INSANITY AND INCOMPETENCE

It cannot be left unsaid. The situation worsens by day. Trump is insane and incompetent.

The brown shirts marched saturday in Charlottesville. Accompanied by those who believe white people are better than others. Accompanied by those who once covered their bodies and faces in white sheets.

All haters.

Bannon came out of the woodwork. Spoke at length about his beliefs. A revolutionary at heart. Seeking the overthrow of existing government.

Bannon Trump’s Rasputin.

Is a Reichstag next? The White House or Capitol? If so, all that will remain will be the concentration camps.

America stand up!

Impeachment will come. The grounds set forth in Article II section 4 of the Constitution: “…..impeachment for…..Treason, Bribery, and other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Stopped at Don’s Place first last night. Jimmy and John at the bar. Deep sorrow. Joanie not doing well. Hospice has been called in.

Then to the Chart Room.

John bartending. English Peter at the bar. Jean Thornton and Erika Biddle stopped in.

The last time I saw Erika Biddle was at Publix. I wrote about her at the time. Went back and discovered it was April 27, 2015.

At the time, a lovely blond woman came over and said, “You’re Louis Petrone.” She was familiar with my KONK Life writings and radio show. She wanted to tell me.

When she told me she was Erika Biddle, I was ashamed. I should have been searching her out. One of my Key West idols.

Last night was the second time we met.

Erika German born. A community activist where ever she has lived. An environmentalist at heart.

She arrived in Key West in 1994. Her first thought was: “This is the only city I’ve ever visited where I am not the most eccentric person around.” She remains to this day. An intrinsic part of the community. All heart.

Erika takes up causes that others might not. Unpopular ones included. This tiny woman carries the pain of others on her shoulders.

I hope I do not have to wait two more years before visiting with her again.

I was hungry. Stopped at Outback for prime rib. Ran into Doc and his wife.

I have known Doc some 20 years. Used to play golf with him. Only know him as Doc. A retired surgeon from Philadelphia.

We chatted a bit. I rarely run into people older than me. Mentioned I was 82. They shocked me! He 83 and she 85. Both appear in their mind 60’s.

A fun conversation ensued.

Dinner tonight at Berlin’s with Jenna. For sure. She just confirmed.

Enjoy your day!

THIS COUNTRY DOES NOT PUNISH ITS POLITICAL ENEMIES

I am not a fan of Attorney general Jeff Sessions. My prior writings and talk shows clearly evidence my feelings.

However, I give him credit for his present stand against Trump. Especially where Trump complains that Sessions has failed to prosecute Hillary Clinton for purported wrong doings.

Sessions has been firm from day one that he would not pursue Clinton. During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Sessions stated re a Hillary Clinton prosecution: “This country does not punish its political enemies.”

Third world countries jail political enemies. We are above such conduct. Though Trump keeps trying to pull us into that swamp.

Mini lobster season began yesterday. It ends today.

The weather was horrible yesterday. Two extremely heavy rainstorms.

Two sad occurrences. A man died off Bahia Honda State Park. A 16 year old girl lost a finger while getting out of a boat.

I started my yesterday with a visit to Dr. McIvor, my heart doctor. A test scheduled. One test lead to a second and different one. I get the results monday.

The Chart Room first last night. Dead! Never have seen it so quiet. Chatted with Shawn and a lady customer. She waits tables at Island Dog. Business slow for her also yesterday. She and Shawn were lamenting how little they made or were making in tips yesterday.

Then to Tavern ‘n Town for dinner.

Quiet, also.

Rob entertaining.

Met Chris and Marty. Married. Dogs, no children. Both have lived in Key West for years. Both soft ware engineers.

We talked about everything. From high rental prices to difficult tourists to the Bubba system to the New York Finger Lakes. They love upstate New York’s Finger Lakes and have visited several times.

Rick Perry is in Trump’s Cabinet. He is Secretary of Energy. Formerly, Governor of Texas. He has a charming personality, appears intelligent.

He got “punked.” Means someone fooled/deceived him in a telephone call.

What follows raises the question as to how much vetting does the Trump administration do.

Perry took a telephone call from a person he assumed was the Prime Minister of the Ukraine. Petro Poroshenko. They had met a month before. They discussed increasing American coal exports to the Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, helping the Ukraine develop oil and gas deposits, and the Paris Climate Accord.

A 22 minute telephone conversation.

It was not the Ukraine Prime Minister. It was a comedian. Two, actually. Vladimir Krasnoo and Alexei Stolyarov. Known professionally as the Jerky Boys of Russia.

Again, where the hell was the vetting? How does something like this happen? Is nothing sacred in government today?

Impeachment is in the air. Lightly. Not heavy yet.

On this day in 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended President Richard Nixon be impeached.

USA Today ran an interesting article on male sperm yesterday. The quantity and quality has been down 1.6 percent a year since 1973. A drop of 59.3 percent.

Not a U.S. problem alone. Similar numbers in the rest of North America, Europe and Australia.

The decline attributed to several causes. Women smoking during pregnancy could affect a son’s fertility years later, male obesity, pesticides, and stress.

Two things scheduled for noon time. A haircut with Lori. The car gets washed.

The car has not been washed in months. The outside looks clean because of the frequent rains. The inside looks like I have been sleeping in the car.

Enjoy your day!

 

LOUIE, LOUIE

Louie, Louie is a famous tune in the world of music. An American rhythm and blues song. Today recognized as a pop rock standard.

First recorded as a Jamaican ballad in 1956. Its lyrics written on toilet paper.

Louie, Louie was the back side B side of the first recording. The flip A side was You Are My Sunshine.

To this day, I have never heard nor was aware of Louie, Louie. I was aware and knew well the lyrics of  You Are My Sunshine. Sang it often over the years at parties, etc.

I came across a note this morning that on this day in 1965, the FBI concluded a two year investigation of the song.  The purpose: To determine if Louie, Louie’s words were pornographic. Dirty. Someone had complained.

Research indicates the words were difficult to understand. The FBI was asked to make a determination as to its pornographic quality.

The FBI Lab found the song’s words to be totally non-understandable. The FBI conclusion stated Louie, Louie’s words were “unintelligible at any speed.”

Louie, Louie is recognized as one of the most covered songs in rock and roll history.

My blog talk radio show last night. Half of it devoted to Trump. Difficult not to.

I thought things changed daily with him. New items popped up each day concerning him. My thoughts have changed. Trump moves fast. There is something new or a new position by him it seems every hour.

As a result, I never got into the Comey memorandum last night. I stopped listening to the news around 4. Had to. Otherwise, my topics, notes and flow for the show keep changing. I can only redo so many times.

In spite of my shutting down such research early, I still spent the first 15 minutes of the show discussing Trump. He has sinned in other regards.

The cry for impeachment is on many lips. My advise: Slow down! Comey’s memo and the facts surrounding it may not be enough. Give the President a couple more weeks. He will bury himself further. Then will be the time to zero in on impeachment, assuming solid grounds exist.

Ernest Hemingway. USA Today reported a new biography. Ernest Hemingway by Mary V. Dearborn. The first full fledged biography of Hemingway in 15 years.

Some suggest more books have been written about Hemingway than any other person in history. Whether a valid statement, I do not know.

The book spends a bit of time examining Hemingway’s sexual interests. One being gender switching. If true, it may answer the question as to why Hemingway had a special attraction to bi and lesbian women.

A return to American crocodiles.

Cleatus is an American crocodile. Cleatus has spent the last 14 years in the Dry Tortugas swimming in near shore waters at Fort Jefferson. Named Cleatus by National Park employees.

Since January, Cleatus has been moving inland. Closer to shore. In the area utilized by humans for swimming. He has interacted with visitors. Some even fed him.

A disaster in the making. Cleatus had to go.

Last sunday, officials captured Cleatus and delivered him to West Lake in the Southern Everglades.

I hope Cleatus will have no difficulty in adapting to his new home.

Enjoy your day!