The primaries and certain early elections are behind us. We now know who will be running against whom in the elections themselves. The battle is on!

There were also a handful for final type elections themselves yesterday. Democrats seemed to have fared well. Abortion was a deciding influence in certain of them.

May the best candidates win. From my perspective, it means the Democrats.

Biden will be announcing his decision re student debt forgiveness today. Word is he supports a $10,000 forgiveness for those earning less than $125,000. Schumer has pushed for a $50,000 forgiveness.

I have written several times over the years re college debt. It was obvious early on that the program was a failure. More pain than good.

The kids were not the winners. Greed was. Everyone but students benefitted. Even the federal government got a piece of the pie. Universities and banks ate big time. The universities raised tuition, room and board, etc. easily and frequently. The bigger the loan, the more the banks made.

Everyone benefitted, but the students in the final analysis.

Some borrowed into the six figures. Required a lifetime to pay back. They are still paying back. A legalized rip off.

Many are quick to blame the students. Not I. They were young and stupid. Unaware of the ways of the world. Borrowing easy. Payback difficult and in many instances impossible. They were hoodwinked by the schools they attended, the banks and the government.

Florida’s Governor DeSantis is as bad as Trump. Perhaps worse. An example is the Office of Election Crimes and Security he created.

DeSantis announced his creation had caught 20 illegal voters. Florida has 11 million voters. A minuscule number apprehended.

The “election police” has an operating budget of $24.3 million. Eleven caught. Good job Governor!

I knew nothing about turtles till I moved to Key West. Over 30 years, I have learned much. And continue to learn.

The most recent information involves turtle gender.

The birth of female turtles is outpacing males. The reason involves heat/temperature. Turtle eggs are buried by the mother beneath the sand on beaches, where they eventually hatch. Temperatures, especially summer ones, have been increasing in Florida. Ergo the beaches are warmer.

Females are produced at 31 degrees Celsius, males below 28 degrees.

We live and learn.

Hurricane Andrew hit Florida this day in 1992. Homestead was destroyed.

Three weeks after Andrew struck, I was driving to Key West from Miami. The trip took me through Homestead. I had never seen such devastation first hand in my life. As far as the eye could see in every direction, the town was flat. A total wipe out. It was as if an atomic bomb had been dropped.

The end of August is approaching. Not even a hint of a  hurricane yet this season. Highly unusual. May it continue to be so.

Terri Johnston was elected Mayor of Key West yesterday. Her third consecutive victory. She deserved reelection. Works hard. Generally gets results, though not all the time

This morning’s Citizens’ Voice had an interesting comment. So true: “The city and county commissions kicked the affordable housing can down the road so long that we’ve already lost an estimated 40 percent of the service workers. Demolish trailer parks there goes another 20 percent. This time next year, visitors will be making their own mojitos and making their own hotel beds.”

On this day in 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted. Pompeii and Herculaneum buried. Twenty thousand killed.

Very little of Pompeii has been uncovered.

I was exposed to excavations frequently on my Greece trips. Especially, Athens. Digging everywhere. Homes, rooms, etc. becoming apparent. I recall having lunch in Playka one day. Behind me was an ongoing excavation. Interesting. Whole living areas 20 feet below the surface.

I came across an interesting Herman Melville quote in my readings yesterday.

Early on, I learned that in order to be a winner you must first be a loser. Applied when I was young and getting into sports. Applied to my very early career as a lawyer. I lost 12 of my first 13 cases. All small. However, important to my client as well as me.

I learned well and went on to be a highly successful trial lawyer.

Herman Melville wrote, “He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great.”

Enjoy your day!