1 million points of light (City of St. Augustine's Nights of Lights November 18, 2006 to January 31, 2007), but six very dim bulbs

Tonight, St. Augustine begins its celebration of Nights of Lights, which runs through January 31, 2007.

What a beautiful place to live and work.

What a crisp, clear evening to enjoy the lights and history and scenery.

What a contrast between our history and beauty on the one hand and our City government's histrionics and ugliness on the other.

The occasion symbolizes what our City could be if only it were not a cesspool of what Mayor GEORGE GARDNER admits is "rampant corruption," if only we'd dedicate ourselves to a "St. Augustine National Historical Park," run by the National Park Service, in stead of a Nixonian band of wastrels, taking junkets to NYC, Spain, Germany, etc., while wasting taxpayer money on an underutilized $22 million parking garage and illegally dumping the contents of our old illegal dity dump into the Old City Reservoir.

So angry was our tatterdemalion lame duck St. Augustine Mayor GEORGE GARDNER that he used his last meeting as Commission Chairman to abuse persons trying to Clean Up the City of St. Augustine, Florida, using the meeting to declare who is Number One on his Enemies List. See below.

GARDNER's four Commission colleagues (and City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS), lustility applauded his rodomontade. They're all thin-skinned, with much to be embarassed about, including the illegal dumping of 30,000,000 pounds of contaminants in the Old City Reservoir.

Instead of talking about National Park Service and what it can do for our City with a Democratic Congress, the vindictive, vincible, vitriolic, GARDNER -- acting as if he were victim instead of victimizer -- has used his "bully puplit" and his newsletter to stigmatize First Amendment protected activity.

Reformers and progressives wear GEORGE GARDNER's scorn as a badge of honor. See below.