As I woke this morning, I had no idea if I should blog or not.  I don’t write unless I am compelled to do so.  When I walked in the kitchen, my husband handed me a cup of coffee with a big grin on his face.  He pointed to the paper and it was open to Mr. Sillypage’s Viewpoint column.  I knew then, I had something to write about!  (I tried to find the link on www.jacksonville.com but it was not there this morning.  Keep searching for it – it may appear later.)

Reject Hogan and his silly supporters, elect Brown was the headline.  I laughed at the headline and then couldn’t stop laughing as I read his column.  I knew right away- we were hitting some nerves not only in the Brown camp but at the Tiny Union as well.  We had made Mr. Sillypage mad and he wasn’t going to take it anymore!

Here are just a few things that have really gotten under Mr. Sillypage’s “thin” skin:

He made fun of Tiger Holmes.  Mr. Holmes paid for an ad in the TU noticing the out-of-towners who have infiltrated our city to get Alvin Brown elected.  (Note:  Mr. Holmes paid for an ad in the very paper that is now calling him silly.  They will take his money but not take his word for what he wrote.)  He said Mr. Holmes lived in Orange Park and insinuated that makes him an out-of-towner.  Let me set the record straight about Mr. Holmes.  Take a drive on the Westside of town and head over to 6550 Roosevelt Blvd.  You will find yourself in front of Builders First Source, previously known as Holmes Lumber.  Rogers  B. “Tiger” Holmes launched Holmes Lumber in 1958 with one truck and himself as the driver.  This business has provided lumber for builders throughout NE Florida for more than 53 years.  He sold it in 1999 and retired after a long and successful career in the Duval County area.   This man has made a huge investment in Duval County and now Mr. Sillypage is making fun of him.  Making fun of a business that has provided jobs and supplies plus tax revenues to Duval County for 50+ years is pretty low, Mr. Sillypage.

He made fun of 13 county commissioners from Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties who supported Mike Hogan.  It is well known that local city leaders in Duval County must work with these outlying commissioners on matters that affect all counties.  I guess if the Super Bowl is brought back to Jacksonville, we would not be reaching out to them for support of their people?  Or if a hurricane is heading our way, we would not reach out to the outlying counties?  Don’t you think they have a vested interest in what happens in Duval County especially since some St. Johns County residents receive electric service from JEA, which is owned by the city of Jacksonville?  This is NORMAL for other county commissioners to endorse their favorite candidate.  Making fun of 13 county commissioners who are public servants is pretty sad, Mr. Sillypage.

He made fun of former Sen. Jim Horne.  Mr. Horne is a CPA and served in the Florida Senate from 1994-2001.  He held several key leadership positions.  In 1996, he was selected to chair the Senate Education Appropriations committee where he was instrumental in designing an allocation of education resources for the community college system based on performance and outcomes. He also created the Excellent Teacher Act that rewarded Florida’s teachers with a bonus of up to 20% for passing the National Board Certification exam.  This program continues to be one of Florida’s most successful education endeavors. 

Mr. Horne was asked to serve as the first ever appointed Secretary/Commissioner of Education in the State of Florida. Senator Horne did great work for our State and our Educational system.  Calling Senator Jim Horne a liar was shocking, Mr. Sillypage. 

He made fun of the Tea Party Members.  Mr. Sillypage doesn’t like the tea party.  The silly thing is he had 22 paragraphs in his column this week and 6 of those were quoting a post we did on “Zombies.”  That is more than 27% of his column.   I am so glad we gave him “column cover” so he didn’t have to think too much to write.  Poor Mr. Sillypage can’t even take a joke.  The blog we wrote was in fun but truth was all over it!  We do not apologize for that blog because it sure got under his skin and the liberals.  However, the responses by those on the right were – “Right on!”  Mr. Sillypage used a lot of our blog but he left out some of the important points such as the video embedded inside the blog showing the “Zombie” smoking pot in front of the GOP.  There is another man dressed up like the Grim Reaper with a black hood over his face.  No mention of this “silliness” in his column.  These are the same people who are holding signs for Alvin Brown.  View the video here: Grim Reaper and Pot Smoking Alvin Brown supporter

It’s okay if you make fun of us Mr. Sillypage.  We can take it.  Our President calls us all kinds of names and so do others on the left.  We will not back down to the likes of you in the media and we will continue to write and blog and get the truth out since your employer will not do it.

As Mr. Sillypage ended his column, he spoke about the gauge of a good mayor is who he surrounds himself with.  He goes on to name off community stalwarts such as Peter Rummell, Hugh Greene, John Baker, Marty Lanahan, etc. etc.  Yes these are great community stalwarts and we appreciate the value they have brought to our community.

However, Mr. Sillypage has failed to recognize the silent majority of other business owners who have helped this city for years.  They are taxpaying businesses who provide jobs and they ARE supporting Mr. Hogan.  You had your list, Mr. Sillypage, so here’s just a handful of our own stalwart community leaders that have been with Mr. Hogan during his campaign and will be supportive of him when he becomes our Mayor Tuesday: 

Fitzhugh Powell of Cecil W. Powell Insurance – Jacksonville business since 1935

The King Family, Jacksonville Box and Woodwork – Jacksonville business since 1948

The Reed Family, Ernest Carroll Tile & Marble – Jacksonville business since 1950

W. W. Gay of W. W. Gay Mechanical – Jacksonville business since 1962

Hank Madden, Madden Advisory Services – Jacksonville business since the 1980’s

Andy Sanfilippo, TeamJAS Aviation – Jacksonville business since 1986

Bill Riddell, CEO of Healthlink – Jacksonville business since 1993

Wayne Weaver, Owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars - Jacksonville business since 1995

Joe Collins, The Collins Group – Jacksonville business since 1997

And others who are supporters of Mike Hogan can be found online at www.duvalelections.org. 

These are stalwart business owners who have silently sat back and watched our city raise our taxes, increase our fees and mismanage money with failed downtown development projects.  They are no longer silent and have raised their voices in support of Mike Hogan.  Will you now stoop to a new low and make fun of them Mr. Sillypage?

Last but not least, he made fun of God.  In our blog we wrote that you should pray along with other suggestions such as holding signs, walking neighborhoods, calling for your favorite candidates, etc.  Mr. Sillypage chose to focus on the word Prayer and make fun of it.  Mr. Sillypage, a lot of people pray when they are in trouble or when they need help.  It’s a pretty normal reaction – even for those who don’t believe in God.  Our country was founded by Godly men who believed in prayer.  The Continental Congress made their first official act a call to prayer on September 6, 1774, after just receiving news that the British troops had attacked Boston. The first prayer in Congress was uttered on September 7, 1774, in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia. 

If it was good enough for our founding fathers, it is good enough for us, Mr. Sillypage.  You can make fun of me, sir, and you can make fun of those who are standing up for Mike Hogan, but making fun of prayer in print for all to see shows your true colors.  We’ll be praying for you Mr. Sillypage.

Next Tuesday will be a big day for Duval County residents.  We can either stay home and let the left with their “out-of-town” paid volunteers show up and help Alvin Brown win OR we can go to the polls and cast our ballot for Mike Hogan. 

It will all come down to one thing – how many votes are cast.  It doesn’t matter who endorses a candidate or who has the most money – at the end of the day all that matters is who has the most votes.  The power is in your hands.  Go Vote and show the Tiny Union, the out-of-towners and Mr. Sillypage that we can win through casting our vote and saying our prayers.

God bless each of us and the beautiful City of Jacksonville.