FLORIDA GOVERNOR RACE A CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT

It had to happen. A clear cut major election where the candidates represent a difference of opinion. In every respect. A clash of ideologies.

Florida the site. The Governor’s race November 6.

Andrew Gillum won the Democratic primary. A long shot. Perhaps not even that close. Did not have sufficient support to even be considered in the running.

He fooled everyone.

Gillum is presently the African-American Mayor of Tallahassee. A true liberal. Progressive a more apt description. His cry Medicare for All an example.

Progressives strongly supported him. Bernie Sanders behind him.

On the Republican side, Congressman Ron DeSantis. Tied to Trump 100 percent. Supports the President’s positions 100 percent. Trump visited Florida to support him. DeSantis’ support was waning. The Trump visit gave him the boost he needed.

A conservative.

Liberal v. Conservative. A heavyweight championship fight!

Good for the Nation. Let’s get an indication how the people truly think.

Georgia presents a similar situation. I do not know enough about it at the present time to comment.

In recent days, I spoke favorably in support of Gwen Graham for the Democratic nomination. An establishment type candidate. I  viewed her politics as center leaning to right.

Local politics important. Key West is going to have a run off for Mayor. Local races non-partisan in Key West.

Teri Johnson got 49 percent of the vote. Two others 21 and 20 percent respectively. A recount required to determine who came in 2nd.

The Mayor’s race will be on the November 6 ballot.

My friend Mary Lou Hoover won a City Commission seat. I am thrilled for her! She is good people. Key West will benefit from her election.

God is on the side of Republicans. At least they think so. The Evangelicals support Trump 1,000 percent. The Christian group a significant part of Trump’s base. Solid base!

Recall 2 years ago when Romney spoke to a group of financial supporters. A private meeting. No press. No record of his comments being kept. Someone recorded his comments on a cell phone. The recording was extremely embarrassing to Romney.

A similar situation occurred monday night at the White House. Trump was entertaining a group of Evangelicals. No press. No record of Trump’s comments being kept. Someone however pulled a Romney.

Trump’s comments recorded. NBC yesterday verified their authenticity.

Trump told the Evangelicals that if the Democrats took over Congress, there would be violence: The Democrat “level of hatred, the level of anger is unbelievable…..they will overturn everything that we’ve done and they’ll do it quickly and violently, and violently…..these are violent people.”

Trump encouraging violence. On the part of his followers. They will believe at some point they have to defend and fight for what they hold sacred. They must be ready to oppose the villanous Democrats..

Trump let down Puerto Rico following Maria. Why? I suspect color. Whatever, as a Nation we did not do anywhere enough for our fellow citizens.

Trump told us he did a good job re Puerto Rico. Only 64 deaths. An independent study by George Washington University recently released indicates 2,975.

I’m glad we can depend on the Trump administration to give us accurate information. First it provides insufficient help. Then misrepresents the death total by almost 3,000.

Ian Welsh is a Canadian blogger. I read his blogs. Agree and disagree with his writings.

His most recent blog explored whether Canada would return to the new NAFTA the U.S. and Mexico are presently negotiating. He has concern about certain issues. His admonition to the Canadian government at the end of his blog…..Trump only respects hardball. Play it, or crawl on your belly.

Can’t wait to go out tonight. Tuesdays I spend all day and night at home preparing for and doing my podcast in the evening. I am a night/people person. Back on the road tonight!

Enjoy your day!

 

KEY WEST ROYAL POINCIANA UNDER ATTACK

Key West’s beautiful, flamboyant, orange-red petaled Royal Poincianas are under attack. A plague. The culprit some type caterpillar.

The caterpillars just short of 2 inches long. Attack only by night. The Dracula of the vermin world. Eat the flamboyant flowers and foliage. Destroy the trees.

Major outbreaks occur every 10-15 years. This obviously is the year.

Treatments are available to protect against and/or control the caterpillars. Information is available through the County. Contact Michelle Leonard-Mularz. She is an Environmental Horticulture Agent. mularz-michelle@monroecounty-fl.gov.

There is a concern among some that the City of Key West itself may not be doing enough to help.

Yesterday another busy one. Began with lunch at Sandy’s Cafe. Followed by several errands.

A quick nap late in the afternoon.

An early evening start. Monday night so it was Dueling Bartenders at Aqua. Tom Luna and Rick Dery the best!

A decent crowd for August. Including Liz, Josefina, Mary, and Linda. Another Mary joined me. Mark Watson came hurrying through and gave a wave.

Dinner with Mary at Antonia’s bar afterwards.

Mary Lou Hoover and Charlie Waite at the bar, also. Good people. Mary Lou looked tired. She has been campaigning 9 months for election to the Key West City Commission. The battle over. Enjoying a late dinner.

We chatted a bit. As you are aware, I one hundred percent support Mary Lou. A more interested and concerned person I have never met.

Ran into an old friend I have not seen in years also at Antonia’s. Mary Ann Westerland.

Today is election day in Florida. For local races, today is the day. Not in November. If you are a Key Wester, please consider voting for Mary Lou.

Staying with the election for a moment, today is primary day for federal and state offices. I have been supporting Gwen Graham to be the candidate for Governor on the Democratic ticket. A member of Congress, she also is the daughter of Bob and Adele Graham. Bob the former Governor of Florida and a member of the U.S. Senate.

Politics is in Gwen’s blood.

Tuesday means podcast time for me. My podcast. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine in the evening. A quick moving interesting half hour. I tend to rant and rave.

Join me. Guaranteed you will not be bored. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

A late night ahead. Being a political junkie, I will be glued to the TV for election results.

Love the Key West weatherman. Always a quip following his weather prediction. Today and tonight, showers. Following the report…..Free carwash.

I close with Trump. Not the disrespect and pettiness he exhibited with John McCain’s death. I did enough of that yesterday.

My concern at the moment is the redoing of the NAFTA agreement with Mexico. Yesterday, Trump in effect claimed victory. Similar to his announcement following the meeting with North Korea’s Kim. Not really a victory. Nothing finalized. Many items still to be covered.

Whatever, Trump got on the phone in the Oval Office. Seated behind his mammoth desk. Regal appearing. He called Mexico’s President. Reporters present.

I will not go into the details. They are all over TV and the newspapers today. Trump looked bad. Though a few points were generally agreed upon, it was obvious a deal was not yet close.

Typical Trump. There must always be a victory! A victory he made possible.

Trump already made a fool of the United States and himself re the Kim situation. I compare Kim and yesterday’s telephone call to Neville Brand when he got off the airplane in September 1938. He had rushed to Munich to have a face to face meeting with Hitler in a last ditch attempt to avoid war.

Chamberlain got off the plane waving a paper. “Peace in  our time,” he shouted.

World War II began soon after.

Chamberlain bullshitted as Trump has been. Sometimes Trump bullshits himself.

Enjoy your day!

 

JOHN McCAIN…..A TRUE AMERICAN HERO

John McCain died yesterday. A true American hero. A man for the ages. A person to be emulated. He will forever be remembered.

We need more John McCain’s.

David Wolkowsky’s 99th birthday party! As expected, over the top. Champagne flowed. David and champagne go together.

A wonderful man. An American hero in his own right. His successes in Key West and Philadelphia speak for themselves.

As I raised my glass to David, I thought…..Next year! Hope you make 100 my friend!

I was invited to Donna and Terri’s for dinner. Was running early. Stopped at the Blue Macaw first for a drink. There was Terri at the bar sipping a ginger ale. Donna and Terri live across the street from Blue Macaw.

I joined Terri. Enjoyed a drink. Following which she took my right elbow and we went home.

We talked about one of Blue Macaw’s bartenders. A tiny lovely young blond lady. Montana her name.

People in Key West work hard. As most others in the U.S. do today. Montana has two jobs. Her daytime job begins at 7 in the morning. Not sure what it is. I admire how hard she works. The Macaw bar is huge. She moves around it swiftly.

Dinner delicious! What else! Donna cooked. A gourmet chef in disguise. Meat loaf! Like Mom used to make. Outstanding!

Bear coming along. Stitches come out Friday. I still hate what they had done to him. Neutered.

I am moving my ass this morning. Terri sings at 10 at Hard Rock Cafe. She and Larry Baeder entertain together 10-12. Stop over for brunch and enjoy the duo.

I early voted this week. Did not recognize any of the State wide candidates, except for Gwen Graham. Gwen is running in the Democratic primary for Governor.

One of the reasons I did not know the candidates is that the Key West Citizen rarely mentions the State races.

I received this morning via e-mail a copy of the August 23 edition of Florida Politics. There was a big pic of Gwen and a story involving her and Big Pine.

Gwen, her parents, sisters and children were in Big Pine last Sunday. Working with Brian Vest’s Conch Republic Marine Army to clean up debris yet remaining from Irma. Yes, almost a year later much cleanup and repair work yet remains.

Gwen’s team had contacted Vest to ask what they could do. He said come on down and help. The candidate and her family came. The pic showed Gwen in shorts and a t-shirt in the water with gloves on pulling debris out of the water. Sweating like a pig as the saying goes. She was working!

The title of the article was Gwen Graham Gets Hands On During Cleaning Up Day In The Keys.

I make mention for 3 reasons.

First, I support Gwen’s candidacy.

Second, I and my fellow Key residents appreciate Gwen paying attention to the Keys. We are generally the forgotten relative.

Third, the Key West Citizen made no mention of Gwen’s visit. For shame! In fact, very very little of any of the State races have been reported on thus far.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

KEY WEST…..WE’RE COOKING

 

It’s hot! No question about it. The hottest July ever. August will probably be hotter. Followed by historically the hottest of the hot…..September.

Yesterday, the weatherman said relief would be available. It was going to be breezy. It was. Learned something. Hot and no breeze,  hot. Hot with breeze, still hot. Perhaps worse.

As I was walking yesterday with the hot air blowing in my face, I was reminded of the 1940’s when our house was heated by a coal furnace. My job to keep the coal fire burning. Replace the burned out coal.

Every time I opened the furnace door, a blast of hot air hit me in the face. Yesterday, the same sensation.

Spent part of the afternoon reading. Still with Madeleine Albright’s Fascism. The primary fascists of almost a 100 years ago were Mussolini and Hitler. Trump so much like them.

Aqua for Dueling Bartenders at 6. Tom Luna and Rick Dery doing the entertaining.

Tom has not been present for 3 weeks. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis. Treated for it. Not diverticulitis. Kidney stones. Had surgery for the kidney stones a few days ago.

Liz and Josefina at the bar when I arrived. Liz looked lovely. She was happy to be there.

Jean Thornton came in. We sat together. She looked good and smelled good. Told her so. Love the lady!

Jean complained about the heat. Said she has begun staying in during the day to avoid it. Sounded familiar.

Normally, Jean and I would have had dinner together. I had to beg off. My podcast is tonight and I had to work on the show last night.

Join me at 9 tonight for the podcast. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. A fast moving, interesting, and eye opening account of how I see things. You do not have to agree with me. It is good however to hear what might be a different set of thoughts. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

I am a poor sleeper. Leave the TV in the bedroom on all night so I can watch something during the hours sleep escapes me. The bedroom TV went kaput about 2 monday morning.

I called Comcast. Had to wait 30 minutes for a live person. We had a communication problem. I could not understand her. Probably from east Istanbul.

After another hour of her directing me to do this and that, TV still not working. Comcast needs to send a repair person over. No one available till thursday morning.

Can’t win!

The battle between the 2 Sandy Cafes has been resolved. Settled. Details of the settlement unavailable.

A significant election in Ohio today. A special election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional district. Takes in Columbus and a wide suburban swath surrounding it.

Republican country. Thirty five years since a Democrat has held the seat. Trump won the district by 11 points.

Today’s election has become a testing ground for November. The Democratic candidate was far behind at the beginning. Today, a dead heat. Trump was in the area over the weekend campaigning for the Republican candidate.

Politicos believe suburban wives will decide the election. Most are Republicans. However, most are upset with Trump’s child separation policy.

If the Democrat wins, it foretells a blue November. If the Democrat loses by 3 points or less, the same.

We will know tonight.

A new national poll indicates Trump’s largest bloc of supporters are white persons without college degrees. Fifty four percent.

I believe the group supports Trump because they feel the country has left them behind. They believe they need governmental programs that will help them. Most are middle aged and older. They are disappointed with how life has treated them. There has been no American dream.

Dorothy Downs is an interesting woman. Among other things, an author. An expert regarding certain Indian tribes. She and her husband lived in Miami and had a second home in Key West. He has passed on.

Dorothy continues to inhabit the homes in both locales. A frequent Key West visitor.

Dorothy has a political streak in her. She is supporting Gwen Graham in the Democratic primary for Governor. Personal friends for years.

She recently wrote and asked how the race looked in Key West. I replied I did not know who was running, except for a fellow by the name of Green. His TV ads were excellent.

Dorothy made me feel ashamed that I was not paying attention and did not know of her friend.

Let me share with you what I have learned about Gwen Graham.

She is way ahead in the polls. Burying her opponents. Her father is former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. A distinguished statesman of the old school. Knew how to negotiate with the opposition and was not afraid to do so.

Dorothy wrote, “Being a public servant is born in Gwen’s DNA.”

Gwen is an attorney, was a stay at home Mom for 13 years, a PTA president, a school administrator, and a one term Congresswoman.

I will be paying close attention to Gwen. The primary is August 28.

They say this is the Year of the Woman. Probably so. I for one would like to see all women elected to every post. Men have done enough damage.

I close with a recent Trump tweet.

California is being devastated with fires. Trump indicated that the fires were ongoing due to a shortage of water. He claimed water that could be used to fight fires was “foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean.”

No one understands the statement. Water supply has been sufficient. No one has complained of a lack of water causing the fires to spread, etc.

Many believe climate change is the cause of more severe and destructive fires. This has been the hottest summer across the U.S.

Perhaps Trump does not wish to acknowledge climate change. He has consistently been on the side of those who deny it.

Enjoy your day!