A Spider, Term Limits, General Petraeus, Palm Beach County Elections and a Story from Harvey

An Arachnid Friend

The other day, a neighbor drew my attention to a really big spider in his backyard.  It turned out to be a female Golden Silk Spider (Nephila Clavipes) which is rather common in South Florida.  Here is a picture I took of the creature, in which a lot of the web is visible. 

Its body can be up to two inches in size (this one looked to be about an inch and a half) with a leg span extending out about four inches in all directions. This was obviously a female since the males of the species are far smaller. They weave a golden hued web and won't bother you unless you ask for trouble.  Even then, a bite from one is far less severe than a mild bee sting.  They feed on insects which might be harmful to plants and people, so I guess they are our friends.
Jack Lippman
                                                                          

A Word About General Petraeus

Ah, so the General has an eye for the ladies!  His affair with his biographer revealed this flaw in his character.  Petraeus has no business being in charge of the CIA and it is fitting that he resigned.   The dalliances of Bill Clinton, John Edwards and innumerable other politicos may have been embarassing to them and to their families, but they did not involve our national security to the extent that Petraeus' did.  

 
Gen. Petrraues and Ms. Broadwell

What if Paula Broadwell, despite her military experience and security clearances, were secretly an agent of a foreign power?  What if the next comely lass that strikes the General's fancy turns out to have such shady connections?  This weakness disqualifies him for service in the CIA, especially as its head and he knows it.  But this does not mean he cannot continue to serve our country in a less sensitive but still important position.  How about putting Petraeus in charge of FEMA.

I find it difficult to believe, however, that no one knew this was going on.  Anyone who has worked in any office, organization, foundation or school usually knows which of their fellow workers are unusually close and engaging in extra-curricular activities.  Those who saw the General and Ms. Broadwell in the course of their daily activities had to have had their suspicions, long before the Emails which were brought to the attention of the FBI came to light.

And in regard to those Emails, the involvement of General Allen and the lady from Tampa as well as General Petraeus in this episode suggests that the military, as well as civilians, should be very careful when they mix business with pleasure, or other non-business activities.
JL 

                                                                  

Our Local Election Supervisors

Theresa LePore, Arthur Anderson and Susan Bucher have all held the post of Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections.  LePore ran a tight ship which ran aground in the 2000 Presidential election that involved “hanging chads” and a deceptive “butterfly ballot” either of which conceivably lost that election for Al Gore.  Her successor, academic Arthur Anderson tried mightily to straighten out the Office but achieved nothing.  I still use the nice American flag keychain he gave out.  Current Supervisor Susan Bucher, a seasoned and sincere political pro, has encountered problem after problem.  

In almost every election, Palm Beach County finds some way to screw up and be the last to report.  A local election last year in Wellington produced a result diametrically opposed to what the voters had voted for and the recent Presidential campaign involved numerous problems with absentee ballots.  Fortunately, this time around, Florida did not make a difference nationally, but it could have.


Susan Bucher (right) watching absentee ballots being reviewed

LePore, Anderson and Bucher are all very competent people.  What then is wrong with elections in Palm Beach County?  It isn't the only place in the Sunshine State where there are voting problems, but Palm Beach County is always the place which makes the headlines.  Is it the water here? Is there some kind of jinx on managing elections in the county which boasts having “The Best of Everything”?  Something strange is occurring whereby the election process here takes on a life of its own, sort of like Frankenstein's monster.  And although the entire State's voting procedures beg for reform, the spotlight is always on Palm Beach County.

I think the only alternative is to hire a panel of consultants, each of whom have had a successful career as an election supervisor outside of Florida and all of whom possess a consistent record of running relatively problem-free balloting.  This panel would oversee every action taken by the Palm Beach County Election Supervisor to see that things ran smoothly.  This would include the selection of all vendors and personnel involved in voting. 

While the consultants need not be in Palm Beach County, they ought to be able to come here at least once a month for meetings with the Supervisor as well as being available for more frequent Email and telephone contact.  There has to be something intrinsically wrong with the voting process in Palm Beach County that neither LePore, Anderson nor Bucher have been able to pin down and overcome.  Lightning just doesn’t strike repeatedly in the same location without a reason.
 JL
                                                                  

Term Limits in Congress? 

Because he is limited to two terms in office, President Obama doesn’t have to worry about what he does during the next four years in office affecting his electability.  Those we elect to public office should be concentrating on doing their job, and not getting re-elected.  In that sense, term limits as we have for the Presidency are a good idea.  Still, too much of any President’s first term is wasted on getting re-elected after four years.  With that in mind, I wonder if we wouldn’t be better off limiting our Presidents to one term in office, but increasing that term from four to six years. 

As for the Senate, Senators are elected for six year terms, which is just fine, except that some of them seem to be there forever, even when they are approaching senility.  For example, we currently have three Senators who are 88 years old.  While they still are alert and contribute to the workings of the Senate, they are at an age when full time employment, which is what a seat in the Senate demands, is not as readily possible as it would be for a younger person.  How many 88 year olds are capable of working full time?  Two of these Senators are from Hawaii.  Senator Dan Inouye has served over 49 years and Senator Dan Akaka has served 22 years.  Frank Lautenberg from New Jersey has served almost ten years.   I wonder if a limit of three six-year terms for Senators would be a good idea.

Senator Daniel Inouye .								Congressman Ralph Hall

The two-year terms in our House of Representatives are fine too, since that enables the political feelings of the nation to be frequently voiced at the polls, but some Representatives still seem to be permanent fixtures on Capitol Hill.  89 year old Representative Ralph Hall from Texas has been in Congress for 32 years.  I think that nine two-year terms for Representatives, forcing them to leave after eighteen years in Congress, the same limit I suggest for Senators, would be a good idea.

There are always plenty of aspirants for office to take their place, and I am sure “termed-out” Senators and Representatives would be easily able to find work in the private sector, for foundations or in the academic world … or even to run for local or state offices, if they wished.
JL



                                                                 

Diamonds in the Ruff

Harvey Sage

harvo1@comcast.net

Stars like diamonds spread on a black velvet sky, twinkling lights from God’s own eye.

Treasures abundant for us to enjoy, woe to those who take them for their own gains to employ.

Solitary Solly lay on his back atop his sleeping bag, enthralled. Away from signs of civilization on this deserted plateau he felt superior to other humans who struggled through life. He didn’t have a family, house, or job to concern him. His car was a vintage wreck. It got him to town for supplies, one of the few times this reclusive retired financier interacted with people. His wife had left him years ago, his kids were grown. Who needed people? He had his sky and this plateau. Then he saw a bright slash cut through the firmament. “A meteorite! It landed just over there. I’ve got to check this out.” Solly uncricked his ancient bones and began walking.

The windswept plateau was Solly’s bailiwick Whatever was going on here was his concern. His eyes darted about as he approached the spot where the meteorite   landed. Then he saw it.

“It looks like a diamond, about the size of a baseball. A diamond on the Ruff.” Solly began to laugh at his pun. “It must be worth millions! God is good! I’ll sell it and buy some more equities. I’m already a millionaire. Now I’ll be a multi-millionaire. Boy, will Thelma be upset that she ever left me.” He stooped over and picked up the object.

“It twinkles. What a beauty. I wonder why it’s cool to the touch. I’d think that after flying through our atmosphere it would still be hot. Oh well..” Solly headed back to his camp, tossing the ball shaped diamond up and down. Then he noticed the meteorite started to pulsate and give off light. Then it started to warm up becoming hot. Solly dropped the diamond. “Screw this! I’ll check it out in the morning.” He started walking again. A hundred yards further on he heard a noise from behind.

Turning, he saw a man sized squid shaped creature bearing down on him. Petrified, Solly tried to scream. The tentacles of the creature wrapped themselves around his face, stifling any noise. Then the creature’s beak thrust itself into Solly’s throat and it began drinking greedily.

“Dispatch. This is Alpha Three. I’ve got a seven eighty six on top of Ruff at Troubadour.”

“What is the condition of your seven eighty six?”

The quavering voice of the deputy came over the air waves. “It looks like Solitaire Solly. Corpse looks all wrinkled and shriveled like all his blood has been siphoned out of him.”

“Oh my God!”was the reaction.

“One more thing, there are two baseball sized diamond spheres by his side. What ever did this left behind a fortune.”

“Copy that Alpha Three. Stay put. Keep your eyes open and be careful. Sheriff’s on his way.”

Alpha Three picked up one of the diamonds and smiled, wondering what it could do for his IRA. “A gift from God. Thank You!”

Sheriff Rick pulled alongside Alpha Three’s patrol car. He saw the driver side door open. A booted foot was sticking out. Bullet holes were through the car windows. To the side were Solly’s remains with two diamonds spheres. Drawing his gun the sheriff approached the deputy’s car.

Alpha Three was splayed on the front seat and two additional spheres on the back. He was shriveled up, his gun at his side. Sheriff Rick turned his head and choked. What the hell was going on here? He’d have to signal for help. Starting back to his car he stooped and picked up one of the spheres next to Solly. When he sat down he tossed it onto the back seat realizing its wealth. “Oh what the hell. This will pay a lot of bills. Thank You Lord.” He started to talk into his radio when he happened to notice a flashing light. He turned to see the sphere emitting this as it began to vibrate. Then it began to split.

When Rick saw a squid like creature emerge he reached for his gun. He fired shots into the creature, but they had no effect as they passed through. Rick tried to scream into the mike but the tentacles of the monster were wrapping themselves around his face as its beak went for his throat. It was too late to answer the fervent plea from dispatch which kept asking over and over “Sheriff Rick, what’s your twenty? Hello sheriff, do you copy? What is your twenty? Are you with Alpha Three? I’m sending Alpha One and Bravo Six to investigate. Hello sheriff. Do you copy?”

Deathly silence enmeshed the diamond lit sky. 

                                                        

 

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