From the "it's Canada.. so what does it really  matter... but.." department - Online story: "A Canadian restaurant is facing backlash after a man wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat was refused service at the establishment. * According to CBC, Darin Hodge, the floor manager of the Teahouse in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, approached the customer and said that he won’t be served until he took the ‘MAGA’ hat off. * The customer declined to do so and left the restaurant. * The manager has since been fired; however, he told Global News that his position hasn’t changed. * “I stand by my decision to ask the patron to remove his hat. The MAGA hat has come to symbolize racism, bigotry, islamaphobia [sic], misogyny, white supremacy, homophobia. As a person with a strong moral backbone, I had to take a stand against this guest’s choice of headwear while in my former place of work,” he said." -- "a strong moral background"? Hmmm... since a "strong moral background" is built around faith and forgiveness.. I do believe we can say that this lib is actually MORE of what he called the customer...he's a racist, a bigot, Islamaphobic, misogynistic, supremacist, and homophobic... as well as an immoral hypocrite.

 

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Do you really understand what having the lowest unemployment figures in 44 years really means? It means we have more people in the history of this country working... paying their own way... contributing to the country... using fewer US Tax Dollars to exist...and.. it means that America is GREAT again!

 

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M/C L-E headline/story: "Government Center floods for second time in two weeks * The second leak was significant because when it happened, workers had to get outside the building to cut off the water flowing through a 1-inch line. It took almost 20 minutes to get the water stopped, Hugley said." -- "the workers had to get outside to cut off the water"? Hold it a minute! Isn't the Mayor a member of the Board of the Columbus Water Works? And as I recall. I had to install a cutoff valve BETWEEN the CWW meter box and my home as well as an internal cutoff valve BEFORE I could get may water "turned on" when I moved back to Columbus in 2003..

 

Now, what I want to know is whether the backflow preventers the CWW put on their side of the water meters has been responsible for too much pressure being put on the existing Government Center water pipe system..

 

Oh, and I think there should be an audit over every repair and maintenance initiative ordered and completed plus another audit about maintenance needs not completed over the past 20 years or so..especially the last 8 years.

 

Oh.. and how about this.. since obviously the OLD New Spencer.. in spite of the condition presented by the MCSD, is probably in a lot better condition than the shape Mayor Tom-LYING-son paints of the Government Center, so how about a deal being worked out to move the Courts and her office there?

 

Also, did you know the AFLAC Office Tower on Wynnton Road is only 4 or so years newer than the Government Center Tower downtown.. wonder if the AFLAC Building is in as bad shape as the Government Center.. I'm taking bets that the AFLAC Tower is well maintained.

 

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M/C L-E headline: "Sporting News has released its preseason All-America team. See who made the list." -- Good grief! QB: Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama made 2nd team A-A list even though he literally played one-half of one game last year, and not as a starter, and I'm sure Jalen Hurts is not taking replacement lying down.

 

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From the "is this an April Fool's Day story?" department - Online headline: "LAPD arrests anti-Trump Los Angeles councilman among protesters blocking entrances to ICE detention facility" -- Like Fred Sanford might say, "Elizabeth, I'm coming to see you.. it's the BIG one"..Can you believe a LA policeman arrested a LA councilman over an immigration related incident.. yessir.. the times... they are a changin'... too bad the LA TIMES isn't.

 

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Online headline: "Bid to split California into 3 states gains traction – could it really happen?" -- You know, we once had a 49 star flag for a few months after Alaska's plea for admittance was ratified, then a 50th was added upon the acceptance o Hawaii as a state ... So, if California votes itself into 3 "colonies", technically 'we' would become 49 states again and get one of our prettiest flags back (7 rows of 7 stars) then each will have to apply to the other 49 states for admittance into the USA. Let's insist that if California wants to become 3 states, then all three states will have to reconfirm their support of OUR Constitution and go through the state's ratification process and get 37 existing states to approve each of the 3 Californias acceptances.. Hmm.. we Trump states can stop this right in it's tracks. So, if California does decide by referendum in November to take this path, lets include "the Wall" along all 4 of California's borders until they are all ratified.

 

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From the "let's revamp the sentencing parameters" department - Online headline/story: "FBI details suspected Fourth of July terrorist plot for downtown Cleveland * Pitts faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison if he is convicted, Herdman said." -- "faces a maximum of 20 years"? -- Good grief.. the man is 48... he'd get out at age 68 at a "maximum", and probably in 6-to-10 years.. Does the justice system feel the (_@_) will have become a saint by then and re-enter society a changed man? Hell, no.. he'll just become more hardened and have 6-20 years of contact with other radicals learning more ways to build a better bomb without getting caught.. Terrorism of this nature should be met with immediate execution to keep hate from spreading...

 

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From the "Schumer double-speaks" department - In reaction to Maxine Waters, UpChuck Schumer rebuked her...""I strongly disagree with those who advocate harassing folks if they don't agree with you," Schumer said last week * "That's not right and that's not American," he added..... Hmmm.. funny... he didn't have the same feelings about the antifa harassing Trump voter rallies during the campaign or since. Besides, I feel Schi-umer must have g-had Slick Willie "define" what's "not American".

 

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A rumor being floated ,, though attributable to an Iranian official, is that Obama granted US Citizenship to 2,500 Iranians who were either already in America or coming in the future..without any vetting.. Hope none of his is true, but it's too important for us not to be aware of the possibility.

 

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M/C L-E headline/story: "MCSD budget includes pay raises for 4th straight year. Here's a look at the spending plan. * The vast majority of the projected $295.6 million in total expenditures comes from the $254.5 million (86.07 percent) for salaries and benefits and the $41.1 million (13.93 percent) for operations. * MCSD plans to use $20.1 million of its reserve to balance the FY 2019 budget. That would leave an estimated $33.8 million in reserve, equating to 28 days of operating expenditures." -- Where do we start.. Jumping right in, let's look at the 86.07% for salaries and benefits.. I might not be critical of this (though a private service company would shoot for 60-% in salary/benefits) if the MCSD STUDENTS and MC taxpayers were getting a huge BENEFIT.. but we know differently...Next, let's look at the leftovers targeted for "operations".. You know, half of the day-to-day "operations" budget is being funded by our "savings account".. totally unacceptable! To begin with, "ongoing maintenance" seems to be "shut out" of this budget.. and that $20.1 MILLION to take care of some future disaster is being frittered away on routine expenses.. NO private company would, and NO government division SHOULD, spend it's saving balance on current ongoing expenses.. I'm asking all the current school board members and members elect to tell me if you agree with spending savings on routine ongoing  expenses or not. I will post your responses.. or lack of them... to a blog next week..

 

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Since the "NEW New Spencer High" is being paid for by SPLOST revenues, shouldn't any revenues received from the site of the current "OLD New Spencer High" be returned to the taxpayers in the form of property tax reductions?

 

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You know, after listening to Cagle and Kemp's camapaign rhetoric, can we ask the Republican Party for a Primary "do over"? I'm afraid these two men are getting Abrams elected...

 

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You know.. I looked forward to serving on the 2015 Citizens SPLOST Overview Committee, but it just hit a new low.. the last meeting was held in February, and the next should have been held in April but was pushed out to May, but no May meeting was called, and now, barely 2 weeks ahead of a date,  "we" get a call for one on July 18th.. right in the middle of vacation time. Now, do I reschedule the annual wedding Anniversary trip I'm taking with my bride, or do a reschedule it so I can listen to nothing accomplished.. Decisions, decisions... well, at least this one is going to be easy..

 

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M/C L-E headline: "Mexico’s victor vows to find shared ground with Trump" -- "shared ground"? Yeah the line outside one of our welfare centers...