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Mike Huckabee (pictured) threatening hopeful surfers with a golf club.
Mike Huckabee (pictured) threatening hopeful surfers with a golf club.

Outrage: Florida beaches becoming privatized at record clip as wealthy homeowners seek to “put an end to that degenerate surfing life!”

"Get lost bums!"

Public beach access is very much taken for granted in the windy and cold (this morning) state of California. Oh there are certainly some crotchety homeowners in enclaves like Malibu who dillydally with fences and/or sit on modern steel and glass decks gripping 1928 Purdey hammerless shotguns but they are the exception as opposed to the rule.

Across this great nation, however, in the state of Florida, the public beach is on the verge of extinction as one-time governor of Arkansas and prominent television host Mike Huckabee leads a campaign to shut out the masses and, very likely, put an end to that degenerate surfing life he so loathes while also having them pay for upkeep etc. with their dirty, wax tainted pennies.

It’s almost too fantastical to believe but let us turn to the Tallahassee Democrat and stoke our outrage.

Beachfront property owners, aided by high-priced lobbyists, have stripped local governments’ power to oversee your ability to enjoy the beach.

In 2016, Walton County adopted a “customary use” ordinance, reorganizing the public’s long-time use of the coast for traditional fishing and recreation, while codifying the ability of residents and tourists to continue to do so.

Wealthy beachfront property owners, however, led by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, rebelled. They lobbied the Legislature into passing House Bill 631, making it easy for beachfront owners to employ the courts to block the beach. Threatening signs, fences and security guards have been employed to block public beach use.

Similar efforts are being planned throughout the state. Indian River County for instance has been forced to file suit to establish public access to a large portion of its beach line, while beach blocking attempts are being looked at in Sarasota, Pinellas, Palmetto and elsewhere.

Threatening signs? Security guards? I wish there were more than thirty-thousand surfers in America so we could stage an impressive march and carry our own threatening signs.

What would they say?

What is the surfer version of the wonderful pussy hat?

Maybe we should march anyhow? All twelve of us?

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OpenFrontZip

This reminds me a delicate exploration by Fox News this morning regarding the interplay of bi-coastal inhabitation in America.

Stinking, shrinking California vs. fantastic, flourishing Florida — A tale of two states

https://www.foxbusiness.com…

mark comerford

If you donate enough money to most politicians, you own them. Politicians do not care about right and wrong, they just care about getting enough money(also known as bribes) to keep getting re-elected.
Try calling any politician WITHOUT “donating” a boatload of cash, and see what happens?

Rob Gresser

So what needs to happen is get legislators to craft a provision that the homeowner privatizing the beach is responsible for all conversation and clean-up to a point of 100 feet offshore. If pollution is found on the beach or in the waters to 100 ft offshore, they can be fined. The state may go for it since it lessens the amount of shoreline and water areas they have to be responsible for. During the algal.blooms, the property owner is responsible for clean-up, including any dead marine life that has washed up onshore, including any civil litigation of neighbors who have been afflicted by conditions caused by decaying marine life killed by the algal blooms. If you want to privatize beach areas, then you also have to be willing to accept government and civil liability for conservation and clean-up. I doubt there are many insurance companies willing to insure property to 100 ft offshore, as well as a beach front. With the algal blooms problems and the potential damage to the shoreline from hurricanes, it’s gonna cost a pretty penny. However, if you’re gonna privatize a beach area and a hurricane destroys a lot of it, prepare to pay for it without much government assistance because you have assumed conservation responsibility!!!

Walt

Why the fake pic of Huckabee? You make a legitimate concern meaningless with a pic completely unrelated to topic.

Wayne Lunch

I’m sure there’s a way to encourage Sharks to frequent the private beaches and eat the rich and leave the rest of the surfers alone. How hard could it be?

?uzzled

I’m already antirebulican as is, you don’t need to fire me up with this old story. It’s kind of a Fox News strategy: show a story of a white women murdered by a black man before an article that they want people to get worked up over.
I can appreciate Chas’s political views, but leave this type of manipulation to the morally bankrupt.

Walker Rossi

This will be on the upcoming Florida 2020 ballot?

FL Skunk Ape

And get this – they want taxpayer funded beach re-nourishment on top of it! Talk about a kick in the nuts.

If I pay for one single grain of sand on a ‘private’ beach here, I’ll do whatever I damn well please on it. First thing I’ll do is have my 90lb dog take a giant shit on it.

channelbottom

White, male, middle-aged surfers are a bunch of degenerate bums who love moaning and playing the victim card.

Them and sharks.

Waterproof Polo

Fuck this makes me mad. What does that wanker Mike Huckabee and others like him want with his own private beach anyway? Is his daughter Trumpsky’s ex/current press secco, Sarah Huck-Sanders? I did like her moxy in the face of pure hatred though.

Jrilla

Might have to change that bit in your national anthem about the land of the free. May I suggest “Land of threatening signs, fences and security guards”. Catchy lyric In my opinion.

Numbnuts

He is white and rich. Can’t be any more free in the US.

Phat-wan kerr

screw the threatening signs, how about a series of character revealing billboards.

scrubit

https://www.youtube.com/wat…

You surf commies will feel the jackboot upon your necks!

Waterproof Polo

Commie Surf Nazi’s!

https://uploads.disquscdn.c…

Shore pound

Sounds like Washington state’s archaic beach access/ownership laws. Somehow it’s legal to claim your own piece of paradise, down to the mean low tide line. Paranoid land owners will scream at you for sloshing your ankles in 6″ of water that they think belongs to them.

Ricky Spanish

Fuck the entitled rich

Phat-wan kerr

he must be trying to get some peace and quiet for his family when they are on the beach. tired of a bunch of stoned hippies trying to roll em back into the water.

astro

Same sort of thing happening everywhere.
The bustling metropolis of astrograd is being invaded by rich yuppies who move here for the lifestyle and the very first thing they do is bitch and moan about the locals doing what we’ve always done. Next thing ya know they’ve lobbied the council, got the Dept of Conservation on board and dishing out $500 fines. Place is fucked.
I’d move but where do ya go ? – the cunts have ramped up house prices all over.

Karl Von Fanningstadt

The face of our cause!…
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…

Yesterday's hero

The guy with the golf club looks like a thin version of Ashton.


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