Quote of the Day - Pelican Pete

Lake Worth Pirate, Mike Bornstein, celebrated Halloween by dressing as a city manager. There was a loose fit to the costume.

~ Pelican Pete
The Lake Worth Herald

I put this one up as it was so darn humorous!

Pirates caught

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Here in Lake Worth we think pirates are fun. We glorify them, make resolutions honoring them and try to win raft races looking like them. What happens usually is that their boat sinks.

A dirty rotten pirate was captured by Belgium.  Read more

And for some Trivia: Piracy has impeded the delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated $6.6 to $6.9 billion a year in global trade according to Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP.

According to Wikipedia, there were 151 attacks on ships in 2011, compared with 127 in 2010 - but only 25 successful hijacks compared to 47 in 2010. Pirates were holding 10 vessels and 159 hostages in February 2012. In 2011, pirates earned $146m, an average of $4.87m per ship. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 pirates operated; by February 2012. 1,000 had been captured and were going through legal processes in 21 countries.

All pirates need to be stopped.

Quote of the Day - Allen West on the U.S. Constitution

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"Today we remember and honor the United States Constitution. God bless French political writer Charles Montesquieu for inspiring our Founding Fathers – James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay – to create the system of governing philosophy for the longest existing constitutional Republic.

However, let this day serve as a call to action for true American Patriots to protect and preserve our rule of law, our Constitution. Our legacy, our American exceptionalism is rooted in the immutable words of truth that begin, 'We the People of the United States…” Read Dr. Larry Arnn’s book The Founder’s Key and Mark Levin‘s The Liberty Amendments and join with me in the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”

~ Allen West

Here in Lake Worth, we have a glaring reminder of the little importance this administration puts towards the Constitution as nothing is on the Agenda. Instead, we will hear a presentation and a proclamation tonight on International Talk like a Pirate Day. Wasn't it pirates that stole our vote in March?

Aaarg! "Ye smell like ye been swimmin' in the bilge!"

PirateTalk catching on in Washington

Scotty Starnes says, "No surprise Obama enjoys pirates. He’s been plundering the taxpayers for nearly 4 years. Remember folks, this is the same guy who hasn’t met with his own jobs council for over 6 months due to what Press Secretary Jay Carney said was a 'full plate'.”

And the same sort of stuff happened right here in Lake Worth, a diversion from the real problems of our Budget and our unfunded liability. Read more...

Talk like a Pirate getting more attention

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United Press International, located in Washington, D.C., has picked up on our "Talk like a Pirate" proclamation and the Palm Beach Post article It is now being circulated to many markets. Read more...

Following is former Commissioner Jo-Ann Golden's letter to the city manager, Michael Bornstein:

Subject: Proclamation on city agenda

Dear Michael,

The proclamation set to be read this evening is an insult to the people of the City of Lake Worth. In these times when there is so much turmoil, ignorance, and killing, this effort to further dumb down our government should be rejected.

Pirates operate outside the sovereign governments. Pirates are outside of the law. What exactly is the purpose of this day? Pirates shared in whatever they seized. Are we promoting this philosophy for our City Government.

Modern definitions of piracy include the following acts: Kidnapping of people for ransom, robbery, murder, seizure and sabotage. People are killed by pirates. Environmentalist and yachtsman Peter Blake was murdered by pirates in 2001. A pirate is a criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchants ships and often pillaging port towns.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson.

"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." Thomas Jefferson

Please return to reason. Perhaps it would have been more appropriate this week to recognize Constitution Day commemorating the signing of our Nation's Constitution. This agenda has been degraded by the inclusion of this proclamation. City Hall is showing a lack of sensitivity and an extremely juvenile mentality. There is no person,or for that matter, any city, that denigrates itself and expects to succeed. To grunt and growl like a pirate is a poor way to show respect for each other and our community. Please pull this agenda item.

Sincerely,
Jo-Ann Golden

Talk like a Pirate Day Proclamation

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PROCLAMATION

Whereas, the City of Lake Worth is known to possess a spirit of independence, high spirits, and swashbuckling, all traits of a good pirate; and

Whereas, old pirate culture from the Caribbean is popular in TV shows, movies, literature, products, and rafting; and

Whereas, pirates are colorful, adventurous, mischievous and flamboyant; and

Whereas, two re-enactors, John Bauer and Mark Summers instituted International Talk Like A Pirate Day in 1995; and

Whereas, humorist Dave Barry liked the idea so much he promoted it in his nationally syndicated column in 2002, igniting a powder keg of followers worldwide; and

Whereas, it is fun to talk like a pirate by using words like Arrrrr, ye and bilge rat; and

Whereas, everyone would like to think they have a little bit of pirate spirit inside of themselves.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Pam Triolo, by virtue of the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of Lake Worth, do hereby proclaim

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

as

INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

And urge all citizens of Lake Worth as well as all the less worthy sailors and scaliwaygs in other communities to celebrate in a hearty and fun loving way on September 19th!

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Lake Worth, Florida to be affixed this 18th day of September, 2012.

__________________________
Pam Triolo, Mayor

ATTEST:
__________________________

Pirates arrrr among us!

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The first thing on the City Commission agenda is declaring September 19th as Talk like a Pirate Day. There is no back-up for this proclamation so no one actually knows what in heck it all means. For all of you who might care the least bit about officially recognizing this day, see video below to find out how important it is. Pirates rob, loot, plunder, fleece...choose your adjective--hope this is not the new mission of this commission when they vote on the final budget in one week's time by robbing Reserves.


Steps to Talk like a Pirate:

• 1. Growl - and scowl often. Pirates don't use a cultured, elegant, smooth vocalization - they mutter and growl... A lot.

• 2. Use pirate lingo. Sounding like a pirate isn't as hard as it seems! There are lots of resources for picking up pirate "lingo," so make use of them (some common terms listed below) in addition to trying to affect a vocal sound. Avoid using modern epithets (swear words). It's much more colorful (and kid-friendly) to use "pirate slang" for those naughty words. Use words like, "shiny objects in the sky."

• 3. Gesture with your hands frequently. Don't forget that pirates do most of their talking on the deck of a ship - out on the ocean, where wind, waves, and bird calls make it tough to hear. Gesturing often gives you a sense of "being there." Make false accusations towards minority commissioners.

• 4. Slur your words together saying, "The boys and I were out for a lovely day on the water today" sounds like something you'd overhear at a yacht club, not out on the bounding main! Instead, try, "Me 'n' these here scurvy scallywags drug our sorry keesters out t'th'ship'n'had us a grand great adventuaaarrr! We almost had t'keelhaul Mad Connie f'r gettin inter th' grog behind our backs!" Use contractions whenever possible. Be sure to punctuate often with "Arrrr" and whatever you do, speak last...much more of an impact. Arrrr.

• 5. Never use "you" or "you're" - ever.  Instead, use the piratical form, "yer", "ye" or "ya" for all forms of address to others. "Yer a scurvy bilge rat, ya pompous gasbag" or "Here's yer dinner, ya mangy cockroach." Note that you should always endeavor to call the addressee by some insulting name, usually involving an animal.

• 6. Embellish at will. A pirate is larger than life, and his or her speech should always reflect this. Don't just say, "We saw a whale off the starboard bow today." Say, "Me'n'th' crew seen a great grand sea beastie, th' mother of all whales, aye!"

• 7. Refer to yourself as "me" at all times, never "I." It is not piratically correct to say, "I have a cold." It is far better as a pirate to declare, "Got me a case o'th'sniffles, 'ass rye!" Got to get me to my office downtown to ride me o'th'sniffles...arrr.

• 8. More importantly, substitute "me" for "my" For example, don't say, "Look at my new sword," say "Look it me new sword!." Also substitute "meself" for "myself" as in "Got meself a right fine ship!" 9. Mutter unintelligibly unless yelling. Being a pirate usually meant being liquored up to some degree - a lot of time, pirates were pretty mush-mouthed. In the step preceding, the term "'ass rye" actually translates to "that's right." Get it?

• 10. Be as loud as humanly possible. Filibuster and talk about "me" wife so that the clock runs out. Pirates are not shy - stand tall, me hearties, and be counted!

• 11. Get a stuffed toy parrot and sew feet to right shoulder of a second hand store jacket. This will put you in the mood to adhere to the above mentioned rules and guarantee an abundance of "yers and arghs". Source:  WikiHow.com

Our absolute favorite pirate!

Lake Worth Commissioner rafters

The Pirates of Penzance

Scott Maxwell and Christopher McVoy

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty