And Florida: don’t you ever change none, neither

This is a long but hugely entertaining read. Politics in these United States isn’t merely batshit crazy, but fractally crazy: it’s lunatics all the way down. Meet Dale Massad, former mayor of Port Richey FL (pop. 3,000):

Then in February, a SWAT team burst through Massad’s door to arrest him on charges of practicing medicine without a license. Massad fired two rounds from a handgun. He was charged with attempted murder.

A Tampa Bay Times examination of the mayor’s rise and fall shows that his growing instability was in plain sight of the city’s leaders. But for nearly two years, none of them moved to determine the extent of his problems or to curtail his influence in the city.

Several had unusual entanglements with the mayor. City Attorney James Mathieu owned and operated a rental property with Massad. City Council member Richard Bloom prescribed Massad’s girlfriend Prozac at the mayor’s request without physically examining her. City Manager Vincent Lupo gave Massad a high-powered pistol, then separately wrote the mayor a $1,200 check while Massad was under criminal investigation.

The Tampa Bay Times calls it, with pardonable dryness, “a very Florida investigation.”

cordially,

Post #428,914 by rcareaga 5/10/19 12:43:18 PM 5/10/19 12:43:18 PM Reply	And Florida: don’t you ever change none, neither This is a long but hugely entertaining read. Politics in these United States isn’t merely batshit crazy, but fractally crazy: it’s lunatics all the way down. Meet Dale Massad, former mayor of Port Richey FL (pop. 3,000): Then in February, a SWAT team burst through Massad’s door to arrest him on charges of practicing medicine without a license. Massad fired two rounds from a handgun. He was charged with attempted murder. A Tampa Bay Times examination of the mayor’s rise and fall shows that his growing instability was in plain sight of the city’s leaders. But for nearly two years, none of them moved to determine the extent of his problems or to curtail his influence in the city. Several had unusual entanglements with the mayor. City Attorney James Mathieu owned and operated a rental property with Massad. City Council member Richard Bloom prescribed Massad’s girlfriend Prozac at the mayor’s request without physically examining her. City Manager Vincent Lupo gave Massad a high-powered pistol, then separately wrote the mayor a $1,200 check while Massad was under criminal investigation. The Tampa Bay Times calls it, with pardonable dryness, “a very Florida investigation.” cordially,
Post #428,917 by boxley 5/10/19 1:04:44 PM 5/10/19 1:04:44 PM Reply	go due east from port richey you will land in hooterville (what the locals call the town) "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #428,933 by static 5/10/19 7:32:12 PM 5/10/19 7:32:12 PM Reply	There's a reason that Fark had a "Florida" tag.
Post #428,957 by pwhysall 5/12/19 5:32:28 AM 5/12/19 5:32:28 AM Reply	Still does! https://www.fark.com/topic/florida/
Post #428,969 by static 5/12/19 10:16:21 PM 5/12/19 10:16:21 PM Reply	I said 'was' because I haven't been to Fark in years... :-)

Welcome to IWETHEY!