It’s not often that you will hear us say this on any subject. We have a wide variety of people with various experiences here at Raised on Hoecakes, and so it is unusual for us to come up a situation where we say “Huh?”
Such is the case with Satellite Beach and tonight’s meeting on both the Budget Workshop at 5:00 PM (agenda and packet) and a Regular meeting at 7:00 PM. (agenda and packet)
What caught our eye was agenda item 10 which reads:
DISCUSS/TAKE ACTION ON RESOLUTION NO. 1013, A RESOLUTION OF THECITY OF SATELLITE BEACH, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $1,463,000 PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF CITY OF SATELLITE BEACH, FLORIDA HALF-CENT SALES TAX REVENUE NOTE, SERIES 2019 FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING VARIOUS CAPITAL PROJECTS AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN; PLEDGING HALF-CENT SALES TAX REVENUES TO SECURE PAYMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST OF SUCH NOTE; MAKING SUCH DETERMINATIONS AS ARE REQUIRED TO AFFORD SUCH NOTE “BANK QUALIFIED” STATUS; MAKING CERTAIN COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE HOLDER OF SUCH NOTE; AUTHORIZING CERTAIN OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE, ISSUANCE AND DELIVERY OF SUCH NOTE; MAKING CERTAIN COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
We are unsure of any “half cent sales tax revenues” that would fund this bond. That doesn’t mean it isn’t out there, but we have never seen it or seen something like this called that.
Here is the information from the packet, and if you read it, you’ll see that the language only adds to the confusion of a layperson or regular citizen. (more…)
After last week’s Brevard County Commission meeting, there was a sense that people wanted the Commission to “do something,” in the case of Bryan Lober and his reprehensible remarks he has made to people. People are rightly upset with some of the things that Lober has said and at the meeting, some called for a censure or Lober. Some people called for his removal from the Vice Chair position. Some called for his resignation.
And then there were those who called for “more civility” and “rules to support more civility.”
We suspected then that there would be those who would want to restrict the rights of people and their speech.
The current version of Tobia’s proposed policy has these provisions for conduct during County Commission meetings for members of the commission, county staff and the public:
• No speaker may attack the personal character of any individual, including, but not limited to, calling into question their integrity.
• No speaker may label another individual pejoratively, including, but not limited to, applying labels such as “racist,” “bigot,” “misogynist,” “sexist,” “criminal” or “evil.” Tobia said this provision should not be interpreted as preventing a speaker from labeling a policy or general idea that way.
There are constitutional issues – major constitutional issues – with these proposals. (more…)
We had written a long post on the Brevard County Commission and the issue of speech. As we were saving it for publication, a computer glitch caused the loss of the entire post. Nothing we could do would get it back.
Upset and not sure what to do next, we decided to let people know the answer to one of the internet’s biggest questions”
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PAINTINGS OF BOB ROSS?
While the video didn’t bring back our post, the idea of a “happy little tree” did ease some of the angst of being upset.
This is a question that has plagued people for many years.
“Why ARE there so many types of screws?”
And why does it seem that you never have the right screwdriver available when you come across a “different” screw?
The good thing about not having the right screwdriver is that it can lead to a trip to the hardware store, (aka Nirvana for lovers of tools and those who never seem to have enough tools.)
Abortion is still a hot topic in the US (and elsewhere.) One of the main arguments for abortion is “what about in the case of rape?”
It’s an point that we struggle with but also feel it is misused in the sense that as less than 2% of all abortions are from rape / incest, that doesn’t justify abortions in the other 98% of the cases.
The video below contains a woman that was conceived from a rape. It is clear that her story and beliefs are deeply personnel as would anyones who has people saying she should have been killed or aborted or whatever you want to call it.
“You can’t force a rape survivor to carry a pregnancy to term.” This is a hugely popular argument for abortion, even by many who consider themselves pro-life. But is someone’s life really worth less than anyone else’s because of the way they were conceived? Let’s ask Stephanie Reynolds, whose own mother was a victim of rape, and chose her life instead of abortion.
We aren’t sure that we agree with everything that is said, but some of the arguments put forth are compelling and deserving of thought.
We hate these kind of stories as it deal with two of our most basic hated ideas that the government has. First is that the government owns your labor (and in this case, your tools.) Secondly, you can do something on your own property that does not affect anyone else.
The issue is that Sacramento County, California has made it illegal for people to do more than “minor automotive repair” on their cars.
1. What is Minor Automotive Repair?
Brake part replacement
Minor tune-ups
Change of oil and filter
Repair of flat tires
Lubrication
Other similar operations
(See section 5.2.0.B of the Zoning Code)
The definitions here are much too broad. For example, can a person replace a radiator? A battery? An alternator? A water pump?
If the standard is that the above list is comprehensive and everything not on that list is not a “minor repair,” that’s a problem.
2. Is Minor Vehicle Repair Permitted at Residences? (more…)
“Those people who are online making fun of members of Congress are a disgrace, and there is no need for anyone to think that is unacceptable [sic],” Wilson said during comments made Tuesday outside of the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Florida.
“We’re gonna shut them down and work with whoever it is to shut them down, and they should be prosecuted,” she continued. “You cannot intimidate members of Congress, frighten members of Congress. It is against the law, and it’s a shame in this United States of America.”
“Shut them down and they should be prosecuted.” (emphasis ours) (more…)
Last night at the County Commission meeting there were lots of speakers and lots of people on both sides of the Lober issue making statements that made little sense to us.
There was a call for an “ethics committee” and “citizen review boards” to review the conduct of Commissioners.
All of the proposals have legal problems and we won’t address them here at this point in time.
One thing we will take on is comments by on “Robert Burns,” who is helped run Kenny Johnson’s campaign in Palm Bay and is looking to move up the political chain. He has appeared on this blog making what we considered false statements.
During public comments, Burns addressed the issue of the doctrine of “fighting words” as it applies to the First Amendment and Lober’s comments. (It would also apply to other comments, but who said what, when, is not the issue.)
After his comments, Burns received applause which would be great except for one thing: Burns was wrong on the facts of the doctrine of “fighting words.”
The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert.
