Around HereBy Leo CoughlinNobody asked me, but - . . . Heaven knows there is a bumper crop of jerks on talk-talk TV, but the biggest one of all is the supercilious Tucker Carlson (watch out for guys with two last names). He is best described by one observer as a particular part of the anatomy that cannot be mentioned in the polite columns of the Gazette. . . . Keeping a low profile as usual, but doing so much good work for education in Pinellas County is Bob McIntyre. He labors quietly and for great good in the vineyard of future growth for youngsters. . . . Oprah Winfrey never got involved in politics before. Now she is a big backer of Barrack Obama - I wonder why? Hmmmm... . . . Our clever friend points out that a bimbo entertainer named Nicole Richie was released from jail after her sentence was reduced to 82 minutes. Here original sentence was for four days, but that was reduced because the judge felt it was not ridiculous enough. . . . The Miss Teen contestant from North Carolina obviously misunderstood what she was to do. She thought the interviewer asked her to do a Dan Quayle imitation. . . . What gives? CBS couldn't find any American announcers for the PGA tournament? It turns the stomach hearing those limey accents commenting on our super-stellar golfers. References to "cricket pitches," etc. Huh? . . . No wonder the Catholic Diocese of San Diego has declared bankruptcy and his headed directly for the poorhouse. It just paid out $198.1 million to settle charges against homosexual rapist priests who preyed on kids. And where does the money come from? The collection basket, obviously. . . . Taxpayers Are Suckers Dep't. - Why should innocent taxpayers have to pay for air and search parties for a publicity seeking clown like Steve Fossett who goes off on one of his flaky adventures and gets lost? . . . Note to ESPN bonehead pundits and commentators - the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are located in St. Petersburg, NOT Tampa. The boneheads in these parts who sold the idea of major league baseball here (a colossal failure) made the bonehead decision on the name. . . . I wonder if what Rush Limbaugh has been calling a "lewinsky" will now be referred to as a "larrycraig"? It's pretty ugly no matter how it goes. . . . The proposed memorial to Martin Luther King was a bad enough idea in view of the fact that Largo is not a "statue city" and there are lots better ways to spend money, but the biggest insult of all to Largo tax(burdened)payers is the Cultural Center, maintained at $10,000 a week (TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A WEEK!) which may be the biggest white elephant in the U.S. of A. . . . Another pack of that type is alive and growing in Indian Rocks Beach. These designers of culture want to saddle that nice little beach community (a village of only 5,000 or so souls) with a library - just like the big dogs have. Again, the idea is to take your money for my pleasure (or ego). . . . And kudos to Victor Wood of Indian Rocks Beach who has stepped down from a leadership role in that city's civic group, Action 2000. Wood was part of the organization's good works for IRB. A mayoral candidate last time out, he may try again. "He'd be a much-needed breath of fresh air," one alert observer opined. . . . Snap legal quiz for the quick of mind - If A, an employee, signs a contract to work "up to 40 hours a week" for B, an employer, what is A's obligation? Y'all shouldn't need help with that. Right! NO obligation! . . . Here's another one, a moral question - How should an employer treat a sterling employee of 33 years? A. Fire the employee with as much humiliation as possible? B. Honor the employee with recognition of the employee's value? Answer (at least in Largo) - choice A. Shameful, right? . . . Kudos to the Big Paper - It actually got a story about Largo in the paper the day following the event (which is standard and normal newspaper practice, most honored in the breach by the fumbling and stumbling BP). . . . Naturally, when it came time for the public's turn to speak on the budget, the mayor and genius who run Clearwater scheduled the meeting for 3 o'clock in the afternoon when most tax(burdened)payers are working and only mad dogs and Englishman are out in the blazing sun. . . . So many complaints about what is happening on Clearwater-Largo Road, chief among them the questionable 30 mph speed limit. It's obviously a cash register operation (cops are focused on getting those bucks for speed over 30 which makes jingle, jingle, and the bad guys have some elbow room). Lots of folks find another way to go north or south (for at least part of the way). . . . Oh well, fill the coffins now and fill the coffers later. Ugh! |