How women’s rights were viewed 100 years ago. An editorial in the Key West Citizen this day in 1918. Note an “editorial.” Took on more importance back then: “When the women take over the county offices, the cuspidors will go out of the courthouses. With a woman judge on the bench, the lawyers will have to quit smoking. And with women councilmen we may expect ordinances making it a misdemeanor to wear a dirty shirt or come downtown unshaven. There is considerably more to this woman suffrage question beyond what appears on the surface.”

The editorial was born of fear and ignorance. Nothing really changed as women’s rights were recognized.

Matthew 11:29: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I started driving in 1953. One gallon of unleaded gas cost $ .28. Those were the days!

I recall being on a date with a girl friend. Looked like we were going to run out of gas. All we had was some change between us. Totaled $ .25. Not enough for even one gallon. Even got our windows washed for the money. Bought us enough gas to drive to our favorite parking spot. Necking time. Dating back then.

The new Florida cross-state Brightline train service opened from Miami to Orlando friday. The Miami/West Palm Beach portion had opened in 2018. Tampa to Orlando still in the planning stage.

Basically, a high speed local. Took a while to complete construction. Tampa/Orlando will make it almost perfect. Hopefully at some point in time, Brightline will be extended to Tallahassee.

Sophia Loren is 89. Still going strong. Typical of 80 year olds (as I well know), she fell in her home in Switzerland yesterday morning and fractured her hip and thigh bone. She underwent surgery in the afternoon. Everything is reported to have gone well.

Sabrina Peckham, the women found in the jaws of an alligator, was a homeless person. It has been reported she was walking back to her homeless site in the dark when the attack occurred. The path took her along a canal in Largo, Florida.

Doug Bennett publishes “This Week on the Island.” I recommend reading it.

A favorite Bennett admonition re Key West: “Close to Perfect, Far from Normal.”

Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter are beyond amazing!

The former Presidnet will be 99 in one week. He was diagnosed close to death several months ago. Placed in Hospice in February. Wife Rosalyn was diagnosed with dementia in May.

Yesterday, both made an appearance at the Plains Peanut Festival in their hometown. They rode through the Festival in a black SUV.

The couple has been married 77 years.

Will the gun war ever be won?

California banned magazines holding over 10 rounds. A federal court judge declared the law unconstitutional writing: “The state’s ‘sweeping ban’ of the detachable magazines – something referred to as high capacity magazines – violates the Second Amendment rights of firearms owners because it bars people from using such magazines for lawful reasons, including self-defense.”

Who needs a 10 plus round magazine for self-defense?

What about killing school children , religious worshipers, and the like?

What is needed is a judge with “balls” to do the right thing!

Army’s defensive tackle Andre Miller is out of the hospital and back at West Point after a scary collision saturday during play. I reported on the collision of helmets in yesterday’s blog.

An amazing and dramatic move. On this day in 1926, Henry Ford announced an 8 hour, 5 day work week for workers at the Ford Motor Company.

Christopher Reeves was born this day in 1952. Best known for his portrayal of Superman in movies.

I saw a rerun of his on TV the other night: Somewhere In Time. One of my all time favorite Reeves’ films. A sensitive love story.

I met the star and his wife Dana at a fund raising function in Utica. This was after his horse fall which left him a quadriplegic. We chatted briefly. It was sad to see this handsome hulk of a man confined to a wheel chair with no body movement possible, yet able to communicate a bit.

There will be no blog tomorrow. I have a heart doctor office visit in the morning and a manicure and pedicure with Tammy in the afternoon.

Enjoy your day!

Alligators are in the news this year. Deathly so.

Forty one year old Sabrina Peckham’s body was found in the jaws of a 13 foot alligator in waters off Largo, Florida. Her body was recovered.

No further details are available.

Key West weather. Heavy rainfall and thunder during the night. Lightening flashing through the blinds. Rain continues to pour as I write. Thunderstorms predicted to end around 9 am.

Usual Key West streets are probably flooded this morning.

Thunderstorms are predicted everyday for the next week.

This day in 1789, the first Supreme Court was established  by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Six justices to serve till death or retirement.

Since that time, the number of justices has fluctuated. Such possible because the original number of six was set by an act of Congress.

Ergo, it is legally proper to change the number again. If adverse conservative decisions continue which are contrary to the will of the people, I am all for increasing the number to eliminate the problem.

Mahatma Gandhi: “All through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fail. Think of it – always.”

The Associated Press reported this morning Speaker McCarthy is giving hard right Republicans what they want, but it never seems to be enough. The MAGA far right has but one goal. To disrupt life for millions of Americans by hurling the country into a shutdown.

Then, what?

Hospital malpractice more than tripled over 3 years in Maryland hospitals. The years 2019-2022. Staffing shortages and the pandemic blamed. 

Examples of missteps included a premature baby being given four times the safe daily dosage of a steroid for 13 days, a patient being operated on one leg who ended up losing his good leg, and 3 people who died after a maintenance worker inadvertently shut off an unlabeled oxygen line.

I believe the numbers would be roughly the same if hospital wrongdoing in other states were revealed. I also believe there is another reason for the increase in malpractice. Most hospitals are owned and run by outside corporations who are more concerned with number of patients treated, number of tests given, and speed at which patients are tested.

Forced speed care ends up in mistakes being made. Can’t be helped. A fact of life. Latitude in care is required to avoid such happenings. Means the “outside corporation” making a few million less a year.

Syracuse/Army one of the oddest football games I have watched. A terrific game. Different, however.

Syracuse won 29-16. I did not think it would end that way at the end of the first half, however.

Army was leading 10-7. Army had dominated the first. Syracuse could do nothing correctly. Schrader didn’t have it.

Army scored the first time it had the ball. Impressively. Mostly on runs. Army’s offensive line was like a stone wall. Moved forward on each play protecting the runner. Syracuse totally inept. Could not stop Army.

Army also plays some strange football. Rather than kick on 4th down, it would run a play. Made 3 or 4 4th down plays in the first half. Wow!

I sat thinking at half time no way was Syracuse going to win.

The second half was totally different. As Army had dominated the first half, Syracuse dominated the second. Even more so. In the third quarter alone, Syracuse gained 222 yards while the Syracuse defense held Army to 4 yards. The improbable had occurred. Syracuse had come alive. Schrader’s throwing arm and running legs began working. Receivers catching.

What a game!

Clemson next Saturday. Will also be “what a game!”

Army’s defensive lineman Dre Miller was injured during the game. He and another Army tackler struck helmets while making a tackle.

The game was delayed quite a while. Miller’s injury serious. Total silence in the Dome.  Fear and concern evident.

Eventually even both teams surrounded the many giving care to Miller as he lay unmoving on the ground. He was finally removed from the field on a stretcher. The fear of paralysis though unspoken was evident.

Report this morning is Miller has feeling in his extremities. Let’s pray he fully recovers with no permanent disability.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Enjoyed lunch at Hogfish thursday after Lori cut my hair. An opportunity to chat with Julia again who was bartending.

The day was sort of double duty. Twenty five years ago when Lori started cutting my hair, it was at the Casa Marina Salon. Julia worked there also. Doing nails as I recall. Now I get to see both ladies on certain thursdays. Lori does my hair and Julia feeds me.

Lunch was unusual. I went for fish and chips. Changed my mind when I saw on the special menu lasagna! No way at Hogfish. But, there it was.

I ordered it. The size way too large. Took more than half home. Enjoyed pat of it for dinner last night. Like many foods, even better when reheated and eaten the second time around. What a meal!

The House has very few days left to avoid a government shutdown.

So why did Speaker McCarthy send the House home ? Gave them 4 days off.

Disaster in the making. House MAGA Republicans and their behind the scenes leader Donald Trump should be proud they are driving the Nation to a disaster. They may celebrate their success next week. They will fail in many respects come November 2024.

Senator Bob Menendez is going to have a hard time beating the new charges filed against him. Just under $500,000 in cash found stuffed in jacket pockets in his closet openly and in envelopes.. Gold bars in other places. Plus a new Mercedes and an apartment, both of which he did not pay for.

He’s in trouble!

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has not looked good on TV the past few days. I fear for him.

It was announced Biden will be in Michigan tuesday and will walk in the picket line with UAW strikers.

Cassidy Hutchinson says Trump is “dangerous for the country.” She should know, she worked in the White House.

Zelensky is a man under extreme pressure. He has been so since day one of the war.

He stepped on Poland in his UN speech this past week. Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecui took Zelensky’s words to heart. He said afterwards: “I want to tell Presidnet Zelensky never to insult Poland again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN.”

Poland has been a major supporter of Ukraine in many respects. Morawiecui  said Warsaw would no longer arm Ukraines and instead focus on its own defenses.

It is thought the problem will resolve itself within a month.

A sick horrific tale. A woman was sentenced for murdering her 3 year old stepdaughter because the girl was conceived from an affair her husband had.

Bella Seachrist died died due to starvation and neglect. Investigators reported Bella also had bruises on her face and body, a broken nose, burnt cigarette marks on her body, sores on her feet, sores on her back, and bruises in her pelvic area.

The stepmother Laura Ramirez was sentenced to life in prison. Death would have been better. Death slowly and painfully. She should have been made to suffer as her stepdaughter did.

Sounds cruel on my part. Nevertheless, fitting.

Ray Charles: “You better live every day like your last because one day you’re going to be right.”

Clarence Thomas’ ethics violations never ending. Now revealed he participated in at least two Koch donor events. Some participants had multiple cases before the Supreme Court.

Thomas became over the years a tool of the rich. The man had no shame.

United Way puts out a report titled ALICE Survival Budget. Its newest report shows Monroe County continuing to be one of the most difficult and expensive places to live in Florida, if not the country. Makes clear why people of all ages are finding it necessary to leave.

Syracuse/Army at noon today on ESPN.

Enjoy your day!

The Lower Keys Medical Center is a money maker. Typical of many hospitals today, it is owned by an outside corporation Community Health Systems of Brentwood, Tennessee.

Lower Keys Medical Center sent $31 million in profit to its owner for 2022. Terrific for Community Health Systems, no value to Key West. The Key Werst area does not have enough doctors, no cancer center, or a top shelf cardiac care center. Brentwood should do something with a piece of the $31 million to correct these shortcomings.

The Lower Keys are not a place to need ongoing cancer treatments or needful attention re heart care. I have a special concern. I have a heart problem. I have required care for 20 years. At my age, the problem is suddenly progressing. In the past two years, I have had 3 heart doctors. One died after 20 years, the second retired and I just learned this morning my third is leaving Key West. Most of my heart care has been from nurse practitioners the past two years. Definitely the past year. 

My understanding is Key West has only 3 heart physicians left.

There is another medical disparity. Primary care physicians. They are the first line of medical attention. More are needed.

Key West is a paradise. However even doctors cannot afford to live here and that is a reason why many leave or do not want to locate here. Increased living expense is also a reason why many locals are opting to move away. And to the elderly especially, lack of sufficient medical care.

The medical assistance problem is only getting worse. I don’t know the answer. I can only suggest one may be for Community Health Systems to spend a portion of that $31 million profit to attract and keep the medical care the community needs.

Possible court consolidation is being responded to in volumes by Monroe County residents. Persons directly and adversely affected by the proposed change.

The people of Monroe County are speaking. A public survey resulted in 2,087 responses. Of that number, 1,490 or 71 percent came from Monroe County residents.

Hooray for us!

Monroe County must keep up the pressure. This is one battle Tallahassee cannot be permitted to win.

Retired Monroe County Judge Defoor said it effectively: “Delivery to justice closest to the people is more just, and more respected by all concerned, and suspect more economical with less waste. We should be looking at the idea of more, not fewer circuits.”

Yesterday, I wrote about the number of yellow fever cases, new and total, in Key West on September 21, 1899. Part of my today COVID the yellow fever of the 1890’s.

Today, one day later, the number of new yellow fever cases for September 22, 1899, was up 47. Two resulting in death.

Locals so concerned with the epidemic instituted a “shotgun quarantine” against all Key Westers by patrolling and placing signs on the water’s edge warning sponge boats and other Key West vessels not to land.

For years up to and including World War II, the U.S. Navy had what might be described as an abnormal interest in the “moral condition” of Key West. The need to protect its sailors “abnormal.”

In 1917, the U.S. Navy reported the moral condition of Key West had improved. Though gambling and illegal liquor sales had not been fully eradicated, Key West was given “an almost clean bill of health.”

Wonder what the U.S. Navy’s concern was with the Key West of the 1970’s?

Three to four inches of rain fell yesterday morning. It was intense. Flooded many Old Town streets. I had to change course several times on my way to a haircut with Lori.

Learned by me and other American students early in grammar school. Nathan Hale’s words at the age of 21 when he was hung as a spy by the British during the Revolutionary War: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

With so many changes in what is taught in schools today, is it still part of the teaching curriculum? Has anyone seen fit to ban his words in teaching or library books?

My inquiry not so crazy in view of the many changes being sought and made.

Zelensky has a problem with funding. Yesterday Poland, next week perhaps the U.S.

Why so many crazies re the issue? If Ukraine falls, expect Putin to invade Poland in the next 5 years and China Taiwan whenever.

Why can’t House politicians leave well enough alone? Biden did a great job bringing the U.S. and Europe together on the issue.

Rome was not built in a day nor can the Ukraine/Russia war be resolved in 1 or 2 years. Especially when Zelensky is forced to fight with one arm tied behind his back. He needs planes yesterday and approval to attack Russia more than he has been permitted. The Russian people will force Putin to end the war if they suffer a few months of death, injuries and damages as the Ukraines have.

“If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.” Zelensky’s words yesterday following a meeting with certain Congressional members.

Tomorrow Syracuse/Army football. Syracuse 3-0, Army 2-1. Syracuse a 13.5 point favorite.

Enjoy your day!

Some Jimmy Buffett recollections. Taken from Key West On The Edge by Robert Kerstein.

In 1980, Buffett recalled his early days in Key West: “I was fast footloose and fancy free and going crazy. We didn’t have much money and didn’t know about cocaine so we stayed drunk a whole lot. Key West was the most wonderful place I’d ever seen in my life. That’s why I wrote about it, and that is the way I still feel about it.”

“Living in Key West in the early seventies was not like being in America…..You could not live in Key West without being exposed to Cuban culture.”

Besides Cuban culture, Buffett celebrated other elements of Key West’s mix as well, including “the wonders of musicians, Conchs, rowdy shrimpers, and drug smugglers.”

Buffett was glad the gay community benefited from the fact that the “Puritans had never made it this far south.”

Buffett’s hangouts in the Key West of the 1970’s: The Old Anchor Inn on Duval street, the Chart Room in the Pier House, Louie’s Backyard which was located behind his house on Waddell Street, and the Full Moon Saloon on United Street.”

The move to rename the Key West Airport to the Jimmy Buffett International Airport is gaining steam. A petition to that effect is being circulated. Public sentiment supports the move.

Cassidy Hutchinson’s new book “Enough” has many interesting revelations. Two especially stand out.

One where she claims Giuliani “groped her” while they were standing backstage as Trump was talking to the crowd on January 6. His hand up her skirt.

The other, the “real reason” why Trump would not wear a mask during COVID. It ruined his bronze make up. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland was treated abusively by Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday for 5 hours. He held his own and forcefully rebuked the Congressional Republicans.

The Republicans acted as expected. Like bullies. Their heads up their asses. They did not embarrass Garland, they embarrassed themselves. 

Issues were rarely discussed. “Alleged wrongdoing” by Garland, the DOJ and FBI the Republican issues. 

The longer House Republicans keep this conduct up, the more they will guarantee a sweeping Democratic victory in 2024. The people, regardless of party, are increasing in their dislike for the type governing Congressional Republicans are guilty of.

Senator Tommy Tuberville’s door preventing the approval of 301 military promotions opened “slightly” yesterday. Three top positions are in the process of being approved. Will take several days to accomplish.

Three out of three hundred one. Big deal! Better than nothing. However, not enough. My attitude re Tuberville: Throw the bum out!

Key West’s COVID of the 1890’s was yellow fever. On this day in 1899, 45 new cases were reported bringing the total to 438.

How many remember TV’s “Perry Mason” which starred Raymond Burr? It premiered on CBS this day in 1957.

Citizens’ Voice this morning: “Keep our courts the way they are. Period. End of story.”

Yesterday’s marijuana is today’s fentanyl and cocaine. An example is former Hallandale Mayor John Steele who was arrested in 1974 in Key Largo for possessing $1.5 million worth of marijuana smuggled from Jamaica.

Will there be a government shutdown? Only 9 days left. How stupid a shutdown would be. Five House members can force the shutdown. In the Senate, one Senator can block 301 promotions. What happened to government by a majority?

Trump does the implausible again. Yesterday, he used his social media account to order the House of Representatives to shut down the government. So far, House Republicans appear to be complying. 

Trump’s post included: “Republicans can and must defund all aspects” of the government.

Amazing how House Republicans continue to dance to Trump’s tune. When Trump says jump, they ask, “How high?” When Trump says overthrow American democracy, they say, “Name the date and time.”

Cripple the economy, destroy the lives of millions of Americans, throw the country into chaos, House Republicans say, “Yes, Dear Leader.”

I worry so many Americans still believe in and support Trump.

Have to hustle. Haircut time with Lori at noon. Missed last week. Forgot.

Enjoy your day!

The President the doctors killed was James Garfield. He was shot July 2, 1881. Died 2 1/2 months later. Yesterday September 19, 2023 was the 142nd anniversary of his death. 

Had the shooting occurred today, Garfield would not have died. Medical science is too far advanced. The bullet would have been located and removed the day of the shooting. Another difference is the assailant Charles Guiteau would not have been executed for murder nor would he have been incarcerated in a jail. He was a nut plain and simple. He would have ended up in a mental institution for most or or the balance of his life.

I have republished this blog four times. I found the facts interesting. The blog following was titled The Doctors Killed The President and was published 5 years ago on July 3, 2018. I trust you will find the fact pattern as interesting as I did.

THE DOCTORS KILLED THE PRESIDENT

It was July 2, 1881. James Garfield had been President of the United States less than four months. In the early morning, the President arrived at the Washington, D.C. railroad terminal with his two sons. They were going to Massachusetts.

There was no Secret Service yet for Presidential protection. Although Lincoln had been assassinated sixteen years earlier.

Charles Guiteau was waiting in the shadows for the President. He had a gun. He had purchased it with $15 borrowed money. His intention to kill the President. He shot the President two times. The first bullet creased his arm. The second bullet entered his back where it became lodged behind his pancreas. No vital organs were hit.

Within minutes, twelve doctors appeared at the scene. The President was lying on the floor of the railroad station. The doctors with dirty hands and instruments were probing for the bullet. The floor of the railroad station filthy.

American doctors at the time did not believe germs existed. Dirty hands, instruments and places were of no concern.

The President was taken to the White House and placed in his bed. A Dr. D. Willard Bliss assumed authority for the President’s care. He was not the President’s physician formally or otherwise.

Bliss happen chanced to be at the station at the time Garfield was shot. He was the first to rush over to care for him and somehow became the President’s primary physician from that moment forward.

Bliss dominated the President’s medical attention till his death. Other doctors were called in by Bliss for assistance.

Bliss was arrogant and ambitious. He enjoyed being referred to as the President’s doctor during the time of the tragedy.

The President died September 9, 1981. Ninety one days elapsed from being wounded to dying.

Alexander Graham Bell was famous at the time. He was not a physician. Bell was famous for having invented the telephone five years earlier. Bliss counseled with Bell. Could Bell help in locating the bullet? The bullet could not be found. In fact, it was never found till after the President’s death.

Bell worked hastily. There was no x-ray at the time. He developed a metal detector. Also referred to as an induction balance. Its purpose to identify the area of the bullet in the President’s back.

Bell first tested the metal detector on veterans. Civil War veterans who were walking around some twenty odd years after the war with bullets still lodged in their bodies. The metal detector was successful in every instance.

It did not work on the President, however. To the dismay of Bell. The reasons two fold.

The President’s bed had a metal spring mattress. One which set beneath the regular mattress. Also known as bed springs. Metal spring mattresses were relatively new. I am assuming the metal spring mattress was a gift to the President. There were no sales per se of them till two years later.

The reason Bell’s metal detector did not work was because of the metal spring mattress. The metal spring mattress diverted the charge resulting in static. It identified nothing.

Bell and Bliss were not aware that the metal spring mattress was the cause.

A second reason was that Bliss was convinced the bullet was on the President’s right side where it had entered. He limited Bell’s use of the metal detector to the right side. Bell wanted to use it across the President’s back. Bliss said no.

An autopsy following the President’s death revealed the bullet was on the left side. It is assumed it was moved there by the fingers of doctors at some time during one of the probing finger examinations.

The President lay in bed a little more than two months. His condition deteriorated rapidly.

Washington was typically hot during this time. Air conditioning not yet invented. A Simon Newcomb designed a system to hopefully cool the President’s bedroom. Tons of ice in the cellar. Replenished daily. Tubes from the cellar to the President’s bedroom. Fans blowing air over the ice which carried cool air to the President’s bedroom. It helped, but not much.

The summer heat was so intense that the President was removed to the Jersey shore in early September. He died there September 19, 1881.

Doctors with dirty hands and instruments constantly probing contributed greatly to the President’s death. The dirty floor at the railroad station, also. Bliss’ arrogance in preventing Bell from using the detector on the President’s left side another factor.

Doctors in subsequent years have been of the opinion the President would have survived if the bullet had just been left alone.

The President suffered greatly. He developed blood poisoning and infection. His body was full of infection. Body pus. Described also as abscesses. The technical term uncontrolled septicemia. The President also starved to death. He could not keep food down. His weight dropped from 210 to 130 pounds. On top of which during one of the probings, a doctor punctured the President’s liver.

Guiteau was tried for murdering the President. He was convicted and hanged. His defense…..I did not kill the President, the doctors did. Though there was truth to his statement, Guiteau was legally guilty because he had initiated the situation by shooting the President.

Guiteau’s background and reason for killing the President play into the scenario.

The United States was still into the spoils system. There was no civil service system. Upon election, a President was bombarded with persons coming to Washington seeking a job. The President would see most. Reportedly, one hundred a day. Guiteau was one of them.

Guiteau met the President once. In the President’s office. He did not campaign for him. However, he did write a piece which he had printed and distributed. About two hundred copies. Guiteau believed this entitled him to an ambassadorship to either Austria or France.

He continued to visit the President’s outer offices and those of influential people in Washington. He was not held in esteem. Considered a nut. He was without money. He stopped shaving. His clothes became tattered. He looked dirty. Finally, he was barred from the White House and other government offices.

It was at this time Guiteau claimed God spoke to him. He claimed divine inspiration. God wanted him to kill the President.

He took certain steps prior to the shooting. He wrote to General of the U.S. Army William Tecumseh Sheraton asking for protection from the mob which would be upon him after he killed the President. No one paid any attention to the letter. He wrote the Warden of the District of Columbia jail asking permission to view the cell where he would be incarcerated. No attention paid to this letter, either.

Guiteau’s trial was a joke. Caused by Guiteau alone. He repeatedly told the court he was merely God’s instrument. He sang John Brown’s Body. Dictated a lengthy letter to the New York Herald. His autobiography. At the end, he wrote a personal ad seeking a nice Christian lady under thirty.

He constantly insulted his defense team which was lead by his brother in law. Much of his testimony was in poem format. He frequently would turn around and seek legal advice from spectators.

His execution a show in itself. Guiteau danced his way up the gallow steps, waved to the audience when on the scaffold, shook hands with the executioner, and recited a poem he had written for the occasion…..I Am Going to the Goody.

The President was 49 at the time of his death. He was a young man well thought of. The feeling was the country was going to do great things under his leadership. Much akin to President John Kennedy. Unfortunately, neither was given enough time.

Notice Guiteau’s actions as they relate to today’s shootings. A gun easy to acquire. The killer a mental case.

Nothing seems to have changed.

Enjoy your day!

We are all familiar with “dog doors.” Many  homes have one on a door. What about cats? Do “cat doors” exist?

Yes. For real. Generally a large round opening. Referred to as a “cat flap.”

One of the first cat doors was on the door of the Exter Cathedral in Devon County, England. The round cat door dates back to 1598. The bishop wanted a cat hole carved in the door in a size comparable to that which would accept a large astronomical clock.

Clock gears were lubricated with animal fat. The fat attracted mice. The outer perimeter of the opening was covered in animal fat. The new cat door permitted the cathedral’s cat to serve as pest control.

The clock/cat opening has special cultural significance in England. Some believe it to have been the inspiration behind the nursery rhyme “Hickory Dickory Dock.” Recall “Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock” from your childhood.

Amazing how DeSantis keeps running after Trump. He wants to out Trump Trump. He may. He’s racing Trump to the bottom of the trash heap.

On this day in 1881, President James A. Garfield died two and a half months after being shot by Charles Guiteau. Tomorrow’s blog will be dedicated to the medical attention President Garfield received during those two and a half months and the murder trial of Guiteau for having shot the President.

New COVID levels are so high they’re hovering near 2020’s initial peak. WHO urges those at high risk to take any booster they can get their hands on.

James Carville says poll numbers indicate Democrats should pay attention to the purported Biden age problem.

Carville confuses me. What is a good Democrat doing fueling a major Republican theory? What Carville did is something he should have done in the privacy of a one on one meeting with Biden. Not in front of the world!

There is a dramatic shrinking in the number of primary care physicians. The tipping point is being reached. May already have been reached.

Internal medicine and primary care practice are no longer appealing to doctors or medical students deciding on a specialty. The reason is economic. Such specialties cannot pay their bills on the Medicare fees allowed. So they retire or move on to some other phase of medicine.

A major problem!

India’s Modi is behaving like Putin or a Saudi leader if Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau is correct that agents of India assassinated a Sikh leader in June.

Modi wants to be a “world leader.” Both democratic and authoritarian  nations have been sucking up to him. The U.S. included.

The U.S. must be cautious. Do we want to go to sleep with a dog who has fleas?

An excellent Opinion piece in today’s New York Times. I suggest reading. Its title: The Idea That Biden Should Just Give Up Political Power Is Preposterous.

Enjoy your day!

Key West and gayness. It ain’t what it used to be!

An article re Key West and gayness appeared in the 9/17 publication of Queerty…..Get Into The Groove: Key West Reigns Supreme. In Carefree Gayness.

First time I came across the publication Queerty. Founded in 2005. The site now has more than 5 million monthly visitors.

The article suggests Key West still the optimum Florida gay community. Something I have disagreed with for years and written there so. Thirty years ago when I began frequenting Key West, it was “pure gayness.” The certainty of change has overcome it. As has the expense of living and playing here. The gays have moved north in droves to Miami and Fort Lauderdale where the living, etc. is significantly cheaper.

Key West is still gay. However, nowhere to the extent it once was.

The Citizens’ Voice: “I went into the women’s rest room in Bayview Park. There was a naked man in there. I left and went into the men’s rest room. There was a homeless guy sleeping next to it. Our parks are unsafe and not taken care of, but our Commissioners think they’re awesome.”

Another Citizens’ Voice: “The Monroe County BOCC should be cutting the TDC budget, and not increasing it. We do not need more tourists. Enough is enough.”

The COVID of 1899…..Yellow fever.

On this day in 1899, there were 15 new cases of yellow fever in Key West, bringing the total  in the outbreak to 340. Deaths 21 from the disease, which many thought an unusually small number.

Because of the perceived low mortality, many in Key West began to doubt the affliction was truly yellow fever. Several fights occurred among Key West resident’s, the result of disputes over the genuineness of the disease.

Nothing changes!

Florida Python challenge update. One thousand participants caught a total of 209 pythons. Big deal! A waste of time and money.

The U.S. News & World Report released the results of its annual college rankings. For the 13th consecutive year, Princeton ranked #1.

Five Americans who have been Iranian prisoners for years were freed this morning. They are at the moment on a plane home.

Good job finally getting them free!

Enjoy your day!

Syracuse’s first real test of the season. Its game against Purdue yesterday. Syracuse came out on top. Decisively beat Purdue 35-20.

A very interesting game. Syracuse will be good this season! A top team.

The game started with Purdue making Syracuse look lousy. Did not last long. Following which it was basically Syracuse all the way.

Syracuse must hope (actually, pray) Garrett Schrader does not get hurt. He was absolutely outstanding! Running and passing. A quarterback, he ran 195 yards. Passed for close to that number also.

There are three negatives to be dealt with.

The first is the ability of receivers on long throws to catch or retain control of the ball. Syracuse would have rolled up even larger numbers if such catches were made. My recollection is only one long pass was caught and that came late in the game. The throws were there. Butter fingers failed to hold on to the ball.

Another problem is the punter. He had a very bad day. Two punts were only 18 and 20 yards. He needs work.

Coach Dino Babers evidenced a problem he has had all during his time at Syracuse. He tends to go conservative when he has a lead. With about one minute left in the first half, Syracuse was up by 14 points and in a position to score. He did not go for the touchdown with any degree of aggressiveness. He feared Syracuse would lose the ball and Purdue score.

The first time Syracuse had the ball in the second half, he had them play slowly (run the clock) before executing a play. Lasted only the first set of downs. It would have been a different game if he had continue to have Syracuse play that way in the second half.

The end of the game a slow down also. Syracuse up by 15 points. He could easily have had Syracuse score another touchdown in the last 30 seconds. He had his team not go for it. Why? Good sportsmanship perhaps? Whatever, scoring is important in rankings. Syracuse wants to be up there. Pile the points on. The opposition does. I doubt Babers will change. If he does not, he should not complain at season’s end if Syracuse fails to get a “good bowl” bid.

Syracuse plays Army next week. Probably another Syracuse victory. After that, the ACC.

Publix announced it is coming out with something new. For its professional football fans who shop with Publix. Four new submarine sandwiches. Each different, each named after one of four teams: Tampa, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Miami.

Not all Publix stores will carry them. I reviewed the contents of each. Tasty! Can’t wait to try them.

Trump is not the All American man. He cannot be described as All American.

Trump believes a person needs an ID to buy a loaf of bread. He said it at a summit meeting of Concerned Women of America in Washington, D.C.: “You show voter ID to buy a loaf of bread. You have ID to buy a loaf of bread.” 

In 2018 at a rally, he said: “You need a picture on a card, you need ID” to buy groceries. Months later, he said there’s an ID requirement for cereal purchases.

My admonition: Never trust a person who has not grocery shopped.

A recently discovered letter in Vatican archives suggests Pope Pius XII knew about Nazi death camps in Auschwitz and Belzec where people “die everyday, especially Poles and Jews.”

No reason for such a big deal to be made about this letter. The world has long known Pius XII and the Catholic Church knew and did either nothing or little about it. Pius XII played politician rather than prelate. He failed those killed and suffering in the Nazi concentration camps.

An exercise in futility. Too little, too late. Way too late. I refer to the now annual Florida Python Challenge.

Florida was aware of a python problem in its infancy as far back as 1998. Did nothing about it. Now well over a million pythons in Florida.

Several years ago, Florida began a contest permitting people to hunt pythons. Catch, not kill. Cash rewards to winners. This year, a person who caught 20 over a 10 day period received $10,000.

Twenty caught! Nothing! Like a drop of water in the ocean. Total catch by all concerned probably 100-200. Again, nothing. Pythons are prolific. That many were probably born over the 10 day period.

Florida has conceded it cannot eradicate pythons. Hopefully, only “manage” the problem. The “catch python” contest a very poor way to even “manage.”

Republicans always point the finger at Democrats as the ones who do bad things. Republicans, never. Not so. People are people regardless of party affiliation.

Re. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) was kicked out of a Beetlejuice show in Denver for vaping and groping with her date. Videos show her and her date “eagerly groping each other in their seats.” Their actions disturbed other guests who asked them to stop prior to their being ejected. The groping included Boebert’s date “fondling her breasts. She is seen “petting her guest’s crotch.”

Boebert has since apologized claiming she “fell short of her values.”

Query: If it was a female Democrat Representative, what if anything would Boebert say? Probably bring down the House! I hope the Democrats show her more charity. Maybe she will learn to treat others better than she normally does.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Headline in this morning’s Keys Citizen: “County To Oppose Court Merger.” I hope it is not too little too late. Tallahassee has a habit of treating the Keys like a forgotten relative. Even worse, a second class citizen. The Keys cannot permit it to happen again. A “court system” is integral and necessary to the effective running of an area’s business. Courts are not just for criminal matters. A ton of business goes through the system affecting local businesses.

Fight to keep what you have! Lose it and it will be gone forever!

Hurricanes cannot be more fickle than Lee. When first reported, it looked like it was going to hit eastern U.S. Then it changed course and shot north up the Atlantic. Far from shore. It was thought at the time that Lee would avoid the U.S. altogether. Now, maybe it will affect Maine. Even make landfall.

Maine’s Governor Janet Mills has already declared a State of Emergency. Before Lee even causes a problem. And, Presidnet Biden approved a preemptive Emergency Declaration also. They are preparing to deal with the problem before it even strikes. Excellent judgment on both their parts.

The UAW auto strike is underway. Good or bad move? Time will tell. If prolonged, it will definitely affect the U.S. economy.

Additional Hunter Biden charges appear valid. Though repetitive. A Republican lets get him action more than anything else. Also, lets embarrass his Dad. Nevertheless, Hunter is technically guilty of all.

What is good for the goose, is good for the gander. What about Jared Kushner walking away with $2 billion from Saudi Arabia 6 months after leaving the White House? A Saudi Arabia investment in a fledging Kushner private equity firm. A questionable investment by the Saudis. Objections were even raised by the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal.

Where did the $2 billion ultimately go? Did Donald receive any portion of it? Trump’s history indicates he would want a piece of the pie. Something Jack Smith hopefully has been quietly investigating.

Who will right Senator Tommy Tuberville? Who will set him on a proper course? The man is playing games with our military security. Time for Republican leaders to act. Forget the bullshit that nothing can be done. There is always a way.

I loved Meryl Streep and cast in the two previous Mamma Mia! films. Streep and the singing! Even more, Greece where the movies were filmed. A move is underway to do a third Mamma Mia! film. It is reported Streep and the cast are agreeable.

After centuries of female discrimination, present Synod meetings in Rome could lead to a change in the issues of women being ordained as deacons or priests. The matter is reported to be under serious consideration.

I may have made a mistake in praising Mitt Romney the other day. The day after he announced he was not going to run for reelection, he issued a  statement that neither  Biden nor Trump should run for President. Reason: Age. Romney’s argument that younger blood is needed.

The age argument is a valid one. However, not necessarily to total exclusion. Experience is to be taken into account. Biden unquestionably experienced by his years in public office and the outstanding job he has done so far as President. He deserves reelection.

Trump was an example of “learning on the job.” I for one do not want a repetition of his 4 years.

Enjoy your day!