MORNING POST #49

Spent yesterday morning from 8 to noon undergoing some medical tests and blood work. Part of my annual heart check up. No time for the blog. By the time I researched and wrote it, it would have been 5 or 6 in the late afternoon.

Ergo, today a Morning Blog. My attempt to cover 2 days in 1. No order. You get my notes in the order they are stacked on my desk.

Enjoy!

Monopoly seems to have lasted a lifetime. Still ongoing. Remember from my youth. Played the game for generations with friends, my parents, my children, and my grandchildren.

The game will never die. Some variations have come out over the years. A new Key West Monopoly set will be available for purchase in the fall. In time for Christmas.

Casey Arnold is a Key West businessman. He came up with the idea of a Key West game. He contacted Hasboro Gaming who owns the rights to the Monopoly game. He received permission to proceed.

The new game is basically the same as the old. It will reflect Key West, however. Tokens will include a Kino sandal, slice of Key Lime pie, rooster, conch shell, manatee, and fishing boat.

No question. Most of us will be playing Monopoly again. For me, with Robert and Ally.

A South Beach update.

First, a possible murder. Two North Carolina men and a Pennsylvania woman. The two men raped the woman. She later died in her hotel room. It is claimed the two men gave her a pill before raping her.

The men were aged 21 and 24. The woman 24.

The men have been arrested.

I received a call yesterday from a friend. She wanted to share what she was seeing in South Beach.

Tons of people. Thought City government did the right thing in imposing the 8 o’clock curfew. Things were getting out of hand. A riot was inevitable.

The surprise was that the partiers were not college kids alone. Most were young adults. Those already out of school. Described to me as “young professionals.”

Interesting.

Filibuster. Biden has to get rid of it. I keep repeating myself.

He will have to crawl before he walks. First, a return to a Senator having to stand and argue his position for hours.

A few months later, a better way. Get rid of it in its entirety. By that time, Biden will have secured the support of the two recalcitrant Democrats or picked up some Republican Senators.

Biden and he country need the filibuster gone. Otherwise much needed legislation will move. McCullough will have succeeded “in scorching the earth.”

The word filibuster is derived from a Dutch reference to pirates. Evidence of its evil beginnings.

Filibuster became popular in the U.S. in the 1850s. I suspect because of the slavery issue at the time.

It has been used since in order to prevent action on a bill on the Senate floor.

There was a time when U.S. budgets were in the hundreds of thousands. Then millions. Followed by billions. Now, trillions!

Wow!

The recent stimulus package which has become law was $1.9 trillion. Talk now is of a $3 trillion infrastructure bill.

The condition of the U.S. economy today requires America to spend overwhelming dollars. The only way to stave off a recession.

Infrastructure is the best way to proceed. The money will create tons of jobs. Employment will rise dramatically. People will have money in their pockets to spend for items not necessary for survival/basics.

Biden has an immigration problem of magnitude on his hands. Especially involving children without parents. Now in excess of 3,000.

He thus far has played the game of blocking out news re the problem. I don’t blame him. However not healthy for the U.S. nor Biden.

The press have been a problem. They want access and ability to obtain news re the immigration children. Biden has been polluting press access. His conduct not one of transparency.

Critical though I am, I believe he will turn the problem around. Access however should be available even before he achieves his goal.

Mask wearing continues to be a problem. Many did not and do not want to wear them. Thank you, Donald. Government officials cater to their desires. The laws re masks are generally permitted to be flouted.

DeSantis advised last week he was not only opening Florida to businesses, he was also exempting old and new fines re failure to wear a mask.

Prior to DeSantis’ remarks, the Key West police were doing a better job re the masks. Giving out tickets. They stopped however based on DeSantis deciding the fines were not collectible.

Now no  one wears a mask. Not quite accurate. A mere handfull at any given time.

The Citizens’ Voice carried an interesting comment re the situation in this morning’s newspaper: “It appears that on the one-year anniversary of the lock down, St. Patrick came and drove the masks out of Key West.”

Last week, 8 killed in Atlanta. Yesterday, 10 in Boulder. A gun problem unquestionably. I continue to wonder if we as a people are ever going to get the gun issue under control.

I thought progress was being made. The NRA had been weakened. However, then came January 6. Even I who have never handled a gun or cared to, wondered if maybe this was the time for me to carry.

If January 6 was reflective of what is to come, then I need to protect myself. The issue of personal survival now part of the mix.

A thought concerning the Asian women murdered in Atlanta.

Respectfully, I thought any Asian problem in the U.S. ended with World War II. Never heard of any since, except those Trump motivated against China.

With the shootings, groups, organisations, and individuals have come out of the shadows and advising how horrific it has been for Asian women. The racism ran deep.

Glad they were there to tell us who were unaware. They should have been more vocal, if at all, before the Atlanta deaths.

Such is not the point I wish to make however. It is with the massage parlors themselves. Generally advertising Asian women inside. Publically known Asian women were the workers. Most if not all knew or suspected the massage parlors were dens of inequity.  Whore houses. Brothels.

A parlor provides “massage services for a fee.” As early as the 19th century, it became common knowledge the massage parlors were being used as a “euphemism for a brothel.”

In 2019, the Polaris Project estimated there were 9,000 massage parlors in the U.S.providing sexual services. “Full services” and “rub and Tug” available. The latter referring to only hand jobs being offered.

A 2011 study in New York city reported the “house fee” paid up front to the “mama-san” was $60 to $100 per visit. An extra $40 was required to be paid to the sex worker for a massage and “happy ending.” Oral and full service required an additional fee on top of the $40.

The massage parlors run like the whore houses in days old run by the Mafia. Girls are moved from one massage parlor to another for variety and safety purposes. A raided massage parlor reopened within a few days under a new corporation. The corporate trail made it virtually impossible to trace ownership.

My criticism once again is simple. Those now arguing in support of their Asian sisters should have been out there years ago arguing that their people were being used as prostitutes in the slave trade. Why weren’t they?

Their may be one explanation. They knew these women were working in the trade because they needed the money. To support themselves and their families. The apple cart was not to be turned over less the ladies not have a source of income to provide a somewhat decent life.

Key West has 2 Asian type parlors that I am aware of. I mentioned this 2 years ago in a blog. All of a sudden 2 appeared in Key West. One on Duval and the other on the corner of U.S. 1 and Eisenhower. Still there. Names Asian Massage Key West and Island Massage Spa.

On this day in 1775, Patrick Henry before the Virginia Provincial Convention spoke, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

Syracuse, my Syracuse! I spent the season crying and moaning how terrible we were doing. Kept saying the best material ever player wise, but not getting it together.

Richard Nixon when discussing an election, said the campaign must peak as election day is reached.

Syracuse seems to be peaking. Wow!

First, I was shocked the team even got into the NCAA Tournament. Further shocked when I saw they were a #11 seed in the Midwest Region. Not bad.

Syracuse’s first game was against # 6 seed Sand Diego State. Syracuse won.

The next game this weekend pitted Syracuse against #3 seed West Virginia. Syracuse won.

Syracuse plays in the Sweet Sixteen this weekend.

They look terrific. Especially Buddy Boeheim. He has really come out. His shooting fantastic. He has scored 30 and 25 points in the 2 games mentioned.

I became irritated before the West Virginia game sunday night. In the pre-game show, the sportscasters analyzed the pending game. Gave all of 15 seconds to Syracuse. Spent several minutes thereafter talking about how good West Virginia was, that they should have been the #1 seed rather than #3, etc. Syracuse forgotten.

I do not know where Syracuse is going from this point forward. I hope their peaking continues. It would be nice to go to the Final Four once again. Even better, to win the whole thing.

I have tons more of notes. Blog already too long. I may be able to use some in tomorrow’s blog.

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me. I rant and rave. Love it! www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

49 comments on “MORNING POST #49

  1. We will need even more Latin American immigrants if the Infrastructure rebuild gets going. Who else is going to do the heavy lifting and the dirty work?

    • The NRA and American gun nuts have long been telling us that widespread and unregulated gun ownership would DEFINITELY cut down in crime and mazz murders.

      HASN’T HAPPENED – in fact, it’s gotten worse, much worse.

      It’s time to reconsider reasonable regulation of guns.

        • Easy, deaths have gone up, way up disproportionately with the increase of gun deregulations.

          In this case he would have killed fewer if the weapon had not been automatic. Just last week the ban on automatic weapons in Boulder Colorado was eliminated, that regulation could have made the difference.

          The suspect is said to be mentally ill, even by his parents. Proper gun regulations and better background checks could have prevented him from even owning a gun.

          …and how do I know you are mentally capable of asking your question on this blog, or if in face you are not planning a future murder and are just lobbying to keep guns available for your own future use.

          • You don’t.
            Not any more than you know about firearms. Automatic weapons were banned for personal use in this country in 1936. The weapon used in Boulder was probably a semi-automatic rifle. It is estimated that there are more than 17 million such weapons legally in the hands of US citizens. That doesn’t make the shootings in Boulder or anywhere any less ugly. But it does show that any efforts to remove those weapons from society would be a complete failure. That horse left the barn a long time ago.

            • There is only ONE thing I need to know about guns (firearms if that’s your cuddly preference). They are being used in increasingly large numbers to shoot mazz numbers of people in senseless ways. Everything else is for you to know, if you wish. The rifle used was described as an automatic rifle by the AP, and just about any quibbling you’d like to make about that should be taken up with your gun friends – it DOESN’T matter.

              BTW – no one I’ve read, here or anywhere else, isn’t talking about removing these weapons from society, we’re talking about more reasonable regulations.

                • I am azzuming your posted question is serious and not some gotcha set up. if so continue reading. If not, well fire away and be judged by responses.

                  Ban all azzualt weapons unconditionally, and do it with laws, requiring punishment for any device not surrendered or destroyed.

                  We ban Bazookas, because they are beyond the pale. We ban Sarin, because it is beyond the pale. Why not azzualt weapons, especially azzualt.

                  This would be true of many other ways to better control and manage the situation, the “we can’t do ANYTHING” mentality, is just a political reuse.

                  • I’m taking your response seriously. A ban on so called a**ault rifles has been tried before. A ban on newly manufactured a**ault rifles was enacted in 1994. It was a political hot potato from the start (too much to detail here). It had a 10 year time limit and was allowed to expire in 2004 by a Republican Congress with some Democratic support.

                    A huge problem was that the ban did not cover weapons already sold and in public hands. I’ve already said that most of those weapons are not registered, and their ownership is unknown. So even if you ban ownership, how do you get them back? A voluntary turn-in? a buyback? SWAT teams going door to door looking for them? None of these options are really doable. And so far no Congress (Dem or Rep) has been willing to commit political suicide by taking away guns. All of this is complicated by a Supreme Court decision in 2008 that confirmed the public’s 2nd amendment right to own guns.

                    So I ask again with all due respect. how do we completely ban these weapons and make their ownership illegal? I don’t see a way to do it.

                    • If you wanted to argue the point with some sort of “won’t matter” nonsense, you should have said so and I would have told you to go to hell and left you hanging. ANYBODY can come up with an excuse why ANYTHING won’t work.

                      You asked aggressively “Name one, and how it would be implemented”

                      I named one and how it should be implemented.

                      I suspected you only wanted to play “gotcha” and should have ignored you, wishing now I had.

                      Respectively – go to hell!

  2. It is estimated that there are already 400,000,000 civilian owned guns in the USA, the most of any country. How many is enough?

  3. The Biden administration plans to spend $84 million of our tax dollars on hotel accommodations for migrants entering the US illegally. Isn’t that nice of us? I hope they have a pool.

    • Do you think they might get hotel rooms for our vets sleeping on the streets? Or for our troops sleeping on the floor of a parking garage?

      There’s no need to reply. I already know the answer.

      • Only during the next insurrection. Biden is in charge now and he cares about the troops. He wouldn’t abuse them like what happened on one-six

          • My guess is it’s a military call. Something their brazz requires, an internal decision having to do with command, control and readiness.

            • No. It’s in response to a request made by Nancy Pelosi. There is no way this was planned and implemented by the military.

              • Fake News – Nancy never ordered the military to NOT sleep in hotel rooms or on the streets, on the floor of a parking garage or for that matter anywhere else. The logistics were not of her doing – that’s Fake News.

                Too much smear beer?

  4. Why not crackdown hard on the issue of gun ownership and mental illness? Not just a wink and a nod but a real effort at keeping guns out of the hands of people unfit for sun ownership and operation?

    • Republicans would object to that thinking it nothing more than an overt effort to reduce Republican voter registration.

    • Because it’s too hard. I’m not being sarcastic. Americans own about 400 million guns, most of them unregistered. Therefore, we don’t know where they are or who owns them. Are some of them in the wrong hands? Of course, but it’s far too late to identify those.

      As for new guns being purchased daily by the thousands, the task of identifying unfit buyers is overwhelming. Yes, there are background checks. But did you know that a background check consists of only 13 questions on a government form which is then compared to existing government databases for accuracy? No one comes around to question you or your neighbors or your employer. No one is allowed to look at your medical records.

      Add the 2nd and 4th amendments to the mix, plus a totally inept Congress, and you are stuck with a problem that is simply too hard to fix.

      • It is NOT Congress that is holding this up, and YOU know that.

        It is big money politics. The Republican party would be screwed if it was fixed and no longer an issue (rallying cry). Just like the immigration issue, they need this to remain a problem and don’t give a sh’t if real people die.

  5. Where the hell were the good guys with guns we were promised would solve the problem. Well, not Boulder Colorado apparently – and if not Boulder, them by god where?

  6. Be specific. Whose money? Paid to whom? Do do what? How is big money politics going to reverse the Supreme Court decision on the 2nd amendment and gun ownership? What do Republicans gain by having out of control gun ownership? C’mon. Don’t hide behind a whitewash of all Republicans. You can do better than that.

    • Who are you kidding, sounds more like what are you denying?

      Without the gun issue, or the immigration issue, Republicans would loose their base;

      • It’s a big issue for Dems, too. Bill Clinton pushed the a**ault weapons ban through Congress in 1994 despite objections from senior Democrats. They subsequently lost 53 seats in the midterm election, including their Speaker of the House Foley. Voting for a gun ban is a dangerous thing to do regardless of your politics.

        • Nonsensical equivalency and totally twisted logic.

          On top of that Bill Clinton was now over 20 years ago and the last time I checked YOU said those seats were lost because Bill got a Blow Job. Do you just twist sh*t around to make a point or is it to start a fight?

          EITHER way you are making MY point, Republicans NEED the gun issue to keep their paranoid and mean base, after all, look what it did for them with your Clinton scenario.

          You really shouldn’t be posting on other peoples blogs until you work on that comprehension thing. You really aren’t that clever.

          And who said that voting for a gun ban wasn’t a dangerous thing?

          What IS being said – OVER and OVER is that not voting for gun reform, IS a dangerous thing. Guns are literally killing us and not for ANY good reason.

          • You have no idea what I said about Bill Clinton or the disastrous midterm election of 1996. But we now have 25 years of historical reflection. Most of those lost seats were in rural areas of the country. A little research will show you that Clinton’s gun control legislation was a major reason for the anti-administration votes. The same thing would have happened to the Republicans if they had been the ones pushing the legislation. The lesson learned is to find a way to end the violence without taking guns away from the 44% of Americans who own one. Good luck with that.

            • Once again, and please listen this time. No one is talking about taking your guns away, except YOU, with your left handed scare tactics. Sane people are talking about finding ways to end the violence with more effective gun control. It is people like you who are putting roadblocks in the way. Perhaps that should be the solution, getting you out of the way with your phony obstructions and unwillingness to listen and help.

  7. So a good guy with a gun pulls it out to confront the shooter, while another good guy with a gun sees the first good guy with a gun and thinks that he is the shooter and shots him. See where this is going?

    • No not really. The point isn’t the details, rather the point is we were promised that if the good guys all had guns, Bad guys wouldn’t be bad. That isn’t working at all and the details as to why not, don’t really work, just like predicted by anyone with more than a second grade education predicted. It was a lie and a distraction,that sh*t story doesn’t fly.

    • I think you already know that there is no definition that covers the broad spectrum of semi-automatic rifles. That’s one reason why it is so difficult to write legislation to limit or ban them. You can’t make something illegal if you can’t define it.

    • Really? Try walking into a gun store and ask to see an a**ault weapon. They will laugh at you. There is no weapon (outside of the US Army) that is called an a**ault weapon.

  8. This is Patrick’s signature item and something he love’s to pontificate about, as if it REALLY matters at all. It’s a diversionary topic, like debating the spelling of RAPE, rather than any meaningful discussion of that act. Nevertheless, he’ll suck you in and use all kinds of nonsense to convince you he is right and you are wrong. We all used to think that was really the only thing that matter to him on this or any other subject. Don’t take the bait, he’s an unrepentant bully.

  9. The main point Republicans run on for election is that the Democrats will take away all of your guns. It does not matter how many times the Democrats deny the lie, the paranoid Right loves believing it, apparently. Actually it would most likely be someone like Trump who would do that.

  10. You are right, there is no law that will change the gun problem. It is just one more symptom of the decline and fall of the Human Race.

    • That’s what Republicans are hoping for – giving up and making no effort to fix ANY part of the problem, yet still being able to scare people into thinking Democrats are the problem instead of too many guns being the problem. Republicans NEED this controversy, to keep their base riled up.

      This is ALL about the fight, not the facts.

  11. Trump would definitely be more likely be the one politican who would (and could) take away their guns.

    The irony and short-sightedness of Republicans, is that virtually ALL dictators and authoritarians, especially fascists, deny their subjects to be armed. It’s not just communists, but Dictators, including Nazi Germany, Russia, Cambodia, Venezuela Congo, Italy, Spain, China, and on and on.

    Republicans are totally unselfaware, which makes them such great supporters and so ckueless

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