Trump’s Fourth of July speech yesterday a failure. Lies, misrepresentations, innuendos, and pure ordinary bullshit do not make for a patriotic endeavor.

The speech included a defense of “American heroes,” an attack on the Chinese, and an attack on the media. Trump tried to highlight what he views as the shared “great” heritage of Americans.

He called for “unity.” Claimed the country is defeating the “radical left.” He emphasized “protecting and defending” the American way of life.

Always quick to pass the buck, blame another, part of Trump’s China attack included blaming China for coronavirus. In addition, he blamed increased testing for the increased number of confirmed cases.

The speech was not very American. In fact, left me feeling a bit dirty by its end.

A July 4 Presidential Address should leave the citizenry feeling as if they were listening to the song America. Patriotic. The opening stanza a reflection of goodness: “My country, ’tis of thee, / Sweet land of liberty, / Of thee I sing; / Land where my fathers died, / Land of the pilgrims’ pride, / From every mountainside / Let freedom ring!”

An abolitionist version of America was written by A.G. Duncan in 1843. Its second stanza exemplary truth: “My native country, thee, / Where all men are born free, if white’s their skin; / I love thy hills and dales, / Thy mounts and pleasant vales; / But hate thy negro sales, as foulest sin.”

There was a July 4 White House celebration which resulted in the death of a President. President Zachary Taylor in 1850.

I am not sure of the significance, but the Washington Monument was under construction at the time. The celebration might have been held at the construction site rather than the White House.

President Taylor consumed water and raw fruit. Five days later, he died from a gastrointestinal illness that historians believe was cholera. Cholera the result of ingesting infected water and/or fruit.

Trump always needs a particular group of people to vilify. In fact, to ride to election victory.

In 2016, it was immigrants. This year, other Americans.

Trump claims the burning of the American flag before the White House this weekend was organized by radical leftists. Far right leftist. Two groups. The Revolutionary Communist Party and Refuse Fascism.

May be true. I don’t know. What I do know is whether true or not, it is Trump trying to improperly paint all liberals as radical leftists. In this case, communists and perhaps fascists.

A statue of Christopher Columbus was taken down and thrown into Baltimore Harbor saturday night. A statue of Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously appeared outside the Albuquerque City Hall over the weekend. It was removed within 24 hours.

When does this crap stop?

Florida is close to being #1 in coronavirus outbreaks. Presently #2.

The reason Florida’s numbers are increasing dramatically is the actions of our inept Governor De Santis. Trump’s lap dog. He does everything Trump wants or suggests. Ergo, De Santis has been as successful as Trump in fighting the virus.

Yesterday, Florida had 11,458 new coronavirus cases. A new one day high!

Things are moving swiftly. Florida is up to 190,052 confirmed cases, 3,803 which resulted in death.

I want to say something rarely mentioned. The last war the U.S. won was World War II. We have not won any wars in which the U.S. has been engaged since.

The ending of the Vietnam War especially bothered me. The world watched its last days on television.

The last day was April 30, 1975. We all watched the last group of Americans airlifted off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. While on the ground, North Vietnamese forces were in effect reaching the gates of the Embassy.

Embarrassing. The most powerful nation on earth being brought to its knees by a tiny Asian country.

The last 18 hours found 81 helicopters landing on the Embassy roof and removing 6,000 civilians  and more than 1,000 Americans to safety.

Baby feeding not a major problem today. A mother can try breast feeding if she so desires. If she cannot produce sufficient milk, the solution is at the super market. Canned formula.

A baby is never left crying from hunger.

Not the way it was in 1855 in Key West.

William Hackley’s wife Matilda had given birth. Breast feeding was the mode of the day. She could not produce enough. The baby would cry half the day and night.

The solution in Hackley’s day was goat milk. Get your own goat and milk it.

By July 3, 1855, Hackley had bought or rented 2 different goats from 2 different sources.The goats were as barren as Matilda. Hackley was desperate. He sent to Havana for a goat. A few days between the order and receiving the goat.

The baby continued crying. William and Matilda continued walking the floor.

On July 4, Matilda’s nipples began suffering from the baby munching so hard on them. Hackley went to South Beach to get some Bay Cider for Matilda’s breasts.

Very sorrowful canned formula was not available back then.

May Johnson’s life remains in good stead in July 1896. The 20 year old Key West school teacher is living life. Respectfully.

July 3, 1896 must have been a day of rest. Very little done. May and her girl friends weighed themselves. May came in at 124 1/2 pounds.

July 4 was another story! Independence Day! America was celebrating. May and Key West were celebrating.

May has a strange relationship. Her “love” is Ernest. He rarely is in Key West. Works in Miami. They correspond. May’s last letter to Ernest 17 pages.

May goes dancing almost every day however at La Brisa. Never dances with one. Dances with many. For hours.

She began July 4 by writing to Ernest.

The Battleship Maine was in harbor. A reception was scheduled on the Maine. May and her friends were invited.

May wrote, “We went all over the ship.”

She claims she made a “dead smash” on Mr. Ward, claiming, “My! He is so handsome.”

I assume a “dead smash” is a kiss.

The Maine visit ended with May and her friends returning to shore by boat. The boys were “much drunk, Ugh!”

She described her Fourth as “gloriously grand, much Fourth, Ah!”

She concluded her diary entry advising “she came to bed at 12 o’clock.” Significant because I do not recall her ever mentioning such a late bed time before.

Key West cancelled its annual White Street Pier fireworks because of the virus. My neighborhood had its own.

Seems like my neighbors in every direction had fireworks. They went off constantly for 3 hours.

I never went out to watch. Too many people on the street.

Today, Sunday. Will be a typical one for me. As it has been for more than 3 months. Staying in to avoid the virus.

I am getting through this time with actually no difficulty. Thank God I enjoy researching and writing. Otherwise, I might be a basket case.

Enjoy your Sunday!

God bless America! Two hundred forty four years old today. It was on this day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was signed whereby we declared our independence from Great Britain.

Except for the Civil War era, July 4 was a happy day. Partying, parades, etc. Last year a relatively normal one, also.

Not this year.

The scab has fallen off, the wound is open again. Race relations.

My positions on the various issues are known. Set forth in detailed fashion in recent blogs. Today, I wish only to make 2 observations.

The blacks believe it is their time. To all appearances, it seems like they want to take over. Their time to run things.

The U.S. has a population approximately 76 percent white. Includes Hispanics who make up 12 percent of the white population. Remove the Hispanics, and the whites still are the major group with 64 percent.

Blacks constitute 13 percent.

How can a group decide it is their time to rule when they have no where near the numbers required to be the majority group? Equality, yes. Rule, no.

Observation two is the coronavirus epidemic. It is screwing everything up. Race a legitimate part of the issue from the virus perspective. The problems must be corrected. Blacks are entitled to the same assistance and concerns as whites. They have not been getting it.

Trump is not helping. He is screwing everything up by his lack of handling the pandemic in a proper fashion.

Today is the holiday! I wish you each a Happy Fourth knowing full well it cannot be because of the race and health problems confronting our nation.

Idiocy continues to reign supreme! The GOP is reportedly eyeing Tucker Carlson for the 2024 Presidential run. He is as bad as Trump, if not worse. Lies equally as well.

The reason Carlson is under serious consideration is that his FOX news show is the most watched cable news program in history.

Would you believe!

Donald was at Mount Rushmore yesterday. Probably thinking how great it would be if his face were sculptured on the side of the mountain.

He spoke to 7,500, all closely seated. Very few face masks.

Nearby Native Americans were upset Trump was to appear. They asked he not do so.

The tribes fear a coronavirus spike among its members. They had done well up to this time.

One of the tribal leaders said the “President is putting our tribal members at risk to stage a photo op at one of our most sacred sites.”

Trump spewed his usual poison during his speech. Like “the left wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American revolution.” Some on the political left hope to “defame out heroes, erase our values, and culture to be taken from them…..Our children are taught in school to hate their own country.” The left represents “far left fascism.”

This past week Trump questioned Biden’s mental capabilities. Claimed he would fail or not do as well as Trump did on the congenitive/dementia test given as part of a physical.

Trump claimed he “aced” it.

You would have to be an idiot not to. The test is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Tests for early signs of dementia. Part of most annual physicals. I have been taking it for years.

The test requires all of 10 minutes.

Simplicity permeates.

Things like identifying 3 animals in a picture, asked to relate why certain things are common, draw a clock with the hands at 11:10, repeat 5 words 3 different times, etc.

Glad you “aced” it  Mr. President. I would not expect less from you or any President.

Chechnya is a southern Russian republic. The scene of a horrifying humanitarian crisis. The site of a social cleansing. A place where terror reigns supreme for LGBTQ people.

Since 2017, the government has been trying to exterminate all gay people. A state sanctioned purge.

Putin is directing the human destruction.

Trump is fully aware. Trump has failed to speak about or criticize the situation.

Outright killings on the streets. Also, family honor killings of lesbian females.

Forget Trump for the moment. No one in Washington is talking about this slaughter either.

The blacks are deprecating John Wayne, also. He was known to speak strongly about problems similar to those confronting us today. His feelings anti-black in a sensitive fashion. Made his position clear, however.

Another part of Wayne to be shared are his religious beliefs.

He was born and raised a Presbyterian, believed in God, and occasionally taught the Bible.

Wayne was known to hand write letters to God as a way of praying. He refused to take part in movies he thought were immoral, even during the times film immorality was on the rise and acceptance.

He died on his deathbed at home from cancer. Two days before he died, he converted to Catholicism.

I don’t know what all this means. I am merely sharing another part of John Wayne with you.

A bit of Keys news and information.

The lobster mini season is the last wednesday and thursday of July. Islamorada is asking the County and State to cancel the event. To close all of the Keys. In an attempt to further protect against coronavirus.

A good idea. Visitors come to the Keys in droves to lobster fish those 2 days. I used to sit on my dock in Key Haven and watch them. Reminded me of that scene in Jaws where everyone went out to capture the shark. Big boats, little boats, in between size boats. Boats overloaded with people.

A bit of history. Monroe County was the sixth county established in Florida. June 3, 1823.

Way back when.

Florida not even a state. The county established by the territorial legislature, signed by Governor William P. Duval.

Dengue fever is on the rise in the Key Largo area. It comes around some where in the Keys every few years.

Someone recently asked in Citizens’ Voice: “Now that dengue fever is rising, will Key West require that we all wrap in mosquito netting when we go outside?”

A little humor never hurt!

Cocktails at 7 last night with Cathy in Seattle. Skype works wonders for a person like me quarantined now for over 100 days.

Made a friend over the internet early on. Cathy used to live in Key est in the 1980’s.

We now get together one night a week for 2 or 3 hours. Sort of like a date. We chat away. Cathy drinks alcohol, I diet soda.

She told me last night she was having a cook out at her house today with 2 friends. You are aware I have two lesbian wives. Donna and Terri. Cathy has gay husbands. Two, also. One colored and blind. Terri is colored and blind.

How very unusual! I would like to put together a Skype party for all of us.

A well liked and respected American died yesterday. Hugh Downs. Newscaster and announcer. Ninety nine years old. Died from natural causes.

One of the greats in television news casting.

Enjoy your holiday!

Busy morning ahead. Today #113 of my self-quarantine. Will be leaving the house for only the second time. Do not like it. However, I have no choice. The body is reacting to my normal pre-coronavirus problems. Need medical updating.

Ergo, a Morning Stew.

Tom Friedman had an excellent Opinion piece on 6/30/2020 in the New York Times: This Should Be Biden’s Bumper Sticker.

“Respect science, respect nature, respect each other.”

Fitting.

Friedman begins with “We’re not leading. We’re not following. We’re lost.”

Friedman wrote Trump has changed things dramatically. He has created a different pandemic. “A pandemic of incivility. You cannot exaggerate the impact on the whole civil cultures of having a President who has elevated name-calling, denigration and lying to a central feature of his Presidency, amplified by the White House.”

Friedman believes Biden “will need a simpler, clear message to counter Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”

Friedman’s idea for such a bumper sticker is a slogan that came to his attention when he recently read an article by the environmental innovator Hal Harvey. The one mentioned at the beginning…..Respect service, respect nature, respect each other.

I wrote a blog recently titled “I Don’t Get No Respect.” Featured was Rodney Dangerfield.

I received a comment yesterday from a Dale. He had read Friedman’s article of 6/30. He thought a proper Trump bumper sticker would be Dangerfield’s famous line as I had reported it: I Don’t Get No Respect.”

That is the way it has become. No one has done Trump in. He is doing it to himself.

The sign at the entrance to Bahama Village on Petronia Street is down. Under repair. Being sanded and repainted.

Ernest Hemingway purportedly killed himself this day in 1961 at his Idaho home. He is reported to have blown his brains out with a double-barreled 12 gauge shot gun.

Most thought a suicide. Some, not.

Bolstering the suicide theory was that Hemingway had become plagued with an inability to write. He lost it. Could not put even an acceptable sentence together.

He was also suffering at the time from acute depression.

It should be recalled that suicide ran in the family. His father, grandfather, brother, sister, and a granddaughter had committed suicide.

Key West has geared up this past week preparing for the July 4 weekend. Thirty six banners are being raised on Duval Street. The hanging will be complete today. Each reminding tourists to wear masks.

A thoughtful move. Every little bit helps. Add to it that the beaches and bars will be closed.

I hope that no tourists or visitors arrive for the weekend. Things are bad coronavirus wise in Florida. Key West numbers have had a dramatic increase to 88.

We do not need anyone. Our sole purpose should be to protect ourselves.

Yesterday was a bad day number wise for new coronavirus cases nationally Yesterday’s one day total the highest ever: In excess of 50,000. The fifth time in the last 8 days that the number has been the “highest ever.”

Florida a major contributor. Primarily because of our inept Governor DeSantis who blindly follows Trump.

On February 27, Trump said the virus would “disappear.” He said it again yesterday.

He doesn’t learn. Donald is doing real good. The U.S. is at the point of most infections and most deaths.

Even worse, Fauci announced yesterday that the number of new coronavirus cases could go as high as 100,000 per day if we continue to fail to test and wear masks.

Trump continues to lose ground in the election race. Biden moves ahead a bit more each day.

Trump and his followers do not understand. A prominent Republican said yesterday that it is being part of a “cult” to be wearing a mask.

Then there are other Republicans who see the light. Most Congressional leaders. All of a sudden, they were all over television yesterday. Their mantra…..Stay safe, wear masks!

The word this morning is the bounty paid by Russia for killing U.S. service men was $100,00 per. Sounds awful big! Hard to believe on first impression. I thought when the bounty news first broke maybe $100 or $200.

However $100,000 could be. Small change if Putin could make the U.S. look bad.

One reason coronavirus is beating us is that we have no national strategy to fight it. No battle plan. It was Trump and the federal government who should have led. Covid-19 a national calamity of major proportions.

Trump failed. Why, I cannot understand.

My notes next indicate that as of yesterday, Monroe County had 270 new confirmed cases of the virus, Key West 89. For each, the highest number thus far.

I expect the numbers to continue to rise. The fault lying with the barricades coming down and bar and business reopenings permitted. Blame it all on the greed of certain businessmen and merchants who valued money over health.

May Johnson’s day in 1896 interesting. This 20 year old school teacher lets no grass grow under her feet.

She wrote a 17 page letter to “her darling.” Then she was off to La Brisa to dance and party.

La Brisa had to be a big time fun place. May is there almost every day while her love is on the mainland working.

President James Garfield was shot this day in 1881 at the train station in Washington, D.C. He died more than 2 months later.

A “nut” by the name of Guiteau was the assassin. He was tried, convicted, and hung in 1882.

I wrote a lengthy article some time ago either in this blog or KONK Life. Garfield died because the doctors screwed up. They killed him.

A true story.

I will search for the article later today. If I can find it, will rerun it tomorrow. That interesting!

Enjoy your day!

Remember, this all started with blacks wanting to topple statues of Confederate Generals. Then moved on to other whites who had slaves or maltreated blacks in any fashion. Like Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt to name a few.

How far does this black lets get ’em thing go? At the moment, even Abraham Lincoln is under consideration. Over the weekend, students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made it known they wanted Lincoln’s statue on their campus removed. The black group leading the movement recognize Lincoln was anti-slavery. He was not “pro-black,” however.

How far does this insanity go?

Jesus Christ has entered the fray. Even God is not beyond reproach.

Historians generally believe Jesus was a Palestinian Jew. As such, He would have been a person of color. His eyes probably not blue nor his hair yellow.

The Jesus Americans know is the European idealization of Him. They were white so Jesus had to be white. Such followed those who immigrated to the U.S.

Some universities and scholars have investigated and continue to explore the concept of a black Jesus. All that do agree Jesus was a man of color.

The black movement has moved into the Church. Not as yet with the same rigor it has with other statues and monuments. What may have to go is the white Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Their statues and pictures. Murals on the walls . Glass windows depicting them as white.

All replaced by the truth: A black Jesus with a black family.

Some countries represent Jesus as having been colored. Certain African ones understandably.

Those seeking to bring the true Jesus to the forefront believe it is necessary for two reasons. First, a white Jesus is a Jesus connected to the powerful and not the oppressed. Second, the impression conveyed by a white Jesus and a white God is authority is white.

Twenty years ago, the NCR celebrated the new millennium by sponsoring an art contest. The winner was a Janet McKenzie. Her portrait painted Jesus as a person “dark, thick-lipped, looking out on us with ineffable dignity, with sadness but with confidence.”

A black Jesus the winner!

In 2007, the novel The Shack was published. One of the finest novels written. I bought 30 copies and mailed them to friends. Wanted to share my discovery with them.

The Shack was a best seller. A movie made based on it.

The uniqueness of the novel is that it portrayed the three persons of the Trinity living in a shack, friendly and helpful to all.

God was a fat black woman. Jesus a dark Middle Eastern Jew with a large hooked nose. The Holy Ghost, referred to as the Spirit in the book, a frail Asian woman.

I recommend the book be read.

Note that in The Shack God and Jesus are persons of color. Even the Holy Spirit who is Asian.

The underlying question in today’s blog is how far does the black movement go in changing historical things.

Another entity to consider are cities themselves which prohibited blacks from staying at most hotels in days gone by.

Back when, Miami was such a city. Hotels in Miami Beach had signs: No Blacks or Jews.

Perhaps the black movement should consider recommending that people of color not visit those cities nor do business with them. Proper retribution.

The Key West City Commission got blown away this past week. Re an item of major concern. Rising sea levels.

The Army Corps of Engineers did a major 3 year study of how it will be and what should be done to avoid its impact. The projection is that sea level around the Keys will rise by 15 feet. Big!

The cost the mind blower. To correct in advance costly. Like $3.8 billion. Sixty five percent would be paid by the federal government, 35 percent from non-federal sources.

Key West does not have that kind of money! No way! The Commissioners know it and expressed it. Note Key West’s annual budget (general fund) is $60 million. Where would the money come from? Impossible for Key West to pay its share.

The Commission laid the matte aside for further study.

The $3.8 billion would be spent as follows. To build 6 revetments (concrete retaining walls) along U.S. 1, elevate 7,100 structures in the county as a whole, flood proof another 3,800 structures, and acquire by eminent domain 280 houses not considered salvageable when future floodings occur.

Personalities are resulting in in-house fighting in certain cities re how to handle coronavirus protections. Los Angeles an example.

Los Angeles closed its beaches for the Fourth of July weekend. The Sheriff will not enforce the ruling. Says no one consulted him before making the determination. Also, his department’s philosophy is “Care first, jail last.”

Would you believe? Elected and appointed officials who cannot work together to protect the people.

A failure of responsibility.

One of cinema’s greatest stars of yesteryear is Olivia de Havilland. Today, her birthday. One hundred four years old. God bless her!

She starred in 49 pictures, including, Gone With the Wind, Robin Hood, The Heiress, To Each His Own, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Captain Blood, and The Snake Pit.

Stay healthy! Do what you are supposed to do. Hopefully we can all go to the beach , socialize in the bars, and enjoy barbecues with family and friends next July 4th.

Enjoy your day!

My self-quarantine took a reluctant brief break this morning. Day 110. Only for an hour. A doctor visit.

Doctor appointments frequent at my age. It has been more than 3 months since my last. Doctor’s office called to reschedule me. I said no, not yet. The nurse said, yes.

Two appointments made. One for blood work. The other to get the blood results and have a physical. The blood work this morning. Physical next week.

I hated leaving the house. I was not comfortable. I have self-quarantined because I am an excellent choice for the coronavirus to visit. Over 80 and other ailments.

Appointment at 8.

I still knew how to drive a car. I enjoyed the drive downtown. I had not been in Key West proper in 3 months. Saw how Cow Key Bridge was coming. Little traffic into downtown.

I arrived at 7:50. I was the only patient. Me and the nurse who was going to draw my blood. I was done and out at 8. Since I was out, thought I should take a look at Duval.

Duval shocking! Roughly 35 percent of the stores empty. Nothing inside. One a business that had been on Duval for more than 20 years. Gone!

One whole block of Duval on one side empty.

Went to Whitehead. A small block across from the Custom House empty. Perhaps 3 stores formerly.

Very few people on the streets. Not the time for people. Too early.

Drove to the Southernmost Point. About 20 in line. Tourists, I assume. No social distancing and no masks.

Drove through the Casa Marina area to Flagler to head home. Something else was obvious. Many high end homes for sale. Saw that also when driving down the Boulevard. Several for sale signs at the entrance to an area of fine homes.

An indication prices will drop. Both for sales and rentals. More radically than 2008. This is only the beginning.

I was home by 8:45. I enjoyed walking from where I park the car to my house. The air smelled good. It was the firs time I had smelled fresh air in over 3 months.

I was a good boy. Wore my mask and gloves.

Will have to make a similar trip next week. I must be frank. I am not comfortable leaving my home.

Coronavirus cases are moving upward in Monroe County and Key West itself. I attribute it to reopening too soon and taking down the barricades at the entrance to U.S. 1.

The cause is being dealt with in a limited fashion.

The police and Codes are out making sure the rules are followed. First time a serious effort. From what the Citizen reports, they seem to be doing an effective job.

Bars a continuing problem. Drinking outside the bar, also. Permitting too many people in a business an additional problem.

Written warnings being given. Second time a citation to go to court.

A pool room on Flagler had more than 50 percent occupancy. Police and Codes warned staff and patrons. Police and Codes returned 1/2 hour later. Still overcrowding. Two $500 citations were issued.

Key West announced all beaches will be closed for the July 4th weekend. Good!

Hope it keeps mainland people from coming down. Mostly young. Follow none of the rules.

The County controls whether barricades will be erected again to keep non-Keys residents out. It helped to keep the virus numbers down.

The businessmen of Key West got pissed off. The barricades were removed 2 weeks ago. The numbers going up since.

County Administrator says no decision made yet re the barricades. However, he thought they would not go back up.

The numbers are important when determining what precautions are to be taken. New cases total 236. The numbers are spiraling upward. Yesterday 17 new cases. A one day record.

I wrote in yesterdays blog re Abraham Lincoln. Whether he was a racist? Whether his statues, etc. should be taken down?

I thought many of my readers would be up in arms. Haven’t heard so far. However, I did come across an interesting article in The Blaze on the internet this morning.

The Black Student Union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wants the towering statue of Lincoln on campus to be removed. The group acknowledges Lincoln was anti-slavery, but claim he wasn’t pro-black: “He was…..very publicly anti-Black. Just because he was anti-slavery does not mean he was pro-Black.”

The student group views Lincoln as a symbol of racism.

Howdy Doody, Buffalo Bob and Clarabell may be the next to be attacked for racism.

Howdy Doody was a famous radio show. Then a major TV show. A kid’s show. Even older kid’s watched it. The show’s theme runs through my head even to this day.

When I was in college, most of us rushed to the game room at 5 to watch the Howdy Doody Show. We used to sing the theme song along with the show’s members.

Buffalo Bob: Says “What time is it? / Kids: “It’s Howdy Doody time!”

“It’s Howdy Doody time. / It’s Howdy Doody time. / Bob Smith and Howdy too / Say howdy to you. / Let’s give a rousing cheer, / Cause Howdy Doody’s here, / It’s time to start the show. / So kids let’s go!”

The show had a “peanut gallery.” Young children appeared on the show daily and sat in the peanut gallery.

The peanut gallery could rise to the level of racism.

The situation is sort of like white men going black faced in minstrel shows.

The term peanut gallery is black derived. Concerned vaudeville shows. Blacks could not afford good seats. They sat in the cheapest. They ate peanuts while watching the show. If they disliked an entertainer, they heckled and threw peanuts at the person.

Peanut gallery was born. Howdy Doody had both the peanut gallery and the peanuts.

In addition, the term “hecklers” is black derived. The blacks watching the vaudeville show and throwing the peanuts came to be known as hecklers.

A significant issue has arisen. The claim that Russia paid Afghanistans a bounty to kill American soldiers. Standing alone, important. More important perhaps is whether Trump knew and what he did about it.

I believe the usual Trump/Putin scenario took place. Trump asked Putin if he did it and Putin very strongly denied. At some point Trump will tell the American people that he asked Putin and Putin denied. The issue was closed as far as he was concerned.

What does Putin have that gives him such control over Trump? Must be sex or money.

Trump made visits to Russia many times before his election. The issue keeps popping up that Putin has photos of Trump engaging in sex games with a prostitute.

Trump did business big time with Russian banks. Whether he or his family still do, I do not know. There is a suspicion the Trumps owe money big time to Russian banks. Most Russian banks are government owned.

Who knows what the reason. Time will tell.

I heard an interesting comment on a TV talk show last night. Something to the effect that the person who owes money to a bookie, is always nice to the bookie.

Biden is making a speech this afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware. It is reported he will say as part of the speech that Trump calls himself a war time President, but is surrendering to the virus.

How true!

No matter how you cut it, the Chinese are one smart people! They cheat and get away with it. Enterprising!

Wuhan is part of the story.

It has been revealed that China is the home of  massive gold bar counterfeiting. Wuhan one of the cities where they are turned out.

Gold is valuable collateral. Counterfeit gold not. It has been described as “ghost collateral.”

In recent years, China has made 83 tons of phony gold bars which have been used as bank collateral. The banks are stuck!

The counterfeiting is done in one of two ways. Either gold plated copper or gold plated black tungsten plate.

Amazing!

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time.

So much to talk about. I never get to cover it all.

Join me for a quick moving and interesting half hour. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

Abraham Lincoln was not Simon pure when it came to blacks.

The issue as to whether Lincoln was a racist is one oft discussed among historians. He was in his early days. The Civil War moved him towards freeing the slaves. His reasons for so doing not necessarily from an honorable perspective. Rather, based on the practicalities of a situation. Lincoln was an expert politician.

Early in his life he favored abolition. However, he was opposed to racial equality. For the reason the black man did not possess the same mental attributes of a white. The black man was inferior.

By the end of he Civil War, Lincoln was on an upward arc, perhaps heading toward becoming the man he has since been mythologized as being: The Great Emancipator, the man who freed and loved the slaves. His journey however was not complete on the day he died.

Lincoln was still wrestling with race when he died.

Lincoln’s early public position re slavery was clearly spelled out in the 4th of his debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 in their Senatorial race which Lincoln lost: “I will say that I am not, nor have ever been, in favor of bringing in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races.”

He followed with he opposed blacks having the right to vote, to serve on juries, to hold office, and to intermarry with whites.

He concluded his speech with: “I will say in addition to this there is a physical difference between the black and white races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they remain together there must be a position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

Lincoln at the time was no different than most white males, whether living in the north or south. He was a white supremacist.

Some other quotes of Lincoln symbolizing his thoughts at various times in his life.

“I have urged the colonization of the Negroes [in Africa], and I shall continue.”

“I can conceive of no greater calamity than the assimilation of the Negro into our social and political life as an equal.”

“Within 20 years we can peacefully colonize the Negro…..under conditions in which he can rise to the full measure of manhood. This he can never do here. We can never attain the ideal union our fathers dreamed, with millions of an alien, inferior race among us, whose assimilation is neither possible nor desirable.”

Politics always seem to play a part in major decisions. Each side having their respective leaders.

Lincoln was a believer of colonization. Send the blacks to Africa or Central America to live and govern themselves.

Lincoln called black leaders to a White House meeting in 1852. He pushed colonization big time. The black leaders were adamant in their opposition. Lincoln argued that given the “differences” between the two races and the hostile attitude of whites towards black people, it would be “better for us both, therefore to be segregated.”

The blacks refused to be swayed by Lincoln’s argument. They argued African-Americans were as much natives of the United States as white people, and thus deserved the same rights.

Lincoln gave up re colonization. Never spoke of it again.

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation the following year in 1863.

Most Americans today are under the impression the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves per se. All of them! It did not.

Lincoln was a war President. He knew the South needed the help of the slaves to successfully carry on the War. Two primary reasons. The South needed the slaves to raise the food to feed Confederate soldiers. Additionally, the Confederacy had begun to absorb slaves into the Confederate Army to fight against the Union.

Lincoln sought to solve the problem by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves only in a limited fashion. It freed those still living in Confederate states and those fighting in the Confederate Army.

Evidence reflects how tightly the Emancipation Proclamation was drawn to solely accomplish the two items. Any black Confederate soldiers who had been captured by the Union did not receive freedom from slavery.

In the next two years, many blacks fled the South to fight for the Union. Two hundred thousand. By the time the War ended in 1865, Lincoln was very much impressed with how these blacks had fought.

Lincoln felt the slaves had earned their freedom by their bravery. Something legal was required since the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation did not take into account “all” slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment would and did. It was the instrument by which all slaves were freed.

Lincoln approved the Joint Resolutions of Congress which authorized the Thirteenth Amendment on January 1, 1865. Ratification by State Legislatures was required to make it part of the Constitution.

Ratification unfortunately did not come till 18 months after Lincoln was killed. It did however free all slaves thereby earning Lincoln the title of Great Emancipator.

The task was not complete. Perhaps if Lincoln had lived we would not be in the position we are with present day black/white conflicts.

Historians are not sure how much further Lincoln would have pushed the black/white issue had he lived. Therein lies the reason no one knows what Lincoln’s final thoughts were with regard to social and political equality.

So it was.

Do sufficient grounds exist to topple Lincoln’s statues and disparage his accomplishments? Though he accomplished much for the black man, his contrary words and feelings may have been greater and bury the good he did.

What of those who did much less in an anti-black fashion than Lincoln? If Lincoln stands, should they not be resurrected to stand again?

It all comes down to what is to be the standard, if any, by which these decisions are to be made.

Enjoy your day!

This condemnation of Americans dead and long gone has to stop. It is tearing at the roots of our country.

What started as an anti-Confederacy thing has deviated to those who came before and after.

People are free to dislike in this country. Constitutionally guaranteed. This condemning everything and everyone will eventually boomerang. Then what?

John Wayne is the most recent popular figure to be condemned. The hero of most Americans from his earliest movies in the 1930’s to his death. More than 30 years of playing the hero. A for real All American. From the Old West to World War II to Vietnam.

Now we are told he was anti-black. His memory must be punished/eradicated.

Wayne’s negative black feelings hurt no one. Most people were not even aware.

The situation has been brought to light by the Democratic Party of Orange County, California.

Orange County has an airport. Its name for years The John Wayne Airport. A statue stands in his honor as well as  other indicia pertaining to him.

The Democrats want the statue and anything else referable to Wayne removed. They claim he was a racist and bigot. He may have been. I do not recall it ever being reflected in his deeds.

The whole argument to rename and get rid of the statue goes back 41 years to a 1979 Playboy interview. Wayne said, “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”

Wayne later said in the interview although he didn’t condone slavery, “I don’t feel guilty about the fact that ten or twenty generations ago these people were slaves.”

He also felt no remorse in the subjugation of Native Americans. America needed the land to expand and survive.

He also considered movies such as Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy perverted and used a gay slur to refer to the 2 main characters in Midnight Cowboy.

Ronald Reagan may be next. One of our greatest Presidents.

Reagan is being considered a racist based on an October 1971 taped call between him and Richard Nixon. Reagan was Governor at the time and Nixon President.

Their discussion concerned a recent United Nations vote where the U.S. came out on the losing side. Done in by the African delegates.

Reagan said, “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries – damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes.”

Then there is Harry Truman. Yes, Harry Truman. Another great U.S. President.

Truman is known to have given many hell. The term “he gave ’em hell” survives to this day.

Many consider he “gave ’em racism” also.

Although Truman made civil rights a federal priority for a President for the first time since Reconstruction, he none the less expressed strong racist sentiments before, during and after his Presidency.

In 1911, the year he turned 27, Truman wrote to Bess his wife to be: “I think one man is just as good as another so long as he is decent and honest and not a nigger or a Chinaman…..The Lord made a white man from dust, a nigger from mud, then He threw up what was left and it came down a Chinaman……I am strongly of the opinion Negroes ought to be in Africa, yellow men in Asia and white men in Europe and America.”

Truman wrote a letter to his daughter Margaret wherein he described waiters in the White House as “an army of coons.”

In another letter to Margaret in 1941, he wrote of the Civil War: “I feel as your old country grandmother has expressed it – ‘What a pity a white man like Lee had to surrender to old Grant.”‘

Some of Truman’s racist slurs continued after he left office in the 1950’s and 1960’s: The use of racial slurs, opposed the 1960 sit-ins but said they might be Communist inspired, called Northerners who went on freedom rides meddlers, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a troublemaker.

It must be recognized Truman was a proud American as well a son the the Confederacy.

As President, Truman came to “represent” all. He rose above his prejudices. He appointed a committee to study civil rights abuses, supported the committee’s call for anti-lynching and anti-polling tax legislation. He ordered desegregation of the armed forces. He was the first President to campaign in Harlem.

Whatever way you look at things, Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West continues to love Harry Truman.

Tomorrow, Abraham Lincoln.

Now we turn to a different subject. Trump’s relationship with Putin and the recent news that Russia paid a bounty to Afghanistans to shoot Americans and other coalition troops.

First the relationship.

Recall the movie The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Starred Debbie Reynolds.

“He’s My Friend” a song in the movie. The opening stanza went: “He’s my friend / And he’ll stay my friend / Doesn’t matter what the other people say / He’s my friend, to the bitter end / Even though the bitter end’s a million years away.”

Such is the relationship between Trump and Putin as represented by Trump. I doubt Putin feels the same way. He uses Trump, toys with him, takes advantage of him. Trump never realizing it.

The New York Times broke a story of shocking interest the past few days. A could never have happened thing that did.

It was reported that Russia was paying a bounty to Afghanistan for all American soldiers and other coalition troops shot in the Afghanistan War.

Trump’s staff has not denied knowledge of the matter. They said they knew since March, but never brought it to Trump’s attention. They claim the President never knew.

Bullshit!

What could be more important to an American President than the knowledge a foreign power was paying another to kill Americans?

Turns out the information was part of Trump’s Daily Briefing back then. However Trump rarely reads his Daily Briefing.

The bottom line is Trump knew and kept quiet because Putin is his “friend.”

The caronavirus is having a field day in Florida. Thanks to the stupidity of Gov. De Santis who does nothing but blindly follow Trump’s dictates.

Yesterday was Florida’s third day of record high coronavirus cases in a one week period. Yesterday alone broke the one day record. Almost 10,000 new cases.

Wear your masks, practice social distancing, and frequently wash your hands.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Congratulations to the businessmen who insisted on reopening the Keys. Greed their motivation. Using the economy as an excuse, they rabble roused people into supporting their position. Remove the barrier to U.S. 1 and get businesses open again!

These are smart men. They made the Keys, especially Key West, the success they are. Only this time they were wrong.

Roughly 3 weeks later, the proof obvious.

Those from the mainland came to Key West in hoards. Mostly young. They hit the bars as expected big time. One problem, however, they failed to take any precautions. No masks, social distancing, etc. Kissing and hugging prevalent.

It had to happen. Where the Keys had come through the coronavirus attack in good shape, in a short 3 weeks it has slid backward. Way below where it earlier had been.

The young brought the virus with them. Certain of our people got infected. They infected others. And so it goes.

Most of those visiting were from Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The 2 most heavily infected counties in the United States.

The Keys experienced its 2 worst days thursday and friday this week. Fourteen new cases each day. Total cases now 202.

Covid-19 moves rapidly. An unseen meteor. When first it arrived, it took weeks and months to infect. Now, a matter of days.

Again, it all goes back to when the check points were removed June 1.

I hope those who made this second and more serious visit of the virus possible have learned. They bear responsibility for what is happening now. I am confident they are too smart to allow it to happen again.

In the meantime, many more will become infected. Some die.

Luke 23:34 comes into play: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Members of various Keys government groups also bear responsibility. They failed the people who elected them. They wanted to please the residents rather than do the right thing.

Masks an example. They “recommended” masks be used, rather than “mandating” their use. If “mandated” were in force 3 weeks ago, the numbers would not be going up as swiftly as they are.

Coronavirus is not the only disease being experienced. Dengue fever has returned. As of friday, there were 8 more confirmed cases. Making a total of 10.

The Key West City Commission has begun moving in the right direction. Appears they understand what no more pussyfooting means.

The annual July fireworks have been cancelled.

Re wearing masks, stricter rules. Must be worn in all public places. Indoors and out. Failure to do so the first time a warning. Second time, a $500 fine. Police and Code enforcement officers will enforce.

I don’t believe the punishment sufficient. We are talking about life and death. Jail time the way to do it. Not a slap on the hand like a weekend. At least an automatic 10 days.

The only way to make an impact. Word will spread quickly. Masks will be worn after a few have spent 10 days or better in jail.

I continue to tell the Greece story. They have controlled the problem. One example why is what they do if someone fails to wear a mask in a bar. The patron is not punished. The bar owner is. Fined $20,000! Has to make an impact! Maybe Key West should consider this type punishment.

The State finally showing some degree of serious concern. Governor De Santis has been useless thus far.

Key West and the State worked on the bar problem yesterday morning. The bars are a major problem area. The State closed them them immediately, Key West at noon. The handwriting on the wall seen.

Florida’s trip upward. Yesterday a big day! Almost 9,000 new coronaviurus cases. The most ever in a single day. Two or 3 days ago, Florida hit its highest number. Somewhere in the 5,000’s. Two days later up approximately 2,500! Nationally, the U.S. suffered the day of its greatest number of new cases also. Forty five thousand two hundred forty two.

The national number overall is 2.48 million. Deaths in excess of 125,000.

God may be in His Heaven, however all is not right with the world. To make it right requires drastic action such as significant jailing and/or mammoth fines.

Did the Sahara dust storm move over Key West yesterday? I never left the house obviously. Don’t know.

May Johnson continues to enjoy her life in Key West.

Her boy friend Ernest is in Miami working. They seldom see each other. Write often.

In the meantime, May enjoys herself in Key West. She and Ernest must have an understanding.

On this day, she went to La Brisa in the afternoon. Danced with Earle, Miguel, Oscar, Louisa, and Charlie C. Then watched Cuban dancing till 10 when she returned home.

The NASCAR noose. Saw a photo of it this morning for the first time.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quack likes a duck, then it probably is a duck.

The noose is a noose. No question about it.

The FBI says no federal crime violation involved. Many trying to convince others it is not a noose. Merely a rope to help open an overhead door.

Those who disagree it is a noose insult Darrell Wallace, Jr. and all others who believe what their eyes told them: A noose.

Why are some trying to misrepresent what it was? Especially at this time in our history where race once again is a major issue.

Disgusting.

The word is Seattle is returning to normal. The “kids” squatting on CHOP-CHAZ announced they are folding their tents and going home. They further announced they are throwing their support behind Joe Biden.

I watched the White House Task Force yesterday. Another disgrace.

Pence lying through his teeth: Things getting better folks! Fauci diplomatically countering.

Trump takes another federal court beating.

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Trump’s use of Pentagon funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border was illegal.

The Court ruled 2-1 that the use violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution. The Clause gives Congress exclusive power of the purse.

Poor Donald. He abruptly cancelled his weekend of golf in New Jersey. Trump tweeted he was doing so “to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced in Washington, D.C.” Trump is concerned that further Confederate statues might be torn down.

Donald is President. He thinks he is President of everything. Not so. Doesn’t realize that primary protection of property is the responsibility of Washington’s Mayor Bowser. The woman who had Black Lives Matter painted in large yellow letters in front of the White House.

Trump’s tweet about remaining in Washington to protect Confederate statues came a day after he personally called Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt and asked that the Park Service put back up the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike. Pike’s statue had been toppled and set on fire a few days earlier by protesters.

Washington’s Governor Inslee recognized Trump’s interest in Confederate statues and monuments when he said, “I wish he cared more about living Americans instead of dead Confederates.”

Well said.

Never made Cocktails at 7 last night. For some reason, exhausted. Slept from 7 last night to 5 this morning.

Enjoy your day!

Knowledge comes to us in many forms. One struck me big time yesterday.

Betty Gaudette is a new Facebook friend. Retired. Lives in Old Town, Florida. Not Old Town, Key West. Never heard of it before. Somewhere on the mainland.

She has a terrific website. Thought invoking. Check it out on Facebook, make her your friend.

People write to Betty just about every day with comments, views and admonitions. She publishes them all. Whether she agrees or not. Shares.

Some conflicting, some brilliant. Others, the works of a nut.

I share some today.

“Just a shot in the dark!…..Wouldn’t it be better to actually teach history than to erase it?”

“I don’t call it getting old. I call it outliving the warranty.”

“No white person alive today ever owned a slave. No black person alive today was ever a slave. We can’t move forward if people want to keep living in the past.”

“We can remove flags and statues all day. Until we figure out how to remove the hate in people’s hearts, nothing will change.”

“So Congress wants to replace police because of a few bad cops. I say let’s replace Congress because of a lot of bad Congressmen.”

“Masks are apparently the new bra. They’re uncomfortable, you only wear them in public, and when you don’t wear one everyone notices.”

“Does anyone else feel that the entire country has lost its everlovin’ mind?”

“My high school was so small. We had sex education and drivers education in the same car.”

“Our country will become a better place, when everyone realizes there are only 2 kinds of people in it. Good people and bad people. Ethnicity doesn’t matter.”

This observation accompanied a picture of Jesus Christ: “If you skip Me now, I will skip you in My Paradise.”

“I am at the age where an ‘all nighter’ means I didn’t have to get up to pee.”

“I wonder why we are so obsessed with trying to find intelligent life on other planets, when we can’t even find intelligent life here.”

“If we’re gonna defund a few bad apples then why aren’t we defunding Congress?”

“I am way more afraid of Joe Biden in the White House than I am of Covid-19.” (My observation: So many were afraid to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 so they voted for Trump. Look what we got!)

Trump in papers filed with the Supreme Court yesterday, asked that the Affordable Care Act be overturned. Does not make sense. The nation is in the midst of its greatest epidemic in a 100 years. People need health care. Additionally, if Obamacare goes, pre-existing conditions return.

A comment in yesterday’s Wall street Journal: Trump is on the wrong side of history.

Gets no argument from me.

Coronavirus testing in the U.S. sucks. Trump never got it going. He does not believe in testing.

The CDC announced that because of insufficient testing, Covid-19 infections are 10 times higher than reported.

Thank you, Donald.

Today’s Vanity Fair published an interesting article re Attorney General William Barr. It concerns Barr’s legacy.

Titled “The Guy Is With The Devil: The Rosemary’s baby theory of Attorney General William Barr.”

An interesting quote from the article: “Justice for Barr is completely indistinguishable from what Trump wants.”

The case of Obergefell v. Hodges one of the most important decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision rendered this day in 2015. It involved same sex marriage.

The case determined that same sex couples had rights equal to those afforded heterosexual couples.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority decision. He wrote in part: “The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person…..Couples of the same sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.”

Coronavirus on the upswing in the Keys. Number of confirmed cases 188. Up yesterday in one day by 15. The 15 being the largest daily increase experienced.

Florida in deep trouble re the virus. The Keys were in relatively good shape till the reopenings. A mistake as is obvious now.

The Keys are going to advertise safe methods to be followed in order to avoid having the virus take you down.

Beginning today, 70 banners will be flown on telephone polls from Islamorada to Key West, onto Duval Street and into Mallory Square. The banners will promote masks, handwashing and social distancing.

A good idea. Many need to be reminded.

Sand from the Sahara Desert in Africa is expected to reach Key West sometime later today. Referred to as a “Gorilla Dust Cloud.”

Forms in the Sahara and comes this way yearly. However no big deal. Till this year. Actually, it will be the biggest such dust storm to hit Florida in 50 years.

Health warnings are out. Inhalation of the sand dust not healthy. Especially when combined with the spikes in Covid-19. The recommendation is to remain inside.

You will know when it arrives. Expect a brown haze and deteriorating air quality.

Tonight, Cocktails at 7. I have come to look forward to it. Cathy in Seattle and Louis in Key West conversing for a couple of hours on Skype.

Enjoy your day!