Slow News Day

Slow News Day (Unless you’re a Kurd)

       Right off the bat, because I know you love ‘em, there’s no real “odd” Florida oddity today. As close as I could get was that a garbage truck knocked down a power line pole in (naturally) South Florida. The pole came to rest leaning against a condo with its base perilously near a pool of water. Lights out!

        The feel-good story of the day is that one of our neighbors in The Villages, returned from Hawaii several days ago having completed his third triathlon in six weeks. Not bad for 74, huh?

        Odd, but far more serious, is a commission’s recommendation for reinstatement regarding Scott Israel, the Broward County sheriff who was ordered removed by Governor DeSantis after his deputy froze at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, while a shooter was killing 17 children inside and wounding an additional 17.   This was compounded by the fact that two additional Broward deputies also failed to enter. Further investigation found that the sheriff’s office had received at least 45 separate cautionary notifications (Israel initially lied and said "only" 23) about the shooter, Nikolas Cruz and his brother and family in general, but failed to do due diligence in any of them. This included five recent and specific warnings about Cruz “shooting up” the school, becoming known as a “school shooter” and similar warnings. Israel’s office took no concrete actions.  Needless to say, several sets of parents are very angry about the prospect that Israel might be reinstated.

       There is, however, a Maryland oddity today. Police in Adamstown, Md, corralled an animal which was very far afield from its natural haunts. I went to high school about 12 miles north of there and never once saw an alligator in the wild. That aside, a three-footer, happily ensconced in a private retention pond, was captured yesterday. There was no further commentary on where it was taken and in what state of animation. This is another “stupid human trick” involving exotic pets.

       In an even goofier stupid human trick, a Santa Fe, NM, man was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy for erratic driving. At this point, as Ron White famously says, “He had the right to remain silent, but he didn’t have the ability.” Instead, Phillip Quintana offered the deputy a $10,000 bribe and promised to “Make you happier than you can imagine.”  I know, I know, the mind reels with possible scenarios, doesn’t it?

       The fact that Quintana was doing 72 mph in a 35-mph zone was the deputy’s initial incentive for the stop. The $25,275 in cash, the Oxy and the Cocaine found inside the vehicle were the clinchers. There was no further discussion of the nature of deputy’s being "made happy.”

       

        Meanwhile Mike Pence tried to look sorry as he condemned Turkish actions vis a vis Kurds in Syria. Unfortunately, his boss created this situation or, at least enabled it, against the advice of numerous actual diplomats who knew this might happen.  Moral bankruptcy personified.