That’s the title of a Christian Science Monitor story. It seems that Pres. Eisenhower considered the high rate of illegal immigration when he took office in 1951 “…a breakdown in law enforcement on a very large scale.” Ike solved the problem forthwith. Too bad Bush can’t follow in his footsteps, isn’t it?

So many of you are too rushed to go to the beach for one of our glorious Florida Gulf Coast sunsets that I decided to shoot one for you to look at. And because I know you’re busy. I compressed it down to one minute. Background music is Ricard Strauss’s “Zarathustra” prelude (made famous in [...]

The only Manatee County tax “overspending” I see is caused by what amount to subsidies for new developments. Bringing in more dwelling units, especially units built in places and ways that make car trips necessary for even the smallest grocery run (because no small stores are within walking distance of 90% of the new BlandBoxes), [...]

Debbie Miller is an artist and decorator who built a little studio/gallery in her garage, three blocks south of the “main” Village of the Arts. Her prices are so low that it’s worth the walk or drive — especially since she has lots of cool (mostly imported) stuff you either won’t find anywhere else or [...]

Yes, it’s a gallery with two names: Fancy Free Boutique and Blue Morpho Gallery. The “boutique” bit comes from the many interesting clothes and decorations owner Elizabeth Righter imports from the Caribbean (she lived on St. Thomas for 15 years) and other parts of the world. The “Blue Morpho” part comes from the Blue Morpho [...]

Hey, ladies, stick out your can. Here comes the garbage man! In Bradenton, Florida, he’s one of the lowest-paid and hardest-working city employees, and hardly anybody pays any attention to him or gives him props for doing good work. So this video is my personal tribute to Bradenton’s Solid Waste Department — a great bunch [...]