@gulfgal98 Desantis is a fisherman and boater. I read an article about he and Scott poking each other between the election and taking office, so there could be some pay back, and shifting funds among cronies. I am not ready to attribute to altruism. Great to hear from you. Cold and blue skies here. They have brine on the streets.

Knock me over with a feather! I do not know what to think when I read about the newly minted Republican governor of Florida Ron Desantis' first actions after being sworn in on Tuesday.

And then this! Is it a hoax or is he serious? Or is it just another way to funnel more public money into the private sector? It might be all of the above, but on the surface it sounds better than Rick Scott's "Florida is Open for Business" motto. And yes welcoming signs at the state line actually said just that.

Two days after he took office, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled sweeping measures to clean up Florida's troubled waters Thursday, including spending $2.5 billion and launching more aggressive policies to address algae choking Lake Okeechobee and polluting the state's coasts.

Much of the pollution of Lake Okeechobee is related to agriculture, particularly the sugar industry which is massive in the area.

snip

Included in an executive order: increase water monitoring around the state and establish a task force to address blue-green algae, a growing threat worsened by pollution and a warming planet that now regularly fouls rivers flowing from a massive lake half the size of Rhode Island; clean up septic tanks; ban fracking, and focus on more green infrastructure.

Also as part of the order...

The new governor also promised to appoint a chief science officer so "we're doing sound science making sure we're getting ahead of the curve on these issues."

While some environmental groups have said the order does not go far enough, I am cautiously optimistic that the state is moving back in the right direction. Water quality is a huge issue in Florida and it was totally sacrificed under the Scott regime. At least by his actions, Desantis is acknowledging the issue.

@Raggedy Ann comes from the plutocrats and deep pockets. That being said, the wealthy often place spawn into the deep state, see G HW Bush. I see the spoiled rich kid mentality, over and over. It is part of the reason that I developed button pushing skills.

To me, even though those other presidents brought "dignity" to the office, they were still controlled by the deep state. America has been in a hostage situation for a century, now. Obummer only hoped to accomplish change until they handcuffed him and he acquiesced. They all acquiesce in the end. Makes me wonder if Bernie would...

Herr Drumpf acquiesces grudgingly because he is a spoiled child who was not taught that disappointment is a character-builder. That's why he throws tantrums. That's why he governs via tweet. He's a spoiled brat who never learned self control (thank you for nothing, Herr Drumpf's parents). So, we all get to be on this roller coaster with him.

No plans for the weekend, just a bit of r&r, and preparations for a storm Sunday. We are having a wet winter, compared to last year!

Have a beautiful day and weekend, folks!

@Tall Bald and Ugly To Romney's op-ed. More about the ability to act, or possibly show empathy. Until the political system is dismantled, to use public funding only and participate in issues forums. We get lied to and bombarded with advertising, social media, … The biggest grifter wins!

is all good with warmongering war criminals as long as they act serious about it as opposed to"meh, we're just fuckin' around while we bomb and destroy people and countries". Fuck him.
I know ol'Charlie there criticized oBomba on domestic issues, but I don't recall him kickin' any shins on Obummers foreign aggression.
Him and the others are a little Late to be squealing about the Facade finally crumbling when the Framing was rotted decades ago.

peace

@Tall Bald and Ugly

is all good with warmongering war criminals as long as they act serious about it as opposed to"meh, we're just fuckin' around while we bomb and destroy people and countries". Fuck him.
I know ol'Charlie there criticized oBomba on domestic issues, but I don't recall him kickin' any shins on Obummers foreign aggression.
Him and the others are a little Late to be squealing about the Facade finally crumbling when the Framing was rotted decades ago.

peace

@eyo … to the observations of the elders.

Heh, getting closer to the hundredth monkey up here. Thirty years later, why has no D passed any law taxing viticulture profits if "number of cars" was never enough to even keep the roads maintained? What industry has made millionaires of career politicians Pelosi and Newsom? huh There are no coincidences.
Sebastopol area neighborhood takes potholes into own hands as county road funds stretch thin

“When people call with, ‘Why isn’t my road paved, you haven’t done anything in 30 years,’ it’s good information for people to understand and the context around the process, but also the volume of requests, concerns and then the need,” Virkstis said. “Folks are rightly frustrated. We’re also in a position where we have to make tough decisions around priorities.”

In 2014, the county launched a “worst-first program,” providing a fund of $1 million toward roads that don’t meet the typical criteria for being addressed but also are in dire shape.

Transportation & Public Works Director Johannes Hoevertsz dubbed it “the social justice” aspect of the department, but said the need there also outpaces the available money. He was unsure if Cunningham Road is a candidate roadway.

Man, I am too old for this crap. Where are the yutes?

“I don’t get around like I used to anymore,” said Anderson. “But people come by when I’m out there and (say) thank you. It’s satisfaction. I don’t mind the $7, $8 or $9 for the sacks, but why do we pay gas tax? They can’t upkeep the county. That’s what burns me.”

feel the burn

One of the primary factors in the promulgation of the story is that many authors quote secondary, tertiary or post-tertiary sources which have themselves misrepresented the original observations.

ding! ding! ding-ding! hurry
Edit: typo, and to add in case it's not obvious: viticulture is directly tied to FIRE, Finance(debt), Insurance, Real Estate, especially Real Estate. BIG cannabis gave millions to Newsom. meh

peace

@eyo Snoop Dogg's rap partners Warren G and Nate Dogg weren't his only classmates at Long Beach Polytechnic High School who also achieved stardom. A-List actress Cameron Diaz attended the school.

Just what California needs, more "cultural change". lol I keep calling her Sybil, thanks Sally Fields.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom will be California’s ‘first partner.’ Her agenda is cultural change

“The work I do really parallels and complements Gavin’s work,” she said, “because it’s about awakening people’s consciousness, shifting hearts and minds, attitudes and behaviors.”

But that emphasis on sweeping cultural change can be at odds with the incremental, compromising nature of governing.

“In theory, here's the danger of having a first partner who is involved in politics, like Bill and Hillary: One spouse has to do what's possible and the other spouse gets out ahead of the other with what's ideal,” Ballard said. “In Jennifer's case, she has learned where there is any daylight between her and Gavin. She is adept at sidestepping that so he can get things done.”

A common sense progressive who "gets things done". Huh where have I heard that before? What would arendt say? Born and raised in Marin, private schools, Stanford, Hollywood, etc.. PU CIA?

cake!

@detroitmechworks Seasonal Affective Disorder is not as prevalent here, as it was in western PA. I think I will hit the gym, take a late afternoon nap and go honky tonkin' tonight. Pineapple Chunk for breakfast.

Unfortunately missed Judo last night because family priorities took precedence. Not angry, just planning on going tomorrow morning when everybody else sleeps in. (I'm nocturnal in the winter. I tend to do my best work when the sun is absent. Ok, when everybody else is asleep and I can get a minute in...)

Nothing really on my mind today. We'll see how the day progresses, but I'm actually feeling pretty decent.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=7nFgJJVcBYU]

@Big Al A lot tougher than people realize. I have always been consternated that raping and pillaging the planet, in the name of capitalism, is tolerated. The polluters, mineral extractors and bio-diversity eliminators should not be allowed to simply profit. They should have to remedy their damages. Did you ever notice that the public health cost is never included?

Health Care Expenditures Associated With Pollution

Pollution has steep price in lives lost, economic damages

Pollution’s Annual Price Tag? $4.6 Trillion and 9 Million Dead

OBTW, where is Sponge Blob Golf Pants business case for opening natural areas to mineral extraction, offshore drilling, the wall, deregulation, … No actual business man makes a decision without a business case justifying the action. What are the costs? What are you planning to do? What are maintenance and operational costs? What else is affected? Profit motive and crony capitalism are not sufficient justification. Congress should be demanding a business plan for the wall. It would turn out to be on the level of a sixth grader, if that, and expose the lack of thought/introspection. Just funkin' sayin'.

Interesting article about him in Counterpunch. Part of it describes what he did in 2000 that brought him and the environmental cause to national attention.

"On the afternoon of July 7, 2000, Tre Arrow, perhaps unwittingly, became the idol of a reinvigorated environmental movement: one that was radically creative, action-oriented, non-violent and boldly uncompromising. Passion for the wild drove the agile Arrow, barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt, to scale the wall of a U.S. Forest Service Regional Headquarters in downtown Portland, where he would remain perched on a small window ledge for 11 consecutive days."

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/11/how-tre-arrow-became-americas-mo...

That's where I worked for almost 20 years in downtown Portland, for the Forest Service. I remember that well. My office was on the 6th floor right above where Tre was "hanging out". Could look right out the window and see everything going on. It was right over the front entrance to the building so they closed that entrance and we had to use the other side. There were constantly hundreds of people outside supporting Tre, watching, just hanging around, many times blocking the street out front. I'd go out on break and lunch and join the protesters, like I'd do with many types of protests in downtown Portland. Tre spent 11 days on the ledge smaller than a foot.

@enhydra lutris Chuckie riled up the gang! It's a good thing. More indignation please.

large helping of rocking tunes certainly helps.

I suspect that Mr. Pierce mistakenly donned some seriously rosy hued lenses before penning that crap. Why is it that pundits and such cannot manage to decry, denounce and condemn Trump without also engaging in hagiography with respect to his predecessors. GWB was not some innocent trying to comprehend the unexpected, but a corrupt schemer trying to figure how to best exploit it. Corrupt Bill, a practiced orator and skilled professional politician simply shifted into "comfort the afflicted" mode for a few hours, a button he pushed just like at other times he would activate the "baby kissing charm offensive" circuitry.

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal Trump promised and delivered transparency.

Seriously? George W. Bush mustered all the gravitas he could? And he, and all the other Presidents before him, are "imperfect," whereas Trump is an unprecedented evil?

What a sad fall from the writer who so passionately rebutted Bill Krystol, when Krystol bemoaned America's lack of desire to murder people en masse in Syria: becoming an agent of historical revisionism and a tool for the reputation makeover of bloody-handed torturing monsters.