany. It's a breed once used for hunting lions. A handful of the pups are shown in this low resolution screen capture from the BBC video. In order to see the BBC video Click Here. . FOOD TO DRIVE FOR Friends don't let friends eat inferior fare. Especially when they' ve peddled across the county for lunch. The group of athletes shown is in its sixth year of annual bicycle treks for fine fun food. The Ozona Pig features some of the most lightly textured pulled pork available. The sauces are sweet, regular and hot. The ribs are Memphis style. Eating and seating is outside on the veranda and at picnic tables. It's a family-run place. And every Wednesday the family's band provides the entertainment. After treating yourself to great Bar-B-Q and Oreo key lime pie, exercise with a walk or bike ride through the local village. You can see why Ozona is one of the most charming Pinellas County neighborhoods. Our highest rating: 5 Ribs!! From US 19 and Tampa road in Palm Harbor: Travel west on Tampa Rd 2.25 miles to the end of Tampa Rd and Orange Street Turn right on Orange St and the Pig is 200 feet ahead on the left311 Orange Street, Palm Harbor 727-773-0744(Photo: Charlie Perry)Can't Find Your Cell Phone? Talented designer - developer Dave Dawson has posted a very handy communication device on the internet to help those who have lost their cell and don't have a land line to hand to find their stray cell phone. No need to bother your spouse with: "Hey honey, call my phone." Just go to Dave's dandy website, enter your phone number and his switchboard will ring you. Best of all, it's free and fast. Click here to go to "I can't find my cell phone." Wanna Buy This Painting For $2,232,373? Too late! The painting by Sir Stanley Spencer sold in London for that amount in London. That's 1.43 million pounds. Sotheby auction house expected the oil depicting the painter and his first wife, Hilda, to fetch a mere 600,000. This sale broke the artist's previous record of 1.32 million for his painting "The Crucifixion." The artist intended to show his wife and himself as being saintly in the image. ALCO-POPS COPS STOP HOPS POP-TOPSFDA BANS ALCOHOLIC ENERGY DRINK American students have lamented the passing of the drink, Four Loko, noted as being a cheap way to get high and wired at the same time. The drink contains malt liquor, which is made from barley, water and hops. Inexpensive ingredients such as rice, corn or dextrose are used with special enzymes to give the drink twice the alcoholic kick of beer. The drink had earlier been banned in Washington State as a public health hazard. The state attorney general there issued this statement: "It's time to bring an end to the sale of alcoholic energy drinks....They're marketed to kids by using fruit flavors that mask the taste of alcohol and they have such high levels of stimulants that people have no idea how inebriated they really are. They're packaged just like non-alcoholic drinks, but include a dangerous dose of malt liquor." 100,000 students have protested on Facebook as well. The findings of Washington State and the FDA are backed up by research from the University of Florida. Students who drink alco-pops such as Four Loko are three times more likely to leave a bar stewed and four times more likely to drive toasted. The company which markets the product to young adults claims it's as safe as Irish Coffee.Photo by Cantaloupe2 -Creative Commons ShareAlike 3.0 licenseFrom our Washington News BureauWhere Are the Financial Crises Prosecutions?by Jesse Eisinger - PropublicaYou may have noticed that prosecutors in this country are in something of a white-collar slump lately. The stock options backdating prosecutions have largely been a bust, not because it wasnt a true scandal. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department investigated more than 100 companies. Over a hundred took accounting restatements. Yet only a handful of executives went to prison, with some high-profile cases fizzling out. Prosecutors also stumbled in other high priority corporate fraud prosecutions, like the KPMG tax shelter and the stock-exchange specialists cases. The most spectacular prosecutorial flameout was the case against the Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. The consequences of that disaster are still reverberating. The United States attorneys office in Brooklyn rushed to haul low-level executives in front of a jury based on a few seemingly incriminating emails. The defense was easily able to convince jurors that these represented only out-of-context glimpses of fear as markets swooned, not a conspiracy to mislead. Now we have a supposedly new push: the insider trading scandal. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bhara, and the U.S. Attorney General, Erick H. Holder, Jr., are hyping their efforts. "Illegal insider trading is rampant and may even be on the rise," Mr. Bharara dubiously pronounced in a speech in October. The Feds are raiding hedge funds and publicly celebrating their criminal investigations related to insider trading. The storyline is that Wall Street now lives in fear. Hedge fund managers phones might be tapped, any stray remark is suspect, and old trades are being exhumed so that the entrails can be examined. In fact, plenty of folks on Wall Street are happy about the investigation. A scant few the ones with clean consciences like the idea that the world of special access to favorable tips is being cleaned up. But others are pleased for a different reason: They realize the investigation is a sideshow. (more)________________________________________________________________________From Our Washington News BureauWant to Earn $10-12 an Hour? Be a Foreclosure Department Supervisorby Marian Wang ProPublica, Nov. 5, 2010, 12 p.m. For years, banks and other companies handling foreclosures have turned to cheap labor to process the growing volume of foreclosures. At JPMorgan Chase, they were called Burger King kids walk-in workers hired to handle foreclosure proceedings. Many barely knew what a mortgage was and had only high-school educations.Click here for the rest of the story_________________________________________________________________________18-MONTH-OLD GIRL SURVIVES SIX FLOOR FALL UNHARMEDMANIFEST DESTINY? POINT - COUNTERPOINT Clearwater Sun's Editor, L.D. Sledge, a retired trial attorney with over forty years of experience and the author of several volumes of science fiction and fantasy, argues the conservative side of Manifest Destiny. John Ruane, Sun Political Editor, holds a Master of History Degree from the University of South Florida, wrote the Liberal Manifesto and once sneaked into the Kremlin, agures the liberal side of manifest destiny. Point - Counterpoint is a sort of "right of Attila the Hun" meets "left of Mao Zedong." Is this our Manifest Destiny? by LD Sledge Struggling in the Straight JacketAre we in extremis, the final struggle to keep life in our amazing Republic, attended to by the high socialist priests-executioners giving the final rites to a dying dream?Two hundred thirty four years ago, in 1777, brave patriots wintered in Valley Forge in one of the worst winters in history without blankets, shoes, or food, then marched through the snow unshod and freezing to fight for the freedom we have had until recently. We broke free of the yoke of tyranny through their sacrifices and the courage of those few men who dared and risked their lives and fortunes to rebel. And they won. Click here for moreThe problem with the views expressed iniS THIS OUR MANIFEST DESTINY? Is that they are based upon a fairy-tale understanding of American history.What the writer failed to include in his fantasy was that the brave men at Valley Forge were led by the largest slave owner in America. So much for fighting to break free from the yoke of tyranny. Whatever those men were fighting for, it probably was not the abstract idea of freedom that the writer has in his mind 224 years later. Click here for moreHUNGARIAN WINS TOP PHOTO PRIZE Bence Mt won the 2010 Veolia Environnement wildlife photographer of the year award. He illuminated the back side of a leaf to get this silhouetted shot of ants in the rainforest.Mr. Mt named his photograph "A Marvel of Ants."