Proposed Toll Roads And Panther Saftey
Get Smart! Put Your Heart and Legs Into Your Brain
Florida Education Bills Already Introduced and In Committee !
Dating Apps Are Mixing Up The Gene Pool
FINALLY: Some Good News About The Corona Virus!
Courtney's Continental Cuisine... Fine Dining but Casual too
Get In Shape Special... $25 for 10 - 90 minute sessions BIKRAM YOGA of Fort Myers
Fresh Catch and Junkanoos Keep Rolling Along
Cape Coral Teams up with Waste Pro for Crime Prevention: Christmas Present Boxes Recycling Program
What's Happening: New Years Eve Fireworks are Cancelled Everywhere, But You Don't Want to Stay Home.....
ASK THE DOCTORS : Marijuana Use May Lead to More Sex, But Also More Risky Behavior
How Designating a Health Care Surrogate Can Help You During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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The Right Side: SNOOP DOGG POOP THREATENS TO KILL OUR PRESIDENT!
Snoop Dogpoop did a video, very recently, that clearly shows someone, depicted by Mr. Dogpoop shooting the President in the head! That is a Felony under our law and I am calling for Snoop Dogg's arrest. I also believe that a Federal Court order should be obtained by DOJ prohibiting the airing of any Snoop Dogg recordings and videos until the criminal matter isadjudicated in Federal Court!
I have news for Mr. Snoop Dogpoop, threats against the President of the United States are against our Rule of Law!
He should have someone read the law to him! Title 18 Section 871 USC States; (a)
Whoever knowingly and willfully …(uses the mail to make)… any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President… or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes "any" such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
From wikipedia, "The prototype for Section 871 was the English Treason Act 1351, which made it a crime to "compass or imagine" the death of the King. Convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 871 have been sustained for declaring that "President Wilson ought to be killed. It is a wonder some one has not done it already. If I had an opportunity, I would do it myself.";[7] and for declaring that "Wilson is a wooden-headed son of a bitch. I wish Wilson was in hell, and if I had the power I would put him there."[8] In a later era, a conviction was sustained for displaying posters urging passersby to "hang [President] Roosevelt".
Mr. Dogpoop needs to be taught a lesson his mommy never taught him, apparently! Even wealthy, ignorant people like him and Madonna, must obey our laws, even if they are rich and shameless!
J Gary DiLaura
Published in General/Features
Local Lady, Sheena Brooks shoots for the Stars
Fort Myers Beach resident, Sheena Brook, 33, made it onto "Team Adam" on the NBC's TV singing competition "The Voice."
Brook is a familiar face in the Southwest Florida music scene. The country singer-songwriter often performs at local bars and festivals. Sheena Brook stated, "I've kind of done all this different stuff, and I always get a little nervous, but this is a different experience. I was wicked nervous."
Brook auditioned for "The Voice" in Atlanta last year, she never imagined she'd be chosen out of thousands of singers to be in the top 48. "It's such an honor," she says. "It really is."
"I was just going out there to sing, and I cant even describe to you what it felt like. It was like, 'Holy cow, you just pressed your button for me,' and for someone to take on a risk on you, too."
Brook's grew up singing in church choirs but didn't start performing on local stages until about three years ago. "For the longest time, I just didn't think I could entertain people," Brook says. "I thought, 'I'd be so boring. Who'd want to watch me?"
Devon Morreale Parker, assistant director at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center states, "Sheena's got a fantastic stage presence, she really engages the audience. She's just fantastic."
Adam Levine of "The Voice" agreed with, "Wow!"...."Wow..Wow!!" Levine said he has big plans for Sheena Brook.
Brook's stunned response: "Holy crap!"
If all goes well, she could become a household name and a nationally successful musician.
"It's a beautiful life and something I love," she says. "To play music for a living is something I'm really proud of."
Journey to Mars
President Donald Trump signed a bill on Tuesday that authorizes funding of NASA and the exploration of Mars, S.442 - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017
With a stroke of the pen, the Trump administration committed to funding NASA's continued plans for deep space human exploration, this bill approved $19.5 billion allotted towards those goals including a proposed crewed mission to Mars, scheduled to take place by 2033.
The Act was introduced to Congress back in February and presented to President Trump for approval on Tuesday, March. 9th and was signed on the 21st. This new Act is consistent with the Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 and the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2016, this bill approved funding for NASA for fiscal year 2017.
Much of the budget is earmarked for the continuation of NASA's "Journey to Mars", the Act also expressed the need for a continued commitment to the International Space Station and the utilization of Low Earth Orbit, and other related space ventures.
Surrounded by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the president signed the bill in the Oval Office surrounded by astronauts and supporters of the bill, including Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who traveled into space in 1986 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla). Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and just to his right, House Science Chairman Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, and Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston — chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that controls NASA's funding also attended the bill's signing.
""America's space program has been a blessing to our people and to the entire world," Trump said. adding, "Now, this nation is ready to be the first in space once again,"
"We have the commercial companies going to and from the International Space Station and we have NASA going out and exploring the heavens," Nelson said during the signing ceremony. "And we're going to Mars."
Cruz noted that this is "the first time in seven years we've had a NASA authorization bill," and he jokingly played off Trump's comments about the challenge of being an astronaut.
"This means a great deal for the nation's space exploration, and it means a great deal for the state of Texas, and it continues America's leadership in space," Cruz said.
Later, while thanking Congress for passing the authorization bill, he praised senators' and representatives' states like Texas, Florida, and Alabama which house key NASA centers. "They've done a great service for the country and for their communities," Trump said "It's a lot of jobs, and these are great jobs,".
Published in Outdoor
The Right Side: THE EVOLUTION OF LEAKS…
By law, the FBI is charged with security within the United States and the CIA is charged with the same OUTSIDE the US. That was the "way it was" until 9/11.
By the way, Osama Bin Laden picked 9/11, not because it's our emergency call for help but because it was 9/11/1683 when a Christian army led by Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland, arrived at the Gates of Vienna to try and save Vienna from the marauding Turkish Muslims led by Pasha Kara Mustafa and defeated the Islamic Caliphate!
To digress, the Muslims were doing as Muslims have done since Mohammed came up with the idea of Islam! They had been plundering, murdering, and kidnapping anyone in their way. They had taken Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, attacked the Protestant Hungary, Polish Lithuania and had RETURNED to Vienna to try again to take Vienna! With 16,000 defending
Vienna, against 140,000 Turks, and after many months of battle, King Sobieski arrived with 40,000 Christians on 9/11/1683 and defeated the Islamic Caliphate. I thought you would be interested in knowing that
Up until our 9/11, there were two Rules of Law we had to use against Terrorism; The War Powers Act and Due Process. In other words, we had to either "kill them or tell them their rights", sort of. They were no laws to deal with the problems we faced to fight Muslim Terrorists. A good example would be this scenario; when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and we shot down a pilot, before War was declared, Chucky Schumer and Nancy Pelosi would have us "tell them their rights and give them an attorney". Oh yes they would!
So we needed a way to combat terrorism, without declaring war and without giving "captors" due process. Remember, this was "before" we knew what Islam is about and who the hell our enemy is. Al Gore told Ollie North in 1989 (Iran Contra Hearings) that he had no idea who Osama Bin Laden was, could not even pronounce his name and he was on a National
Security Committee! Col. North knew that Bin Laden was the "most dangerous terrorist" in the world! You, me and President Bush had never heard of Al Qaida either. But they had just killed 3,000 American infidels. "What's an infidel", was something we also heard? That's how ignorant we ALL were but, NOT ANYMORE!!! To educate myself, I started reading Hadiths and the Koran and more.
Had we known then what we know now, Congress probably have declared war on Islam! But they did the best they could and came up with laws like The Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gave law enforcement the ability to intercept and share info from communications that new mobile communication hampered; cell phones and computers!
Up to that point, a Criminal FBI Agent, could not share investigative information with a Security Agent who sat across from him! That was a problem. I had a group of Pakistani bank robbers and tried to obtain info from a security Agent, Harry, who sat across from me and he couldn't tell me! I took him to our boss and he said, "Harry's right"!
I am not "up" on these new laws although I read just enough to be dangerous. The Patriot Act is new and FISA, is not really a new concept, EO12333 by Reagan 1981,but for the "sharing" provisions and strengthening of 12333 by EO13355by Bush and that leads us into the leaks part of this Column.
I have to say that the NSA does most of the eavesdropping, mostly FISA. The FBI does most of the Title III Warrants. There's only 2 ways for Feds to "listen", Title III (criminal) and FISA(security). I've worked on many Title III cases (protecting our tech installers) as well as monitoring, which is about the worst assignment in the FBI…boring! I know pretty much nothing about FISA!
Even today I would say NSA does probably 90%, an educated guess, of our "overhear "matters. The President has access to ALL of those matters and can listen to anything he feels he needs. They have, in their archives, conversations from Hillary to Obama to everyone in his Administration, or …at least they did! So…where do you think the leaks MUST originate?
Until 4 days, (that's four), before President Trump's inauguration, NSA and the FBI could not share info with other Agencies without adhering to a very strict set of non-sharing and minimization rules!!! Obama changed all of that with his cell phone and a pen, just 4 days, did I mention 4(FOUR) days, before the inauguration?
WHY? Well… you're not stupid like Obama, Pelosi, and Schumer think you are, are you? The more people (16 more freaking AGENCIES to be exact) who have access to RAW data, that's conversations WITHOUT minimization, the MORE CHANCE OF LEAKS and the HARDER TO FIND THE LEAKS???!!! Hey, Obama's got to stay informed…c'mon man!
Why would a former President of the United States want to open up America and our "Secret" Stuff and make us more susceptible to leaks and make it MUCH LESS SECURE, easier to leak, putting America and ALL of us MUCH more at risk!? If his motive is "to overthrow our Presidency and our Rule Of Law", it's called TREASON!? If it's because Obama is stupid, it's still called Treason! If it's because Obama wants to overthrow just President Trump, it's still called Treason. If Obama IS a Muslim…then it sort of fits together, doesn't it, and goes a long way towards motive, so…why did he seal, hide, refuse to show his Passport, College Records and other info?? I can't think of any "good reason" why a former President would do something like that, just before he leaves office…can you?
President Trump has two choices as I see ; (1) He can leave this expansion of EO 12333 in place, leave the Obama submarines (traitors) in place and set them up OR (2) He can start dismantling what Obama did with the new EO and fire/replace most all of the NSA staffers AND "lifers" and open a RICO case on the Obama administration, (see the Sun Bay Paper,"RICO" 3-9-17!)
I can't tell you what I would do but… I would tell President Trump!
Published in Politics
Latitude Margaritaville, an over-55 residential housing development owned by entertainer Jimmy Buffett's holding company, is scheduled to open in 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Buffett's fans, a Hawaiian shirt-wearing, party-down subgroup of AARP known as Parrotheads, are lining up to get in. The developer reports they've already had 10,000 inquiries.
How the Beatles and the Rolling Stones didn't think of this first is a puzzlement, but still, it may be an omen. If this is successful, every music star in the business will want to build their very own housing development. Watch your mailbox: It won't be long before you'll be getting junk mail that says you've won a free trip to Florida if you visit Herman's Hermitage, Bob
Dylan's Desolation Row Timeshares, the Beach Boys' Surf Seniors or Garth Brooks' Friends in No-Snow Places.
There's not as much money in recorded music as there used to be, thanks to the internet. But there IS plenty of money in selling real estate to seniors, and if you were 13 when the Beatles hit, you just turned 67. "Can't Buy Me Love," maybe, but you can buy me a lovely beachfront condo.
It's hard to imagine a retirement village run by your average aging rock star. After all, being young and being "young at heart" are two very different things. At 55, "festival seating" means a recliner in the den. What would living at a place called, say, Backstage Pass Gated Community be like? Would it be on a Caribbean tax haven island so the rock star could keep his money while he's taking yours? Instead of guards, you'd have to get past his roadies at the front gate. And the age requirements would be a little different for him than for the rest of the residents. Everybody would have to be over 55, except the rock star's current girlfriend, who is 24 and looks 16. He's 75 and has just had a makeover. He now looks uncannily like Captain Jack Sparrow.
The early dinner is at midnight. No one is allowed to go to bed before dawn, and no waking up before 2 in the afternoon. There is a 10-drink minimum at bar. You have to sign a 30-page contract stipulating that certain things cannot be brought on the property -- brown M&Ms, generic bottled water and domestic champagne -- and that other things must be available at all times. Like a boa constrictor, Cristal champagne and a hairdryer.
And will it stop with just individual rock stars? Why not the whole rock experience? I can almost see the brochures now.
"Got an empty nest, but not ready for a 'retirement community'? Why not trade that big, empty house for one of our tiny tents on Woodstock Farms? Situated on a muddy field in upstate New York, there's so much to do, you'll wonder why you didn't get older sooner. No shuffleboard here; no golfing, no sea breezes. You'll be too busy volunteering at the community kitchen, alerting people to the bad Viagra going around, bathing naked with hundreds of others in our all-natural pond and searching for the spouse you came with. Space is filling up fast, so call today. From the low $300,000s. Private porta-potties, extra."
"Love the Grateful Dead? Went to over 500 of their concerts and collect recordings of their live performances? Now you can live the dream. At Nearly Dead Villa, all Deadheads will live under one roof -- talking, sharing tapes, and jamming day and night. It's just like San Francisco in the late '60s, except you're the one in your late 60s now."
The sad news is that so many rock stars never made it to 55. Buddy Holly, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Ricky Nelson, Mama Cass, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, Bobby Darin, Jackie Wilson, Elvis, John Lennon, the list goes on and on.
Jimmy Buffett is 70. Maybe I'll inquire about Latitude Margaritaville. He must be doing something right.
Jim Mullen
Counter-ISIS Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq
U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on
initial reports.
Strikes in Syria
In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes consisting of 20 engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes destroyed eight wellheads, four pump jacks and three oil tanker trunks and damaged two pump jacks and a wellhead.
-- Near Raqqa, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed four fighting positions, an ISIS-held building, and a vehicle; and damaged two supply routes.
Strikes in Iraq
In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted eight strikes consisting of 84 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:
-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed three improvised bombs.
-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 27 fighting positions, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, two vehicle bombs, an artillery system, a mortar system, a heavy machine gun, a road block, a vehicle and a vehicle bomb factory; damaged 12 supply routes; and suppressed five ISIS mortar teams and two ISIS tactical units.
-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS-held building and damaged three supply routes.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.
The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.
Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.
The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.
Out of This World Tourist Attraction
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel around the moon?
Next year, two people will reportedly be taking this trip of a lifetime. What they will see and experience on the mythical celestial object that orbits our Earth is anyone's guess. Until now, only highly trained astronauts have done it.
This incredible excursion is the brainchild of Elon Musk. The world renowned engineer/inventor is one of the cofounders and current CEO of Tesla Inc. He's also helped start up several other businesses, including X.com -- which later merged with Confinity in 2000 and became PayPal.
Musk's company, SpaceX, has worked hand in hand with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to develop the Dragon 2 spacecraft that will take these two people around the moon. (NASA provided most of the funding for this part of the project.) The spacecraft will use the Falcon Heavy rocket, which has already been successfully tested on several occasions, including Feb. 19 at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
According to SpaceX, next year's lift-off will occur at "Kennedy Space Center's historic Pad 39A near Cape Canaveral -- the same launch pad used by the Apollo program for its lunar missions." This trip, it says, "presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years and they will travel faster and further into the Solar System than any before them."
SpaceX has been mum about the identities of the two space travelers-to-be.
All we currently know is that they paid "a significant deposit" for this impending flight on Dragon 2 and, according to Musk's recent conference call, the big spenders include "nobody from Hollywood."
This trip sounds (and will be) out of this world, but is the whole venture believable? Based on Musk's impressive track record, especially with Tesla's electric cars that run on lithium-ion batteries, it's pretty hard to bet against him.
And yes, because SpaceX is a private company, Musk must ultimately obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration before sending Dragon 2 into orbit. The FAA is within its rights to say no, but based on the excitement this unique project has generated, its answer will probably be a resounding yes.
If this excursion comes to fruition and is successful, it would radically transform the way space travel is conducted.
While the cost per individual would be astronomical at this point, as more people take this trip, it could gradually become economical. The rich would get to see what other humans can only imagine and have the greatest boast yet about what they did on their vacation.
Private space flight could also increase the possibility of setting up a moon colony, giving human beings a chance to live on this astronomical body for short or long periods of time and enhance scientific study and exploration of our solar system.
Finally, this promised flight could prove that a private company has the technology, creativity and ability to move us further ahead in the modern space race than we ever thought possible.
We await the Dragon 2 spacecraft's launch in 2018 with eager anticipation and wish Musk much success in his quest to enable private citizens to soar around the moon. That would be, to quote Neil Armstrong when he became the first person to walk on the moon in July 1969, one giant leap for mankind.
Tomorrow's Leaders, Here Today
Spring Break 2017 kicks off in Fort Myers Beach !! While some see the influx of Spring Breakers as a problem, Lani Kai Island Resort recognizes the reality that the current college population will soon be the leaders of our country.
Year after year, Lani Kai has taken additional steps to secure the legacy of Spring Break on Fort Myers Beach, as well as letting the visiting students know that their presence now and in the future is celebrated.
Each college student visiting on vacation is eligible to receive a free T-Shirt, and Lani Kai's clothing shops are able to further customize each shirt, in case a fraternity, sorority or other college group wants to label their shirts. The goal with the shirts is to share American Pride, and to let students know that at Lani Kai, they are seen as the future, not just party goers looking for a good time and cold drinks.
"Spring Breakers are often seen as a burden, while we see them as one of the driving economic factors on Fort Myers Beach" Michael Ensor, Marketing Director of Lani Kai Island Resort, noted. "In addition to bringing in business to the entire island, they are also the future of our country. We aim to recognize each college student visiting for Spring Break as what they truly are: the future of America".
"We have received an enormous response filled with gratitude from college students who are happy to know that Lani Kai is happy to have them visit" Ensor said. "We hope that this impact on college students brings them back time and time again."
Medical Marijuana And Your Second Amendment Rights
Now that Medical Marijuana has been voted on here in Florida, one thing you should be aware of before you run out and get your MM card.
Federal law prohibits individuals from the possession of a firearm under a number of circumstances, including if they are a convicted felon, fugitive from justice, residents of another country in the United States illegally, have been adjudicated mentally defective or been committed to a mental institution or are unlawful users of or are addicted to marijuana, depressants, stimulants or other narcotic drugs.
Because Federal law prohibits gun purchases by an "unlawful user and/or an addict of any controlled substance." the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has clarified that the law applies to marijuana users regardless of whether their State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Though a growing number of states are legalizing it for medical or recreational use, marijuana remains illegal for any purpose under federal law, which still considers the drug to have a high potential for abuse and has no accepted medical use.
A ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year, found the Federal Government ban on the sale of guns to medical marijuana card holders does not violate the Second Amendment, agreeing that possession of a card gives a dealer "reasonable cause to believe" that a person is an unlawful drug user. "Registry cardholders are more likely to be marijuana users, and illegal drug users, including marijuana users, are more likely to be involved in violent crimes," the 9th Circuit opinion reads. "Accordingly, preventing those individuals who firearm dealers know have registry cards from acquiring firearms furthers the Government's interest in preventing gun violence" finding that the federal law passes muster with the Constitution, as "it is beyond dispute that illegal drug users, including marijuana users, are likely as a consequence of that use to experience altered or impaired mental states that affect their judgment and that can lead to irrational or unpredictable behavior."
Licensed gun dealers cannot sell a gun or ammunition to anyone that indicates on the paperwork that they are using a controlled substance, or if the dealer has a "reasonable cause to believe" person uses drugs. Reasonable cause even includes talking about drugs.
Ultimately, Medical Marijuana Card holders are blocked from purchasing firearms, thanks to the form that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives requires them to fill out before buying a gun. One of the form's questions, asks if you are "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana," your answer is federally binding, so it doesn't matter that pot is legal in Florida and other states or not: If you answer "yes," then you get denied, and if you answer "no," you're committing perjury.
We contacted the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Licensing and they said that nowhere in the Florida statues for issuing a carry license does it say you can't get a carry permit due to having a Medical Marijuana Card, so how this will play out between Federal and State remains to be seen.
Al DiPasquale
Published in Environment
On March 17, 1631, St. Patrick's Day celebrations started when the Church established a Feast Day honoring St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland. The symbol of the shamrock used for St. Patrick's Day comes from the story of St. Patrick using the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity.
St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in 1737, St. Patrick's Day parades started in New York in 1762 by a group of Irish soldiers in the British military. It wasn't until 1798, the year of the Irish Rebellion, that the color green became officially associated with the day, until the rebellion, the color associated with St. Patrick was blue, as it was featured both in the royal court and on ancient Irish flags. Yet the British wore red, the Irish chose to wear green, and they sang the song "The Wearing of the Green" during the rebellion, cementing the color's relevance in Irish history.
In 1845 the 'Great Potato Famine' hit Ireland, close to 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began traveling to America to escape starvation. Many immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.
In 1848, several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world 's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.
American Irish soon realized, their large and growing numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade.
The holiday eventually evolved into the raucous holiday we know today. People of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick's Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia with traditional Irish food, including corned beef, cabbage, soda bread, potatoes, and shepherd's pie. Many celebrations also have an Irish breakfast of sausage, black and white pudding, fried eggs, and fried tomatoes.
Approximately 1 million people annually take part in Ireland's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.
Patsy Berliner
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