Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

The “New Normal” From An Abnormal Administration

Americans are experiencing what is called the “new normal.”

This “new normal” is directed by a group of faceless unelected bureaucrats that are pulling abnormal Joe Biden’s strings causing economic, educational, social, and personal misery for millions.

In spite of the obvious chaos, the puppet masters and ventriloquists hiding behind the Oval Office curtains keep shoving this mindless dummy out on stage to tell the country how good things are and to scream angry speeches calling Republican voters fascists, dangerous, and a threat to American democracy.

They’re frantic to fend off a Republican wave in November and will say and do anything to prevent it. In desperation they might even open up the country’s southern border to massive illegal immigration, sex trafficking and drug smuggling, call parents at PTA meetings domestic terrorists, or even send the FBI to raid former President Donald Trump’s home. Oh, wait a minute…

This Fifth Column of White House handlers conveniently discovered Covid to be an expedient excuse to start concocting their witch’s brew of  “new normal.” At their command raspy voiced little weasel, Dr. Fauci, played “Simon Says” with Americans, and was used to shut down whatever segment of the country annoyed them most.

Fauci is a cartoon character, who utters totally contradictory and nonsensical comments about wearing a mask, not wearing a mask, and wearing one, two or three masks and other thoroughly inconsistent and absurd dictates and phony information. Using the false premise of a deadly plague, vaccines of questionable value, and lying to Congress, he turns the economic, social, and educational spigots on and off whenever he is told to.

They don’t worry about running anything through Congress or the American public. Just send in the doctor or the dummy, have the national media propagandists broadcast and print whatever they tell them, sign an executive order, and get on with it. In the beginning Covid made it easy for them.

Under the Democrat’s “new normal” program, Americans are dealing with a variety of unparalleled and disastrous experiences ranging from economic and educational to social and foreign.

They say that unless we immediately latch on to the climate change rage and demand a livable planet and life for all, we’ve only got 12 years or less before we experience mass death for people, plants, and animals. That’s according to world-renowned climate scientist Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and her teenage Swedish sidekick, Greta Thunberg. There’s no time to waste. Just do it. RIGHT NOW, they demand. No more gasoline powered engines, coal, or natural gas-fired power plants. Learn to live with rising gasoline prices, high heating and air conditioning bills, failing grids and expensive electric cars or die you ignorant plebs. The old normal doesn’t work anymore they say, it’s a short path to mass death. By the way, what does an electric Harley-Davidson sound like?

The new normal also produced some unexpected consequences for these Fifth Column plotters, particularly when the southern border was opened, the wall construction halted, and “Bienvenidos” signs planted by Biden from East Texas to southern California.

NO! NO! Not here, you ignorant, unwashed, savages,” screamed the sanctimonious, hypocritical, and shocked Democrat sanctuary island and city residents on Martha‘s Vineyard, and in Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York when their enthusiastically grateful illegal foreign guests arrived. The high-fiving and “Atta boys” in Tallahassee, Austin and Phoenix could be heard all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Based on their economic policies it’s obvious not a single person in the Biden administration understands the role and value of private markets or basic economics, including supply and demand. To them the only reason for today’s astronomical inflation and busted supply chain is because the system they don’t understand doesn’t work. So, blow it up with presidential executive orders, climate change nonsense, media propaganda, insane rules and regulations, and other nonnegotiable agendas. Nobody in the White House including Biden has ever worked outside of the government system with the exception of Hunter, but that’s another story.

The Biden administration’s commitment to destroying the nation’s current education system is displayed by its dedication to teachers unions, pandemic school closures and teaching critical race theory. It applauds school closures and dismisses declining academic test scores, chronic absenteeism, and social promotion. It approves of taking elementary school children to transvestite bars on field trips and providing pornographic literature in classrooms but pooh-poohs the success sequence: graduate from high school, find a job, get married and have children, in that order.

Outside of the classroom the “new normal” White House crew cheers defunding the police, no bail, and emptying prisons while crime across the county increases at an unprecedented pace.

In its “new normal” arena of foreign affairs, the administration bounces from disaster to disaster. It gifted the Taliban billions in weapons during its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, an act that emboldened Russia’s Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. China is a total mystery to this crowd. Every time the Oval Office dummy opens his mouth about that country without his handlers nearby the White house PA system blares an alert screeching: “Clean up on Aisle 46” or “Lucky Wok order for the Big Guy at the front gate.”

In November the country will go to the polls seeking a return to the old normal and an escape from the “new normal” nightmare Biden unleashed. In the meantime, expect the Democrats and their acolytes to continue with their vicious all-out assaults on the country’s cherished institutions and traditions and calling Republicans anarchistic devils. These are desperate, devious, dangerous, demonic people, e.g., they’re not normal.

(An abridged version of this commentary also appears on the national sites American Wire and Biz Pac Review at https://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/09/22/the-new-normal-from-an-abnormal-administration-1288103/).

***

Things I Wish I’d Said: “For the first time ever you can post: ‘He’s an idiot’ and 90 percent of the people in the world will know whom you are talking about.” — anonymous.

***

Double, Double Toil & Trouble: Remember the polls prior to the 2016 election? They all had Hillary Clinton winning in a landslide. It turned out the pollsters lost bigger than the hysterical incredulous Democrat presidential candidate who has since sunk into a state of despondent hostility, currently spending her time stirring her caustic cauldron and cackling curses.

Stunned media pundits said that the pollsters and Clinton were the most dumbfounded losers in the 2016 election. The pollsters’ credibility was DOA said an unusually candid media crowd after the election.

So, don’t believe any of the polls about the upcoming November elections. They were dead wrong in 2016 and 2020, especially about the Senate races where they predicted Republicans were going to lose lots of seats.

There are a couple of other reasons to disregard polls. First, there is a bias by most pollsters, and secondly, many Republicans and independents don’t respond to surveys.

Economic fears are getting worse recently with markets moving downward while the feds increase interest rates and housing prices drop, and that will change many voter’s minds. And no sane person of voting age cares about voting to go green.

I foresee a red tsunami in November.

***

Overheard At PJD’s Beer & Wine Garden: “There was a faster response to Martha’s Vineyard than there was to Benghazi.”

***

Shocker! Amazon tried to go green by putting solar panels on the roofs of all its warehouses. However, so many caught on fire they are now all shut down. Hideous and expensive bird chopping windmills are not an option and are being rightly rejected for permits in many towns. So, what do they do now? It’s just another of many examples of why all this solar and wind nonsense will not solve any energy issues, only make them worse.

***

California Crazy: The delusional Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, actually blamed people fleeing California on the “visa policy in the Trump administration.” Newsom also said, “This whole damn border debate is made up. It’s made up!” That will be a relief to the folks in Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Nogales, etc. who are obviously just imagining things.

***

Fernandina Beach Mayor Mike “Left Coast” Lednovich.

Sign Language: In case readers missed it the past few weeks here’s a photo of current Mayor and Fernandina Beach City Commissioner Mike “Left Coast” Lednovich sent to me by a reader. The California transplant is wearing a Fernandina Police Department hat while parading through town displaying a “Black Lives Matter” sandwich board while at the same time BLM was beating and shooting citizens, burning, rioting and looting.  “Left Coast” spearheaded the recent smoking ban on the beaches saying smokers “violate his rights” while not once mentioning the rights of the BLM victims.

I can’t explain the red clown nose, but it seems appropriate. I’ve been told that this photo appeared on his Facebook page but disappeared once I started using it here.

By the way, a very rationale and articulate candidate, Chiropractor Dr. James Antun, is running against “Left Coast” for City Commissioner. Dr. Antun and his chiropractic doctor wife, Jayde, operate a Fernandina Beach clinic and have experienced first-hand some of the Byzantine city tactics other local business owners have suffered that are ignored and even encouraged by Lednovich. I’m casting my vote for Dr. Antun.

A clever local resident, Jeff McDowell, last week also expressed his support for Dr. Antun writing here: “By the way, Dr James Antun is a fresh choice for city commissioner. Instead of being a pain in the neck, he has the ability to bring relief to that pain. Win, Win! Take my vote, please!”

***

Drinking, Dining & Dancing: If you enjoy fun toe tapping music, requesting tunes, and Italian comfort food, then American Legion Post 54 tomorrow, Saturday, September 24, from 5-7 pm is the place you need to be. Popular piano man John Springer and his affable sidekick drummer Rob Taylor will perform while the no-nonsense Bronx accented Florence will head up a kitchen crew that’ll dish out lasagna and sides for just $16 as long as it lasts. The Post, which is open to the public for this event, is located at the corner of Gum and South 3rd Street in Fernandina Beach. Not only does Coastal Pizza at 1916 South 14th Street (around the corner from Publix) have some of the best pizza in town, but it also has really good wings and on football weekends (Saturday and Sunday) customers can enjoy the best wing prices on the island at $12.99 for 15 as long as they last. Eat ’em there while you watch your game or  take ’em home. Call ’em at 904/491-9998. There’s always a friendly crowd, multiple TVs, and a full bar with wine, beer and liquor. If you want special attention from the kitchen buy them a round of beers for just $6 and if you want to hear some stupid jokes ask to speak to personable owner Tom Demaro. This place is one of the area’s most fun neighborhood joints featuring personable and pretty barmaids and servers with high tolerance levels.

I publicized my personal issues with the discourteous, rude, and outrageous behavior of the Sandbar & Kitchen staff here in early May after one of its grinning, prancing little managers, Joey Helms, blurted for me to “get out,” when I chided him for not having the courtesy to fulfill the former owner’s commitment and follow through with a “yes” or “no” on a News Wrecker ad. I verbally labeled him a “weasel” inspiring him to yell, “Get Out”, then toss 200 News Wreckers into a parking lot dumpster as I was driving by the front door to pick them up.

However, my Sandbar tale pales in comparison to what local residents Ned and Lori Fleming experienced and related to me and various online outlets in an unsolicited email and then confirmed later in personal conversations. I’ve known the Flemings for some 10 years and never once have I ever heard them express a negative comment about a local establishment. If they don’t like a place they’ve kept it to themselves. I’ve been a guest in their home and it radiates an Ozzie & and Harriet atmosphere. Therefore I have good reason to believe every word they told me.

Here’s their story in their words:

“Dave, thanks for taking time to listen to me vent over our recent appalling experience at Sandbar and Kitchen. Here are the facts relative to what occurred:

“Friday, July 29th:  My husband, Ned, and I typically enjoy dinner and drinks at Lagniappe on Friday nights. On July 29th, we decided to change it up and go to The Sandbar instead for a pizza. We did not have a reservation and walked in around 6:00 to find the first-floor bar and seats full. We proceeded upstairs and were pleased to find the upstairs seating completely empty and the bar only serving two couples – each couple was seated at far ends of the bar – one couple was just ordering and one couple was finishing their meals. We walked up to the center of the bar, greeted the bartender, and ordered a wine and beer – our first drinks of the evening. We stood in the center of the bar (no additional bar stools were available), sipping our drinks and discussing our day, while waiting for the couple on the right to finish their meals and depart so we could eat at the bar. We were mere sips into our drinks when a waitress approached the couple to our right, bent down and hugged them and started whispering – it was obvious that the couple and the waitress were acquaintances. What happened next is what blew our minds. The waitress approached Ned and said, “You’re standing too close to this gentleman.”  I overheard the comment and asked her to repeat herself and again she said to Ned, “Sir, you are standing too close to this man who’s trying to eat his dinner.”  We were easily two feet away from the patrons on our left and our right. She then said, “You are making this man feel very uncomfortable while he’s enjoying his dinner.”

“Welcome to Sandbar! Now get out!”

“At this point, we were completely flabbergasted to the point we thought it was some kind of joke. We thought that maybe we knew the couple (the man never said a word, never faced us, never made a comment himself). By now, the bartender joined in, piling on and agreed that we were making the diners feel uncomfortable by our presence. It became a real head-scratcher so I asked to speak with the manager who quickly arrived and immediately stated that since we were making his staff and patrons feel uncomfortable, we must leave. We should have just walked out at that point, but we paid our bill (one house Chardonnay, one draft beer). The manager then escorted us down the stairs, out the front door and stood waiting to make sure we got in our car and drove away. We went home and I went on every social media site (Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor) I could find to report on the ridiculous way we were harassed. I even located the current owners (“SHRIMP BASKET RESTAURANTS) on LinkedIn and sent the Chief Restaurant Officer (Mark Kirke) and COO (Kevin Eagle) messages to let them know about our experience. I have not heard back from either of the owners, but I know that Kirke saw my message because he looked at my profile.

Mark Kirke’s profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/markkirke/

Kevin Nagle’s profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-nagle-538724b/

“Dave, you know us! I’m in my sixties and Ned will be 80 next year. We have been model citizens of Amelia Island since we first moved here in 1996. Ned is involved in the arts scene and has an art studio at 2nd Story Gallery and also displays his fine art at the Plantation Art Gallery. I’m heavily involved in Pastoral Care at Amelia Plantation Chapel where we serve our members and this community with open hearts. When my dad, Smoky, was alive, our band regularly played our music sets at local venues and particularly at veterans events (Smoky, Ned and I are all veterans – Smoky in Korea, Ned in-country in Vietnam, and me as a Captain in U.S. Space Command, launching GPS satellites). We are well traveled and obviously know how to conduct ourselves in public and otherwise. We had not just rolled in from the gym or the beach, barefoot, sandy, and covered in tanning oil. We were in resort casual attire, out for an evening and supporting our beloved Amelia Island local establishments.

“Needless to say, we will never step foot inside The Sandbar again. The staff and management need to be 1) reprimanded, 2) retrained and 3) taught the meaning of customer service. Not to mention the place was filthy.

“Thanks for listening!”

Lori Flemming

There’s nothing I can add to this scathing testimony. It’ s not the first one I’ve heard since the Sandbar changed hands, but it’s certainly one of the most blistering. And that’s not sour grapes on my part. If anyone has opposite or similar experiences they’re welcome to post them here in the  comment section, which I never edit unless they are profane.
  • Comment (12)
  • Good morning Dave! Please remind your readers that the last 2022 community concert for Sounds on Centre is October 7, 6-8 PM, in Centre Street at 2nd St.
    Our guest artist is SoundWavz ! This popular local rock band brings favorites from the 60’s through today for dancing and listening fun for all ages.
    Tell your readers to bring their chairs for a cool evening of relaxed musical entertainment.

  • Americans have common sense.

    They know when they been had.

    And they fix it.

    Nixon set a landslide vote record just a few months before he resigned in disgrace.

    Too bad John Wayne isn’t alive to fix this country.

  • Kind of ironic that you would take Biden to task for not to understanding the economy while you write that housing prices have dropped. While it’s true that the inventory of houses on the market is lower than a year ago, prices have not dropped due to the demand of move up buyers competing for fewer supply. First time buyers are being driven out of the market. As for new construction, I’m getting quotes anywhere from a low of $350 sq/ft up to $600 sq/ft. And that’s if I’m lucky enough to get a builder to return my call. The only hope for housing prices to drop is for a full blown recession.

  • Well that’s what you get for changing from Lagniappe LOL. We will always welcome you with open arms and appreciate your patronage. Brian, Melanie and the Lagniappe family.

  • Great response, Brian. We are unimpressed by Sandbar (although our reception wasn’t that bad, but we weren’t trying to sell Citizens Journal Florida ads). We haven’t tried Lagniappe, but will!

  • Another great review Dave – always on the money!
    I live on the south end and am always thankful I don’t reside in FB. I love to go downtown but the city management is awful.
    A vote for James Antun would be a big step in the right direction. I have used their service many times with excellent results on my back issues. James and his wife Jayde are fantastic – and yes he could relief a lot of pain if he is elected!

  • For various reasons I have not been to the Sand Bar for 6 or7 months. The last time I was there, the food was poor (early 2022). I don’t think I want to spend my money there any more.

  • i’d like the corruptocrats in washington to hop onto their new electric private jets and take off for space.

  • Hey Dave, tis true, the sheer amount of idiocy, doublespeak, and hypocrisy flowing from Washington, would hopefully make voting in Novembers midterms a no-brainer. Sadly, there are those who have brainwashed and actually believe some, if not all the nonsense. My instincts told me Fauci was a fraud way back in the beginning. History will prove me right. The Republicans need to pound the obvious deficiencies and hopefully there are enough free thinking, sensible humans left to vote accordingly and arrest this train wreck we call America in 2021-2022 i wouldn’t let Joe Biden play with my TV remote, much less have control over the Executive Branch.
    Sorry to hear about the Sandbar business. I guess, i’ll have to find somewhere else to find a third rate pizza.

  • This entire “Presidency” is like being tied to a chair and watching a toddler play with a loaded pistol.

  • Biden has threatened war with Russia.
    Biden has threatened war with China.
    Biden wants a war….
    war with Russia will destroy Europe,
    war with China will destroy Taiwan and South Korea.
    War will not win in November.
    Stand or fall on choice.
    Stand or fall on recession.
    Leave the world out of it.

  • America is still exceptional!
    Who else can sock an asteroid in the nose
    and make it change course?
    Not China, not Russia, not the EU or India.
    Only the good ol’ USA.
    If that is not exceptionalism, what is?

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