Around HereBy Leo CoughlinNobody asked me, but – . . . Unbelievable news dep’t. – Under an 1872 law anyone, from anywhere in the world, can stake a claim on federally owned land anywhere in our country and mine it. Get up off the floor and I’ll apprise you of this – someone from Iran could get on some American land out west and start mining uranium to put in those bombs they’re building. . . . If you want to know about Florida history, you can go to the Largo Library – or you can talk to Charlie Harper, former Largo commissioner; he’s a walking encyclopedia. . . . You had to see it to believe it, but there they were, Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Mary Black, in agreement on trying to curtail spending by the Largo city staff. These two are in touch with reality, unlike their bobblehead colleagues. . . . It never goes away – forgive this sentimental old heart, but when that first horse hits the track at Churchill Downs on Derby Day and the band strikes up “My Old Kentucky Home” it is always gripping. And those thoroughbreds are so utterly beautiful; enough to make you weep. . . . And if you noticed, that was one happy ole boy, Calvin Borel, who rode the 50-1 winner, Mine That Bird. . . . Another term for failure is Washington baseball. Call a team there the Senators (first or second versions) or the Nationals (the original name) and it makes no difference. Dismal failures. That old vaudeville joke had it right – “Washington – first in war, first in peace and last in the American (now National) League.” . . . Apparently there are individuals employed at the Pinellas County Clerk’s office who are not aware of the Gideon vs. Wainwright case; if they were they would take very seriously even the most humble submission to get the court’s attention. . . . Add a radio clown named Mark Davis to the list of jerks, joining Chris Matthews (bad beyond words), Mark Phelps and John McEnroe (that’s just the short list). . . . How dare they attach the word “swine” to flu. That is a libel on pigs. For those who know, pigs are delightful, are clean (contrary to popular notion), and don’t gorge themselves with food (unlike horses who will eat to the point of sickness). . . . Jack Kemp is gone. What a wonderful guy he was. A great football player, a great politician (one of the rare few really good ones), and a great man. . . . Well of course Elizabeth Edwards is PO’d at pretty boy John, her husband, what woman wouldn’t be. With all due respect and sympathy to the lady, the fact is she supported him after she knew about his philandering. She is part of the problem. . . . Who does Arlen Specter represent? Why, Arlen Specter – first, last and always. He will do anything to stay in office. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut is cut from the same bolt of cloth. The whining Lieberman ran as an independent after losing in the primary; Specter couldn’t think of doing that because Pennsylvania has a “sore loser” law (you can’t run as independent after losing a primary). Specter is a craven, cringing individual who thinks he is the smartest legal maven in the whole wide world. Disgusting! . . . Specter’s switch is mindful, in a way, of what happened with Calvin Harris back in 1997-98, when he ran for the County Commission. He is a Democrat but got the support of many Pinellas Republicans who were dubbed RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) with the hope that Harris would convert to the GOP. It didn’t work. He is still on the commission. . . . Activity (number of rounds of golf) and income continue to go down, down, down month after month at the Largo Golf Course. Can the city afford to maintain a loser in these very tough financial times? Is the City Commission (members of which are there for the paycheck only, it seems) even aware of this loser? . . . Used to be that the Indian Rocks Beach Homeowners Association was a very responsible outfit, striving to keep property owners conversant with what was going on, public education, etc. Not any more. It is now a drinking club, holding its gatherings by going from booze joint to booze joint, month to month. The latest outing will be a movie in the county park opposite Guppy’s with a movie containing sex and nudity, plenty of boozing (including a scene with a kid downing a beer), plenty of violence, lots of profanity. All of this right out in the open. Whew!
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