Reply #84: "What's wrong w. florida?"

[sarge43]

:rant: alert

Let me count the ways .....

1. Its political system hasn't changed appreciably since the Carpetbagger Days

2. It's deep dish racist in that snotty, sneaky "Some of my best friends are ..." way. If you're interested I'll sing the saga of Tampa's MLK Jr Blvd bait and switch.

3. It's seriously overcrowded and rapidly running out of potable water and the water it still has is nasty and possible dangerous.

4. Its public health/medical system is a vicious disaster. I may be somewhat intolerant here because said system killed my brother and shorten my father's life by years.

5. With the exception of The Mouse Who Must Be Obeyed and the remnants of Key West's layed back life style, it has nothing resembling a cultural life.

6. Street crime and drug abuse are a way of life. You do not leave anything unlocked or unguarded for a nano second. It's routine for people to be mugged, beaten and robbed in board daylight.

7. Standard hiring practices: Three month "We're letting you go" temp, no bennies, near minimum wage.

8. Summers are way too hot. Everyone bitches about heating bills. Check the typical FL electric bill for a 24/7 6 month AC run. It'll make your eyes hurt.

9. The West Coast is a Katrina redux waiting to happen. Check out a road map of Pinellas Peninsula (home of St Petersburg and Clearwater). Observe that there are four ways out of that death trap - two bridges, a causeway and Rt 19 (still two lane last I heard and skirts the coast line). Imagine a Force Five Blow, the tides at exactly the wrong stage with accompanying tidal surge headed right up Tampa Bay (Tampa's primary care hospital is right on the edge of the bay as is MacDill Plane Patch). About 2 million permanent residents and God only knows how many visitors and touristas during August and September live on that peninsula.

10. If you can afford to live in a gated community, it may be pleasant. For the rest of us it's what this country may become if we don't clean up our act.

Re Mt Washington: When dealing with it, it's advisable to remember that it has never gotten any warmer at the summit than 72F and that the temp can drop to freezing in less than an hour even during summer.