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Sancho Panza sent yesterday:
Interesting statistics……
http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/11/17/the-american-western-european-values-gap
A true lover of wisdom has hands too busy to hold on to anything! He learns by doing and every pebble in the path becomes her teacher! Oink
A really long article, which might interest someone, or might not, it set the stage for something I’d been mulling over with plenty of help from my lady Kari.
I wrote back to Sancho:
On another, perhaps distantly related topic, your eminence, I read in our local mullet wrapper recently that the Pope was down Mexico way preaching against greed, especially, given all the poor in Mexico, and I wondered how come the Pope did not bring a few galleons of gold to Mexico from the Vatican’s horde, to relieve the poverty in Mexico and the greed in the Vatican? Then the spat with The Donald. Any thoughts?
Sancho replied:
I have pretty much said the same thing commenting on this issue… it’s amazing how much you and I think alike. I like the Pope, but he should stick to spiritual issues that have clear objective… what was his objective with this comment. to help Trump win the Evangelical vote? Well, he succeeded!
I wrote back:
When Kari called to tell me Trump with be on Fox news coast to coast at 10 p.m. tonight, I said the Pope done went and got Trump elected president, and that’s fucking hilarious! Kari said they built walls around the Vatican to protect their pope, and Trump told the Pope to wait until ISIS tries kill him and see who is a Christian. First I’d heard of that - Kari said it in relation to the Pope saying Trump wasn’t a Christian because he wanted to build a wall between America and Mexico, and no real Christian would want to do that. My recollection, the Vatican is kinda a walled city anyway, yes? And armed to the teeth, yes?, the Swiss Guards visibly, who knows what else behind the veil. The nerve of the pope, Kari said, I agreed, preaching against greed in Mexico, with all that loot in the Vatican and its bank accounts.
Someone told me the other day, the Vatican ended up with a whole heap of gold from Germany and Croatia during WW II, put there for safekeeping, then the nice Jesuits melted it down and it became untraceable back to its rightful owners. I hate to think of all the gold and precious jewels the Vatican gouged out of Mexico, Central and South America, among other places, back in the 1500 and 1600s, and later. It is more blessed to give than to receive might be something the pope and the Jesuits and the whole horde of them in Rome ought to have to recite a few billion times.
What a gas! The pope gets The Donald elected El Presidente. What a gas! Kari likes the Donald. Has for as long as I have known her. He did make me feel warm and fuzzier inside when he called G.W. & Gang liars, because there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Maybe the pope should have given The Donald an atta boy for that one, instead of sicking his foot so far down his throat he needs to look up his jackass to find it.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/700472856350691329
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Donald J. Trump on Twitter
twitter.com
“Tonight I will be on @FoxNews with @SeanHannity at 10pm and @CNN w/ @AndersonCooper at 10:10pm. Enjoy! #VoteTrumpSC #Trump2016”
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https://www.yahoo.com/gma/2016-candidates-react-pope-francis-donald-trump-back-205154941-abc-news-topstories.html
Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans joined the fray today in response to the pope’s suggestion that the New York real estate mogul was “not Christian.”
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian,” Pope Francis said during a flight from Mexico to the Vatican Wednesday night.
After the Republican presidential front-runner called the pope’s comments “disgraceful,” others weighed in from the campaign trail:
Pope Francis' call for immigration leniency unlikely to ...
www.washingtontimes.com/.../pope-call-immigrat...
Sep 24, 2015 - Vatican has most restrictive immigration policy…. and those who have to reside in the city because of their jobs, such as the Swiss Guard.
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The Vatican Bank and Nazi Gold: A Scandal Unsolved
moneymorning.com
The Vatican Bank and Nazi gold scandal: What the public knows is that the conspiracy relies heavily upon survivor accounts and one mysterious document…
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P.S. Kari asked this morning, what if the Donald and the Pope are in cahoots? The Donald is paying the Pope to attack him, to help the Donald get elected president? Kari also said, those walls at the Vatican protect people inside the walls who have done bad things, like pedophile priests and cardinals, etc. She said she’d heard on the radio of American Catholic clergy, high up ones even, citing Jesus saying in the Gospels, Let the one who has not sinned cast the first stone, and judge not and you will not be judged in kind. And, Kari said she heard on her little radio this morning, some Catholic churches, some inside America, some outside, called in to radio stations saying the Pope needs to apologize to the Donald. If that happens, I suppose the Donald will be a shoe-in for the Republican nomination, if the Pope has not already shoe-ed him in, maybe all the way to the Oval Office.
Back down in small fry town, a couple of interesting pokes in today’s Citizens Voice, Key West Citizen (keysnews.com):
“Can someone please tell me how a ferry to Cuba helps Key West? I doubt Cubans will be rushing here to stay in $400 hotels and buy $20 fish sandwiches. However, our visitors will be going to Cuba spending money there, rather than here. Instead of that day out on the water snorkeling or kayaking, let’s take the ferry to Cuba. Instead of another night at our B&B, let’s spend it in Cuba. Instead of buying lunch and dinner in Key West, let’s go to Cuba. How, exactly, is this good for Key West?”
“While everyone is talking about Perry Court, yesterday the city approved another ‘redevelopment’ without a single unit of affordable housing. Yes, Banana Bay will be redeveloped into another overpriced hotel paying low wages. Unbelievably, the city rejected the original plans that INCLUDED worker housing due to a few neighbors complaints, but approved the revised plan with NO worker housing! Are we in the twilight zone or what?”
This week’s every Friday edition of online Key West the Newspaper (thebluepaper.com), leads off with a piercing comprehensive “Should the city purchase Peary Court?” article. Here’s the blue paper’s teaser:
PEARY COURT: VOTING IN THE DARK…
by Naja and Arnaud Girard…….
Buying the old Navy housing project at Peary Court might be the City’s last opportunity to preserve some semblance of a working class community. However, most residents interviewed appear unable to move past a sense of indignation over the proposed sale price for Peary Court (which has nearly doubled in just two years) or their suspicion that officials did not fight hard enough to get a better deal, if they fought at all.
Background:
On August 30, 2013 Peary Court was sold to White Street Partners* on the open market for $35,000,000.
On April 6, 2011, Ron Demes, the Navy’s Business Manager, had a meeting with Mayor Craig Cates and City Manager Jim Scholl to inform them that Peary Court was about to be made available for purchase…Continue reading »
This here pearying through the crystal ball below is the text of a string of emails started yesterday by Christine Russell, of Key West, with yours truly.
Christine Russel above, Peary Court below
Hey Sloan,
I don’t have Todd German’s contact info, and I’m not a fan of Facebook, but I am wondering if Hometown PAC! is going to have a forum before the election and talk about Peary Court? Someone needs to hold a meeting and present what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know to cast an informed vote on March 15 or before if voting absentee or early.
As you know there is a PAC promoting the purchase of Peary Court. But there is no PAC or group to simply and honestly present the facts of what we know or need to know. The public should NOT be “sold” and pandered to. Honest information in the hands of voters is what Key west needs in regards to most of its issues - but especially Peary Court right now. So maybe you can ask Todd if Hometown intends to hold any meeting to present some Peary Court facts and to bring up concerns about important information that is not available to make an informed decision (vote) on Peary Court.
Personally I read many years ago - NEVER invest in something you do not thoroughly understand. That advice was aimed at investing in particular stocks in the market, but I think holds true for any investment or large expenditure.
Christine
(Note: Todd German chairs Hometown PAC!, which hosts calls to candidates and candidate and sometimes referendum forums in Key West.)
I replied:
Hi, Christine -
Not to my knowledge is Hometown PAC! putting on anything, but I put in a call to Todd and left a voicemail asking.
There have been a number of hosted public meetings about the should the city purchase Peary Court referendum.
The local Democratic Party has something scheduled, Robin Smith-Martin sent out that notice recently, for February 23:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1129379337093171/
One of the pro-purchase PAC’s Facebook discussion groups provides excellent info for not buying Peary Court and reveals the thinking and tactics of the buy Peary Court PAC members:
https://www.facebook.com/workerhousingkw/photos/a.463323720527109.1073741828.457893651070116/463323610527120/?type=3&comment_id=468460113346803¬if_t=like
The Peary Court discussion group at the Key West’s Concerned Citizens Facebook page is excellent, not too many there favor purchase:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1439718509649259/permalink/1671068346514273/?comment_id=1679487649005676¬if_t=group_comment_follow
The blue paper has had very good coverage and reader comments under some of their pearyng through the wishing glass articles:
www.thebluepaper.com
My blog, www.goodmorningkeywest.com, has covered the workfarce referendum intensely and often.
Perhaps you arrange a forum consisting of panelists who are against the referendum passing, and let them speak and take questions from the audience, and you send notices of it to me, the blue paper, the Citizen, the Keynoter, the discussion groups above, for us to share with the public.
I volunteer to be a panelist at your sink the purchase of Peary Court ship forum 
Sloan
P.S.
Todd called back, said they had not seen enough interest in a Peary Court forum for Hometown to get involved.
Christine wrote:
Well Sloan, I hope the voters will think seriously about Peary court, and ask what information they need (that they do not have) to cast an informed vote.
I have voted NO on Peary Court - not because I am against adding 157 units to the cities housing stock, but because there are more questions than answers to make an informed decision. And because I do not know if Peary Court would be the best use of the city’s $12.5 Million tourist tax fund - which would seem to empty the workforce housing pot for now.
IF Peary Court is such a fabulous deal, someone like Ed Swift - who has a lot of employees who he needs to be sure have housing - should buy it. I am not being factious. These people seem to be really convinced Peary Court is sort of a steal. These big employers here in KW should seriously purchase PC themselves. The right rental housing can be a great investment. I am not sold that PC itself is a great investment. Those who are should band together and buy it, instead of looking at the tax payers to foot the bill and go out on a limb with all the unknowns.
I first read in a Howard Clark book years ago ‘never invest in something you do not thoroughly understand’. Duhhaa! Seems pretty obvious. Warren Buffet agrees. Peary Court scares me with what I have heard about mold, sub-standard construction, financing questions and maintenance costs. I heard Commissioner Romero at her forum mention what I have referred to as the 1% rule for the 30 years I invested in rental properties. A buyer/investor should expect 1% in monthly rent of the purchase price. So if Peary Court units divide out to $350,000 per unit - then rents should be $3500/month, instead of the current $2400 a month. By the time you pay the mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance you should not lose money - if you would its a bad investment. The rule works in most areas. Buy a house in St Pete for $100,000 - rent it for $1,000/month. Buy a house elsewhere for $80,000 - rent it for $800/mo. But here in KW a house at $550,000 will never rent for $5500/month unless it is rented monthly to tourists or with a legal transient license for even more. This is one of the reasons affordable and workforce housing is drying up and supply has become a problem - owning a single family rental house here is a bad investment.
Solutions to workforce and affordable housing are going to be difficult to find. I think the public could come up with better ideas than the local government has come up with so far - if buying Peary court is the best they can do! I did hear a good suggestion at Commissioner Kaufman’s Town Hall recently, that I had not thought about - it was something about using some of the cities affordable housing money to partner with rental property owners to deed restrict some of the current rental properties. Commissioner Romero mentioned at her Town hall that she was working on something to try and give landlords a monetary break when they rent at affordable rates. Those are some of the kind of ideas the city needs to consider. Maybe one of the 2 mentioned commissioners should consider holding a round table to develop out-of-the-box ideas to preserve rental housing we have, and how to possibly create more.
Personally, I don’t think providing affordable housing for employees of businesses who refuse to pay a living wages as they rake in the profits, is the responsibility of government. Housing for firefighters, police, teachers and public workers is another topic - but I don’t know if you can legally restrict those living in publicly owned housing to public employees. It is bad a situation that has gotten to this point because the city has failed to deal with the situation over the years - and now we have the knee-jerk $55,000,000 question.
C
I replied:
Well, Jaguar woman,
I can’t argue with your analysis. It’s just too darn bad the city’s cracked negotiating team didn’t negotiate the purchase price down from Saturn to at least the moon circling this planet. Then your 1 per cent rule would have been very happy :-).
Sam Kaufman said something during last night’s city commission meeting about the city providing incentives to redevelopers to provide actually affordable housing.
But my goodness, I still seem to be the only person clamoring for the city dumping the new $55 million park on Truman Annex, which blows the 1 percent rule to hell and back, by not producing any income for the city, and instead put actually affordable housing authority rental housing all over that 33 acres.
If city commissioner Richard Payne then somehow wriggles Washington D.C., or the Navy, to let Key West use Truman Harbor for a Key West-Cuba ferry terminal, which would produce income, then all the better.
But I ain’t sleeping totally at the switch for Ed Swift backing that scenario whole hog. He wants this dry- docked amphibious ducks splashing down that boat ramp again on Truman Waterfront, right next to any new Ferry Terminal, where his conch trains and trolleys will be lined up like lemming expresses aimed right at his Old Town gift shops/conch train and trolley terminals.
You are dead on the money, if Swifty thinks Peary Court is such a steal, he’d be standing at the front of the line with his burglar’s mask and tools. I ain’t heard of Ed Kight, David Wolkowsky, the Spottswoods, the Washes, the Bernsteins, Pritam Singh or any of the big hotel chains lusting after Peary Court for $55 million, and the current carpetbagger owners get to keep 48 essentially market rate building rights to build 48 essentially market rate transient apartments on Peary Court land, which 48 building rights the city kindly had given the carpetbaggers for free, and they then had tried to sell the 48 buildings back to the city for $12 million profit, on top of the $20 million profit they will make if the city pays them $55 million for the rest of Peary Court.
Smells to me just like some dream deal Jim Hendrick, who represents the carpetbaggers, dreamt up for them.
No way they will ever convince me $2400 a month, plus utilities, for a 2 bedroom unit, is “affordable” rental housing for poor working stiffs. They have redefined workforce to mean the top 10 percent wage earners in Key West. The other 90 percent will never be able to afford Peary Court, even at its current rents.
Sloan
Also in today’s blue paper:
Continuing the Theme of Being Homeless in Key West …
by Sloan Bashinsky……. I don’t suppose I’m a typical homeless person, if such even exists … How did I become homeless? I’m sometimes asked. I ran out of money, I say. Oh. Well, why don’t you work and make money and get yourself a place to live? I do work, very hard but the job [read more…]
I was gotten onto in a dream last night for not mentioning in that article the novel I had dreamed I would write, while sleeping in a doorway in Key West, in late April 2001.
A dream I did not understand until three days later, after I was in Helen, Georgia, where I had no clue I was going when I had the dream.
HEAVY WAIT: A Strange Tale, is available at amazon.com, in trade paperback, kindle, and large print; and at amazon.com.es, in Spanish.
Heavy Wait: A Strange Tale
Oct 28, 2013 | Kindle eBook
Larga Espera (Spanish Edition)
Jan 14, 2014 | Kindle eBook
Kindle allows you to read the early part of a book, to see if you want to keep reading. Here’s the kindle link for the English translation:
http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Wait-Strange-Sloan-Bashinsky-ebook/dp/B00GAEEYZC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1455881844&sr=1-1&keywords=sloan+bashinsky
The Preface, “For What It’s Worth,” tells how the tale came to be written, which itself is a strange tale. The rest of the book is a different strange altogether. I kinda doubt the Pope would care for it, but the Donald might dig it.
sloanbashinsky@outlook.com
