(Oops, did I say guns? I meant straws…)

By Dana Eller

One last thought on the “straw law” that the city passed at its Sept. 17 commission meeting. The argument for banning straws is no different than the argument for banning guns. The argument goes something like this… The problem is not with people, it’s with objects. Get rid of the offensive object and the results will be different.

Of course, we all know the argument for the second amendment, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” From my perspective, isn’t it the same with straws? I don’t know who’s dumping their straws in the ocean, but my guess is those “people” don’t care much about Deerfield’s straw law.

Trying to do something good for our environment and the ocean by working to get the city to agree to a ban on plastic straws at local restaurants makes people “feel good.” The bigger question is what’s next? What other ideas can the city (or a group of passionate citizens) come up with in a futile attempt at changing human behavior by banning or restricting our use of an object, the use of which is already legal, but the abuse of it (litter in this case)… is already illegal (littering)?

It’s the small concessions we make for a good cause that, in the end, lead to easier acceptances of even greater limits and laws regulating our freedoms and choices in the future (or, in this case, flexibility… If you’ve ever tried to bend a paper straw, you’ll know what I mean). [Editor’s note: There are bendable paper straws available, along with many other sizes of straws].

We salute the nine citizens who took the time to speak out at the city commission meeting in favor of the ban. I just wish the other 77,000 residents of our city, and the other 1474 restaurants in Deerfield (according to Yelp), would pay more attention to how easily things we take for granted (maybe carelessly) can be so easily and quickly ripped from our mouths and legislated away.

In the meantime, six months from now, prepare for BSO to be writing tickets to distributors, stores and restaurants in the City of Deerfield Beach with a citation to appear in court if they don’t comply. (Read the law for yourself, it would be laughable if it wasn’t true). Our commission is ok with [Medical] Marijuana being able to be purchased legally about two blocks from Deerfield Beach Elementary school, but not plastic straws. [See story on marijuana next week]. As Commissioner Joe Miller says, “Kids learning that plastic straws are not good is wisdom.”

By Dana Eller

My guess is most city residents aren’t paying attention and the city commission functions like the U.S. Congress, just another chamber of “whoever shouts loudest and/or brings in the most supporters.” It’s very cool to have the Girl Scouts participating and supporting your special interest … but it also scares me to death the same way some people are scared of clowns.

Originally, we were told that the “Straw Law” is being promoted as a way to protect the sea turtles, and so the main concern was restaurants on the beach. Now, we understand it is to be a city-wide ban on plastic straws.

I wonder if they are planning on deputizing the lifeguards to keep an eye out for illegal straw use at the beach. Are city residents going to have to get used to subjecting ourselves to bag inspections like the airport or Disney World? Are we going to purchase the lifeguards and Park Rangers larger binoculars to spot plastic straw contraband? (Suggestion: we can use funds from the CRA, or even hire someone for this job). What’s a law worth if there’s no enforcement? I pity the poor families who pack a picnic lunch to enjoy their day at the beach, but stuck a few juice boxes and Capri suns in the cooler for the kiddos. What’s that going to cost them? Better hide those straws in your bathing suit. [Editor’s note: These straws, it seems will be ok].

I also read that Commissioner Drosky researched what medical conditions need to be exempt in this proposed straw legislation. But what about the Slurpee at 7-11 that I grew up with and their iconic spoon straw? ILLEGAL. What about McDonalds iconic large straw? ILLEGAL. Do these fast food franchise owners even have the right to change things that these brands are famous for? Who has to research these questions and consider exemptions for those business owners? Who has to take time off from their busy schedules to attend a commission meeting and debate the merits? Are we going to pay the city attorney to research these issues and make more exceptions?

I don’t know about all our readers, but I would rather have our commissioners’ limited and valuable part-time service to this great city spent on things with a higher return to the residents and our pocketbooks, and stay out of our mouths. Participating in public service is hard enough and too unappreciated as it is. Why waste time on such a silly issue, that public opinion, and Mr. Sparrow’s passion has already accomplished at many beach restaurants?

I also feel that the City Commissioners’ positions are inconsistent. If they are for banning straws to make a political statement about how we should feel about the environment, and are concerned with hydrocarbons, then [why aren’t city workers driving] a Prius or electric vehicle?

I believe the straw issue is a great rallying cry for the environment, and, more importantly, gets us all to think. I just don’t think it’s something to legislate.

By Dana Eller

Just read that the city has passed first reading of an ordinance to ban straws. It seems that our city is run by commissioners who have no appreciation of the power vested in them by the residents, since they flippantly use it so easily and believe it is so great and all encompassing as to give them the power to legislate what dining utensils we use.

I’m not opposed to restaurants wanting to use paper straws if they want to, but the beliefs that lead elected officials to make everyday items illegal on a whim, or based on current popular issues of the day, illustrates both a “nanny-like” attitude toward their residents, and a gross abuse of power and authority. Really, straws??? What’s next? No plastic bags at stores? How about a soda tax? How about where and who you can buy a dog from (forgot they did that)? How about no liquor sales on Sunday before 12…? Oh, wait , they got rid of that law… I guess they thought people should have a choice of when they can buy alcohol … I guess now they changed their minds … Maybe they are just drunk with power. Hope they are using a paper straw…

[Have an opinion on the issue? Feel free to contact commissioners or the mayor. Call 954-480-4263 or e-mail web.commission@Deerfield-Beach.com].

Per a new study from Harvard Medical School and Northwestern University.

The study conducted by Dr. Hans Breiter of Northwestern University compared the brain scans of marijuana users with brain scans of nonusers. The results showed a direct correlation between the number of times users smoked marijuana and abnormalities in the brain effecting motivation and emotion.

The study determined that pot users who smoke one to seven joints a week had negative changes in the volume, shape and density of their brain’s nucleus accumbens and amygdala, which are regions of the brain that regulate emotion and motivation.

“What we are seeing is changes in people’s core brain regions that you never ever want to fool around with. More studies are needed to determine how these changes may have long-term consequences and whether they can be fixed with abstinence,” said Dr. Breiter.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy helped fund the study, which was published in the Journal of Neuroscience by Harvard Medical School, in cooperation with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Publisher’s Note: The people of the State of Florida are going to be voting on this issue in a few months. You may want to keep and distribute this information.

—David Eller

If you truly have Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis or certain types of cancer (the main “legal” reasons now being mentioned), and your doctor recommends for you to smoke marijuana for relief, be sure to get it in writing from the doctor. That is so that when you suffer the negative consequences of smoking marijuana, such as emphysema or cancer, there is someone else to blame and perhaps sue.

It is shameful how this issue is being manipulated by certain politicians, especially a certain former governor, who is proving again that he has no shame, and will do or say anything to try to “win” an election.

Negatives far outweigh any benefits from people smoking pot, at least based on my experience as an employer. One of my first negative experiences a number of years ago was when I sent three of my young mechanics down to a Caribbean Island to install some of our equipment on a sugar plantation. The job should have taken a week.

However, three weeks went by and we had not heard from them. This was before cell phones. Therefore, I called the customer, who checked on them and complained that my guys were just sitting around smoking “pot.” I ordered them back home, fired them immediately and sent a supervisor with some others to finish the job. That one incident cost us tens of thousands of dollars and lost a multi-million dollar customer. Lunch time started becoming a problem as some of our folks began indulging themselves in their pot smoking during lunch and came back to work causing accidents. Our workers compensation rate doubled, then doubled again before we figured out what was causing the accidents and took proper action with drug tests, etc. However, just one of the after lunch “accidents” put a man in the hospital for several months and cost over a million dollars in medical costs.

As a final example, a few years ago thousands of brochures on our products had to be thrown away when our man in charge got high on pot and changed the instructions to the printer to weird colors which made them unusable. We fired him, of course, but thousands of dollars were lost, as the brochures had to be corrected by others and reprinted.

These are just a few examples, and we are just one small company. The Florida Supreme Court recently agreed to put the issue on an upcoming statewide vote requiring only 60 percent approval. Certain special interest entities who will make big money are positioning themselves already to finance pushing it through. If it passes, and I’m being told there’s a good chance it will pass, many people will lose their jobs as many employers will simply “throw in the towel” and invest elsewhere.

—David Eller, Publisher

Since our family, the Eller family, has lived in Deerfield Beach since 1923, I’ve often been asked to put in writing some of the history of the area, either experienced personally, or that I heard from my parents or grandparents. For some of you old timers that might be worried about certain old “scandals,” don’t worry, I won’t be writing about those (smile).

David Eller, Publisher

My most memorial Christmas yet my wife’s best and worst

For a Christian, having your birthday on Christmas Eve is a bummer. People can give you a present and say, “This is your birthday and Christmas present. This actually happened to my wife’s father, Arthur, and her mother’s father, Edward, both of whom were born on Christmas Eve. Therefore, when my wife, Deborah, was pregnant with our first child in 1971 and the doctor predicted our baby would be born toward the end of December, we all laughed about it making some sort of record if our baby was also born on Dec. 24.

However, on Dec. 23 about 4.30 p.m., our baby son, Dana, decided he wanted out of his mama’s belly and started kicking hard. This was before cell phones. My wife was at home, and I was driving around locally delivering Christmas gifts to some of our customers and calling her from a customer’s office every hour. I’d just talked to her about 4:15 p.m. and she told me everything was fine. Therefore, I was having a good time at Consulting Engineer John Grant’s office party in Boca Raton. But, when I called home about 5: 15 p.m.and no one answered, I knew I was in trouble. My wife, shortly after talking to me on the phone had suddenly gone into hard labor. Not able to reach me, she called my mother who lived nearby, who rushed over to drive her to Bethesda Hospital in Boynton. My mother, very excited, got lost a couple of times trying to find the hospital, but they finally got there just a few minutes before my wife gave birth. I also arrived to the hospital just in time to also welcome our first born, son Dana, into this world. It was 42 years ago this week. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long.

The next day, Dec. 24,I went to the store and bought a little boys’ red outfit 20 inches long with Santa and reindeers on it. It turned out to be way too big, as I had forgotten to adjust the length down for his head sticking out of it.

However, unbeknownst to me, the “fun” had just begun. The next day, Christmas, Dec. 25,1971, the Miami Dolphins were playing the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City for the AFC divisional championship.

Both had identical 10-3 records. I just had to watch this game and figured I could visit my wife and new son in the hospital as soon as the game was over. I had no idea that this game would ultimately go down as the longest professional football game in history.

Meanwhile, two of my mother’s brothers arrived in town to visit my grandmother in Boynton. They were big Kansas City supporters and they invited me to watch the game with them and make a $100 bet for the Dolphins to win. I agreed since I figured I would still have time to visit my wife and new son after the game. Big mistake. Miami spent most of the game playing catch-up to Kansas City. Miami tied the score at 24-24 with just 1:25 left in regulation when Bob Griese threw a 5 yard pass to Marv Fleming.

They were still tied after the first overtime. But, midway through the second overtime, Miami kicker GaroYepremian, with shoe laces still untied, kicked a 37-yard field goal to win the longest game in NFL history.

I collected my winnings from my uncles and headed off to the hospital. I arrived just as visiting hours were over. But, when I explained why I was late, I was able to convince them to let me have a short visit with my wife and new son. My wife was not a happy camper, but our new son didn’t seem to care, and, now, he has four sons of his own.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Guest Editorial from a famous Historian and our Publisher

In 1887, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.”

Therefore,the question for each of us today as Americans  is — “What am I going to do about it?” (With an emphasis on the “I”). Everyone who loves this country needs to get involved. It will require a massive effort.

We need you!Get involved!

David Eller, Publisher