Javier Souto: county commissioner turns over a rock in West Dade, finds Muslims with beards blacker than Castro's ... by gimleteye

Fred Grimm tee'd off on Javier Souto the other day in the Miami Herald. Grimm had been alerted to a hateful diatribe by the longtime county commissioner from the dais, caused by a Muslim businessman's erection of an enormous house out of scale with the character of neighborhoods in Souto's district. The gargantuan home built by the Muslim businessman is scarcely a mile from the commissioner's home and near FIU.

Later, in an "unusual" press notification -- (For Shame, Eyeonmiami was not on the distribution list!) -- Souto was apparently wounded by Grimm's editorial focusing on the commissioner's jingoistic, anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Community activists who opposed Souto's votes with the unreformable majority of the county commission to move the Urban Development Boundary are often on the end of his barbs, muttered or voiced in breathtaking rambles of discombobulation from the dais. Javier Souto, who can find a Communist in every opponent to growth-at-any-cost, now finds Muslims in growth he does not like. There's a hierarchy, for you.

We speak from years listening to Souto "inform" his colleagues how being a community activist against moving the urban growth boundary in West Dade (to the benefit of big campaign contributors from the building, construction, and rock mining industries) makes us allies of Castro. "(Souto) also noted the house’s proximity to Florida International University, later telling a Miami Herald reporter that he was worried that someone would set up shop at the home “to work on the boys and girls of FIU.” At least, the opponents of moving the UDB have never been accused of that! We're "the wine and cheese crowd" in Souto's scrambled universe. (Note for the record: my preferred cheese is French.)

“This is serious business,” the commissioner said at the meeting. “You know what I’m talking about. Two and two is four.” Souto took a remorseful tone in his statement. “I am an elected official and should measure my words when speaking because anything you say seems worse when you later read it in print,” Souto conceded. “However, I am human and I am anything but a politician.” Say, what?

As one of the community activists who opposes moving the Urban Development Boundary to appease the Great Destroyers, I am offended that Javier Souto apologizes to Muslims but never apologized to us.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. Now that Souto opposes a development he does not like but that is within regulations and codes -- he finds evil worse than even Castro: he suspects Muslims with dark, bearded motives in the suburbs of West Kendall using inappropriate buildings to pervert FIU students... those malleable, impressionable future activists in his district! (Note to Fred Grimm: that's how you tee off on Javier Souto ...)

"Dennis Moss, Souto's fellow county commissioner, suggested along the same line in Grimm's editorial: "“Sometimes you don’t want to have regulations, but other times you do ... We need to take a look at the code, if you want to make sure this kind of structure can’t be built again.” But he warned that the moment commissioners tighten up the definition of “harmonize,” property-rights advocates will come howling."

Yes, like those crazy windbags from South Dade and the 8.5 Square Mile Area. But with Castro agents and Muslim terrorists hiding under bus benches carrying political advertisements, who has time to keep track of them all?