FRIENDS TODAY, ENEMIES YESTERDAY

Interesting how nations make war against each other, kill and maim by the thousands, and years later are the best of friends.

Germany and Japan examples.

Further back in history, Great Britain. We fought the Revolution and War of 1812 against the British.

During the War of 1812, the British did a terrible thing. They burned down the White House. On this date in 1814.

Most believe the burning destruction of the White House and other federal buildings was unnecessary. Normally, yes. However the circumstances were not normal. Earlier, U.S. forces had invaded Canada and burned down a number of important British buildings.

Called retribution.

Done, accompanied with an insult.

President James Madison was aware the British would successfully invade Washington. Easily. So easy that the British marched into Washington with no opposition.

Washington’s fate had been decided a day or two before. At the Battle of Bladensburg in Maryland. The U.S. was soundly defeated. Even President Madison fought on the front lines. The first and last commander in chief to actually do so as President.

Washington had to be abandoned. Dolly Madison almost did not make it. Some historians claim she insisted on waiting till a portrait of George Washington could safely be taken down and secured.

The insult did not merely consist of burning down the White House. It included top British generals dining in the White House the evening before.

Brit glory lasted only two days. On August 26, American forces attacked and the British left Washington running with their tails between their legs.

Lunch at 5 Guys yesterday. Craved a big juicy cholesterol filled cheeseburger.

Dinner with Donna in the evening. No Terri. Terri is in New Jersey visiting theater friends. She and Donna meet this weekend in Tampa. Terri begins heavy testing monday to determine if her body qualifies for total bone marrow replacement.

We dined at the bar at Antonia’s. It feels good after all these years to have returned.

TK bartending.

The three of us old timers as far as Key West is concerned. I have been visiting or owned for 26 years. TK and Donna longer. Our discussions centered on Key West. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Confederate statues got into the conversation. I spoke about Mallory Square. TK the Clinton Square statue.

Someone at the bar mentioned white slavery in the U.S. Never heard of it. Partly indentured servants. Most Irish brought over in huge numbers. Etc.

Did a little researching this morning. An interesting subject. I am going to devote my live video on Facebook this afternoon to the subject.

Whites suffered. Rooted from their families, beaten, killed. Not in comparable numbers to blacks. Suffered never the less.

Hurricane Andrew hit Homestead this date in 1992. Total devastation. Homestead wiped out.

I drove through Homestead three weeks later on my way to Key West. The elevated highway still standing. What I saw I would not have believed had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Andrew was a 5. Wiped everything out! Down to the ground! Only an occasional wall left standing.

Tears ran down my cheeks.

Tropical storm Harvey is moving towards Texas. Expected to hit land early saturday morning. Some concern. It is expected to hit as a hurricane. Possibly as high as a 3.

Key West has been buried in rain the past two days. More expected through a week from tomorrow. Could be a spill off from Harvey.

We have read frequently that the Trump’s are bankrupting the Secret Service. An agent’s salary is capped. There are 130 agents protecting the Trump family. Many agents have already exceeded the cap. They are not being paid for heavy overtime. Cannot be without House approval.

What I share, you already know. What you may not know is that many agents are complaining that Trump and family are not treating the agents properly. The agents claim they are being treated like servants.

Bocce season begins tonight. I doubt there will be play. The courts are already soaked. There will be more rain today.

Don will call to advise if the team is playing.

Have to hustle. Haircut time.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

SANCTIONS BOTH AVOID AND LEAD TO WAR

Sanctions are constantly in the news. One country does something another country disagrees with and sanctions come into play. Bank accounts seized, shipping prohibited, etc. Cause the offending country to suffer for its wrongdoing.

Sanctions are so prevalent these days that many have come to believe it is a way to avoid war.

I believe such is the case only because a war has not yet occurred.

History repeats itself. We tend to forget.

On this day in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt seized all Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for Japan’s occupation of French-Indo China. As was intended, the result hurt Japan deeply. Japan lost three quarters of its overseas trade and 88 percent of its imported oil.

War was inevitable. Japan could not tolerate the sanctions. Especially the loss of 88 percent of its imported oil. Japan had no oil except that which it imported. Japan’s industrial death was imminent.

Japan in effect said screw you to the U.S. The result Pearl Harbor a little more than four months later.

Two strange occurrences yesterday.

Three weeks ago, I filed a change of address with the Post Office. I am getting mail at my new address. Also, at my old address.

Went to the downtown Post Office to straighten the mater out. I was told by the clerk it could not be happening. I calmly explained again it was. No way, I was told.

It became a problem for the supervisor to deal with. No supervisor. He was somewhere else.

I have to return today.

Next stop was Walgreens. Bought a large container of Bayer Aspirin. Take a whole pill a day for my heart.

When I got home and opened the bottle, the foil seal was broken and completely open. When I return to Walgreens today for an exchange, will I be told it could not happen?

A change of pace podcast last night. Trump has been overwhelming my show as it has the media. There are other stories to be told. Decided to do a limited Trump comment and the rest of the show human events of the past few days world wide.

Because of yesterday happenings, I ended up with three Trump/political observations. However, I did finish with 8 non Trump stories.

I hope that those of you who listened to Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou enjoyed the change of pace.

Being the political animal I am, I want to briefly share with you the three political observations.

Jared Kushner’s testimony has been described by some in the examining rooms as truthful and forthcoming. I would not believe Kushner and his Trump in laws on a stack of Bibles. Liars one and all. It is the nature of the beast. The conclusion of the various investigations will substantiate they speak with forked tongues.

The Democrats came out with a Better Deal slogan yesterday. Sucks! My recommendation is that they hire a professional PR firm to provide a today slogan. Also, it is time for Pelosi and Schumer to go. It is a new day. Their time has passed. Voters world wide have shown in recent elections the desire for new and more youthful faces.

Finally, John McCain. A man I respect and admire. But yesterday he did not go far enough in his comments to the Senate.

McCain has cancer of the brain. Operations, doctors, medicines, etc. His medical bills will be high. Overwhelming if no insurance. He has insurance, however. Ergo, he has a chance to be cured, to survive.

What of the 32 million who will have no insurance if Obamacare is dumped? They will not have the chance to maybe have their lives saved.

It was McCain’s moment. He should have said, I have changed my mind. I stand with those who do not want to repeal, or repeal and replace. Lets fix Obamacare and move on.

He did not.

Historical paths cross.

William Faulkner lived a period of his life in Key West. As did Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway wrote To Have and To Hold. Faulkner went to Hollywood and wrote the screen script for To Have and To Hold. Both the novel and the movie were gigantic successes. Humphrey Bogart starred in the movie.

In the early 1860’s, a U.S. Navy vessel captured a slave ship. It delivered the 1,432 Africans aboard to Key West. Two hundred ninety-four died while here. The remaining Africans were sent to Libya.

The 294 who died were buried somewhere in Key West. No one certain as to the exact spot till several years ago.

The bodies were discovered buried on portions of Higgs Beach and nearby. A plaque has been placed on the beach noting their burial place. Each year, a service is held at the site in their honor.

Have to hustle. A heart test scheduled for 1.

Enjoy your day!

WHAT’S A LITTLE GLOBAL WARMING?

The block of iceberg that has been threatening to split from its much larger piece for years has finally done so. In the Antarctic.

Six thousand square kilometers. I tried to transfer the number into miles. I could not, even after googling the problem. The best description as to size is that it is half the size of Wales.

The block took 10 years to finally split off.

The immediate concern is that the iceberg will float into the North Atlantic and become a hazard to shipping. Long term,  contributing to rising ocean levels as it melts.

Worked on my podcast yesterday afternoon. Fine tuned it for presentation last night on Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Two particularly interesting topics concerned the Trump family and Somali-Sudan immigration into Europe.

Lying seems to run in the Trump family. Sad. The fruit does not fall far from the tree. The children grew up in their father’s shadow. They learned from him. Many things learned not nice.

We have seen the disaster which arose from Syrians fleeing their country. Hordes of immigrants. Europe overwhelmed.

It’s coming again. This time from Africa. Somali and Sudan. Projected it will be in the millions over the next five years. Many more persons than escaped Syria. War, famine, etc. the reasons.

Snuck out for a quick dinner at Hogfish before the show. Enjoyed pieces of battered fried fish.

Hogfish quiet. Off season obvious. Bar only half full.

Drinking water from the sea. A dream of man for years. Came to fruition in a small way this date in 1966 in the Keys. On Stock Island. Construction began. A desalinization plant. Perhaps the largest in the world at the time.

The plant was dedicated in 1967. A big deal. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended.

The plant converted seawater to fresh water. 2.62 million gallons per day. The plant was considered a marvel of technology. Now under supervision of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, the plant is being expanded to produce 4 million gallons a day.

I do not like war profiteers nor do I like private armies. The United States has been engaged with both for years.

The privatizing of a portion of our wars began in big style under Bush 2. He did not want the citizens of the U.S. seeing large numbers of death bags nor did he want the people of the U.S. to know the true number of war dead and wounded.

Privateers are a world unto themselves. They hire, pay and train those willing to serve. To fight and die, to provide peripheral services.

Obama used privatized servicemen also.

Trump may. Probably will.

It was announced July 10 that Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner had met with the CEO’s of Blackwater and DynCorp International. The largest private army owners in the world. To discuss hiring the companies to aid U.S. in war planning.

“War planning” bothered me. What are our generals for?

These companies make money by contracting out personnel to fight. No wars, no profit. No need for the private contractors.

Trump’s concern is the Afghanistan War now in its 16th year. Trump has been indicating an increase in troops is required.

Since Trump wants to privatize everything, it is not surprising he had Bannon and Kushner sit down with these guys.

Not healthy. Not a money saver. Does not provide for direct U.S. supervision. It is like operating in a black hole. No one knows what is going on, except for the war profiteers themselves.

Enjoy your day!