Big event tonight. Mallory Square, 6-9. Taste of Key West. Twenty fourth consecutive year.

A charitable fund raiser.  Works through SMART Ride 61. SMART Ride is the annual Miami to Key West bike ride. The Ride specializes in providing assistance and health services to individuals living with HIV/AIDs.

A fun event. If you enjoy eating, and who does not, Mallory Square is the place to be. Restaurants and food vendors from Key West and the Lower Keys offer the best their culinary talents can provide.

Eat your heart out!

The delectable foods for you, the funds for a group in need.

Opted for a quiet sunday evening. Chart Room around 5. Glad I showed up. I was John’s only customer. Later, the bar filled up.

Left after 2 drinks. Needed food again. For whatever reason, my refrigerator is always bare. I was in dire need.

I have been back into my diet for a month. Lost 12 pounds already. Last year, I lost 62 pounds. Gained 15 back. Decided to get rid of it before it became an ordeal.

It’s working again! I probably will go a few pounds over 15.

Turned on the TV while eating my dinner consisting of next to nothing. There was Gone With The Wind. One of my favorite movies.

Two lines have always stuck with me. Rhett Butler’s “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” And Scarlett O’Hara’s  “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”

Both powerful in their respective settings.

My sunday afternoon noteworthy, also.

Tiger Woods winning the Masters. Thrilling! Brought a few tears to my eyes. A wayward life and body ailments brought his career to an end in the last 10 years. Woods never thought he would play again.

He won a tournament late last year.

Yesterday, he won again! A bigee! The Masters.

God was good.

Tiger went wild. The crowd cheered him. I cried.

I was channel switching. Watched Mayor Pete speak. An amazing individual! A breath of fresh air. His words and calm delivery remind me of John and Robert Kennedy.

As they did, he represents the new face of America.

Mayor Pete speaks the truth. Simply. Calm, yet with passion. He is intelligent. Did not speak down to the crowd. You never felt he was lying.

Youthful. Not a white old man with white hair.

Mayor Pete wants to take the U.S. in a new direction. Change the Nation’s course.

As he said, his winning would not be of an election. Rather, an era.

He impresses me. Not ready to commit yet, however. Would like to hear them all.

Michael Snyder is a conservative columnist. He refers to himself as conservatist. Sometimes, he deviates. To the middle. And on rare occasions goes over the line into liberal country.

I enjoy his writings. You have heard me refer to him in the past.

A recent column involved “Florida men.” Some 30 different factually correct happenings. From Snyder’s perspective, stories that prove America is in for more trouble than we thought.

A quote from the article: “When times are one of the darkest that the light is needed the most…..America is in desperate need of a new direction.”

Does not sound conservative to me. Even if it is, he is stating the obvious. We need new leadership!

An American tragedy. The U.S. has many. Some seem to fall between the cracks and get little attention. From government and the media.

Veteran suicides.

Twenty veterans a day die as suicides. No one seems to be paying attention. These former military persons did not have to stand in line when they signed up. However, they do stand in line now when medical care is required.

The press has to get into this first. Raise the volume so everyone can hear. Only then will the government pay attention.

Trump campaigned he was for veterans. He still talks about all he is doing for the vets.  Mostly lies, of course.

Our veterans are a forgotten breed.

I have never liked Stephen Miller. He and Bannon walked hand in hand initially. May still be doing so on the silent.

Miller sits in the White House at the right hand of Trump. He is the one controlling Trump’s immigration policies. Also the individual who writes most of Trump’s speeches covering important matters.

As a practical matter, Miller is a fink. Historically he reminds me of Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

Depicting Miller, interesting. He is an immigration warlord…..in a Rasputin type role…..knows how to keep his fingerprints/spots off the bodies of fallen rivals….put the knife in the back of Kirstjen Nielsen…..architect of Trump’s cruel immigration policies.

Miller knows he is in a position of power. Exercises it. If people do not jump high enough when he says jump, they become yesterday’s news.

Thank you Donald for providing America with the opportunity to experience Stephen Miller.

Dueling Bartenders at Aqua tonight for me. I am dieting. Taste of the Town not my thing at the moment. I would rather hum, sing along with Rick Dery and then enjoy a quiet dinner at La Trattoria.

Enjoy your day!

On this day in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot. It was 5 days after Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Lincoln was at the Ford Theater watching a show.

John Wilkes Booth snuck up behind Lincoln and shot him in the head. Lincoln died the next morning.

The 2 days were black days for the Nation.

Following the shooting, Lincoln was immediately taken across the street to a lodging house. The Petersen House. He died at 7:22 the next morning.

Lincoln was a tall man. The bed was too short for him. He was laid diagonally on the bed.

Both the Ford Theater and the Petersen House today are under the supervision of the National Park Service.

Both facilities open to the public.

The furniture in the room Lincoln spent his last hours is not the same. It was sold and resold. Today is on display at the Chicago Historical Museum. Replicas however have taken their place in the Petersen House.

Part of the Petersen House exhibit does contain the original blood stained pillow and pillow case that held Lincoln’s head.

During my professional career, I visited Washington often. Always on business, never for pleasure. Never a tourist. Rarely saw anything of an historical nature. I would fly in in the morning and fly out in the evening.

Five yeas ago, I decided it was time to see my Nation’s capital. I took a one week vacation. I played tourist.

Nothing like Washington. Most museums and exhibits free. Long lines, however. The only negative. I did as much as time permitted.

Thrilling the only way to describe the trip.

The Smithsonian exhibits mind blowing. The Holocaust Museum sad to the point of tears on occasion. Especially a box car that was used to transport Jews to the death camps.

The Jefferson Memorial left me speechless. Jefferson standing tall. The Lincoln Memorial, likewise. Except, Lincoln was majestically seated.

If you ever have the opportunity, go! Take the kids and grandkids. As perfect for them as for you.

Amazing. I had to be in my late 70’s before I became a Washington tourist.

I plan on returning some day. Impossible to see it all in one week.

Last night, a pleasant one. Dinner at Antonia’s  with a new friend. Bobbie Cotton.

A pic in this morning’s KONK Life E-Blast startled me. It was of a 4 seater scooter. The 4 people sitting one behind the other.

I assume it is the newest toy that will be plaguing Key West streets.

Key West has enough traffic. Too many different type vehicles and bikes. Just what we need now. A 4 seater scooter.

What less than intelligent public official approved the scooter’s use? Should be fired!

Key West is a city of many strange tales. Some real, others concocted. A real one happens to be the tale of a sick eccentric romantic. Carl Tanzler aka Count Carl von Cosel. It concerns his time with the woman he loved, Elena Hoyos Mesa. A young Cuban beauty.

They were in love. The Count most definitely in love.

The Count was a medical technologist at whatever was the Key West hospital at the time.

Elena died on October 25, 1931. The Count was lost. The love of his life gone. He devised a plan.

She had been buried in a lovely mausoleum at the Key West Cemetery. Paid for by the Count, of course.

Two years following Elena’s death, the Count in the dark of night removed her body from the mausoleum. Took Elena’s bones, etc. home with him. He reconstructed her body. Covered the final product in wax. Dressed her. Heavily bathe her in perfumes to keep the decomposition stench down.

The Count put her in his bed. He slept next to her. For 7 years till Elena’s sister discovered the madness which was taking place.

The Count was arrested. The charges involved moving a deceased’s body parts. He was never tried nor convicted. The statute of limitations had run.

The authorities took Elena’s body and buried her in an unmarked grave. Hoping the Count would not do the same thing again.

On April 14, 1941, Elena’s empty mausoleum blew up. Some one had set the charges.

The Count had left the day before to spend the rest of his life in Pasco County, Florida.

It is suspected the Count blew up the mausoleum.

The matter gets a bit sicker.

In 1972, 2 doctors who had examined Elena’s remains in 1940 mentioned that the body they examined contained a paper type tube in the woman’s vagina.

The doctors recalled the discovery as part of their 1940 examination. However, did not include it in their report.

Elena was buried in an unmarked grave back when. The authorities did not want the Count doing anything further with Elena’s body. The paper tube led persons to conclude the Count was having sex with Elena’s dead body the 7 years she was in his bed.

The situation became more convoluted. The Count died in 1952. At his home. His body not discovered for several days. There were some items in the room where he died, in the house, and surrounding his body. These items led  authorities to conclude that the Count might have discovered the location of her body in the unmarked grave, removed it, and returned Elena to Pasco County with him.

No one bothered to check the unmarked grave to see if her body was still there. Not then, nor to this day.

My April 3 blog concerned itself with The Americans. A group that considered women second class citizens. The group were leading male citizens. Under the guise of preventing the spread of venereal disease, a law was passed that made any woman viewed as suspicious by the police subject to arrest, incarceration, sometimes sterilization.

The law is still on the books in some states, though rarely enforced these days.

The law was/is known as the Chamberlain-Kahn Act.

Jasper Jottings is a weekly blog put out by F. John Reinke. His blog concerns Jaspers. Jaspers are Manhattan College graduates. Reinke graduated from Manhattan in the late 1960’s. I graduated from Manhattan in 1957. We have never met. Know each other however by our respective blogs.

Reinke refers to his blog as the Achievement Journal of My Fellow Jaspers, Alumni of Manhattan College.

Reinke carried my April 3 article re Women Second Class Citizens. I appreciate it. Reinke ran the article in his publication dated April 14.

I want to thank John. It was nice of him to print it.

Today, Sunday. Love Sundays! Pleasant things to do. Hot Dog Church, Kate Miano’s Gardens, the Chart Room. I hope to get at least 2 in tonight.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Spent yesterday primarily researching. By dinner time and time for me to be on the road, I was tired. Opted to remain home and watch TV.

Fred and Wilma. For our purposes today, a Keys story. For most of the world, a television show.

Let’s begin with the TV show. Fred and Wilma stars of The Flintstones. A 1960-66 pre-historic couple living in modern day surroundings. Great comedy!

Not the Fred and Wilma I am dwelling on today, however. My Fred and Wilma are part of the Old Seven Mile Bridge.

The Old Seven Mile Bridge was completed in the early 1900’s as part of the Florida Keys Over Sea Rail Road. Connected Marathon and Little Duck Key. The Old Seven Mile Bridge was basically wiped out by the Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Donna 1960.

The bridge has been closed to motorists and pedestrians for years. Finally, a rehabilitation has been undertaken. It will take till 2021 to complete repairs.

A sturdy tree has grown in the road bed of the Old Seven Mile Bridge. No one sure where it came from, how it got there, etc. The best guess is that the tree sprouted from bird or osprey droppings.

The tree an Australian pine one.

Note there is no friendly soil for growth purposes on the bridge.

The tree is named Fred.

Everyone loves Fred.

Christmas time Fred is decorated holiday style. Brightly.

The bridge has a problem. It is inaccessible these days. It can only be reached by parachute, jet pack, or scaling a 100 year old pylon from a boat bobbing in water more than 20 feet below the roadbed.

Fred is not alone. Another and smaller tree sits several hundred feet to the south of Fred. Called Wilma.

I would guess Fred and Wilma were so named because of the early 1960’s TV show, though I am not certain.

As you are driving north over today’s Seven Mile Bridge, take a look to your left. You will see Fred and Wilma. If traveling south, look to your right.

Tiger Woods. An athlete!

This is the weekend of the Masters. After 2 days, Woods is in second place. One stroke out of first.

There are a ton of young players at the top of the score board. Only a few near him age wise.

Woods won his first Masters in 1997 by 12 strokes. He was 21 at the time. Twenty two years later, he is with the leaders at this point.

Woods has had a tough career because of personal and health problems. He has gone through a lot. He has recovered. Has already won at least once this year.

Las Vegas and London odds favor Woods to win this weekend.

It is tougher competition in recent years for Woods. The young players of today are as good as he was 20 years. Woods set the standard, the kids adapted.

I will be pulling for him to win tomorrow.

Took a couple of breaks yesterday while researching. Spent some time watching the Masters and an old movie on TV.

The movie was a 1940 one staring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Too Many Girls. A stupid film about a southwestern college, the football team, and young love.

Van Johnson was in the movie. Spotted him immediately No talking part. Merely part of the crowd. Did some dancing. His name was not listed in the credits.

It was his first film. He was always in the front of a group or dance line. Smiling and waving his arms.

Four years later, he was the star in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Starred in many films over the years. Even into his later yeas. He died in 2008.

Two other films of note were Caine Mutiny and The Last Time I Saw Paris. I especially enjoyed the Paris film. Johnson played a heavy. His co-star was Elizabeth Taylor.

Johnson is viewed as one of the last matinee idols of what has been described as Hollywood’s “golden age.”

Oh, Donald! Will he ever stop screwing things up, threatening , not caring about cost, legality meaningless to him, etc.?

His newest ploy is to get even with the sanctuary cities. He is threatening to dump the immigrants on them.

Neither practical nor legal. He has been told by his people the cost would be out of sight to accomplish.

He also would be violating U.S. domestic laws. Diverting money for political purposes to settle political scores is not allowed.

Then there is the Posse Comitatus Act. It has been mentioned he would use U.S. military already at the border to move the migrants and establish procedures to be followed in so doing. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to enforce the domestic laws of the U.S., except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.

The circumstances involved are not expressly permitted under the Constitution. Congress will definitely not pass legislation permitting it. His actions would never gain muster through the Democratically controlled Congress.

The man is destroying our country!

Enjoy your day!

Steve Bannon is not the best of people. When he supported Trump and then was in Trump’s White House, his goal was to transform the U.S. as we have known. It is still his goal.

His primary function in life is to destroy existing governments and replace them with populist ones. Governments that are national conservative political movements.

The U.S. was not big enough for him to destroy. After he and Trump split, Bannon looked to larger governments to remake.

He found it. The Catholic Church!

In order to accomplish the goal, he has to bring Pope Francis down. He and Francis do not think alike.

Frances is administrator of the Church and also a politician. Francis opposes the populist national movement. He blames most of the world’s problems on the movement. He has said populists could lead to the election of leaders like Hitler.

There have been scandals within the Church. Sexual in nature. Homosexuality, pedophilia, bishop/nun sex, nun abortions, etc. Bannon believes Francis has not taken these scandals seriously enough. He is not confronting clerical sexual abuse head on.

Bannon has a partner in crime. Cardinal Raymond Burke. An American. Leader of the conservative faction of the clergy. The #1 conservative Catholic clergyman in the U.S.

Bannon and Burke now walk hand in hand. Their goals the same. Call for Francis’ resignation. Failing in that, erect another Vatican on grounds immediately outside the present Vatican. It will be the place for Church conservatives and many clerical homosexuals. A second Vatican, a separate Vatican from the present one.

Homosexuality plays a big part in all this. It is believed 80 percent of cardinals are homosexuals. Many lesser rank clergy working in the Vatican also.

They fear discovery.

Francis is not a homosexual. He is a man among “queens.” He was elected Pope because both sides felt they were safe with him. This poor humble boy from Argentina. What did he know!

Francis has been dealing with the clerical homosexual and sex abuse problems. Openly. That is why most of he Cardinals and others in the Vatican do not like him. He believes in transparency.

There are 2 groups of homosexuals within the Church. Those open about it. They believe based on recent world events that homosexuals are more and more accepted. They believe that acceptance would extend to them also.

Whether they are correct, I do not know. It is a long stretch.

The other group are homosexuals acting as homophobics. This group does not wish to be publicly identified as homosexuals. They therefore condemn those who practice homosexuality. To cover their asses.

In Frederic Martel’s In The Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, Martel describes those who play at being homophobics as “ladies” who protest too much.

Burke and his American group are homophobics as described in the preceding. Bannon is working with them to accomplish their needs as well as his own.

In the meantime, there is a second pope living in the Vatican. Benedict XVI. The war between the two homosexual groups forced his retirement. A first.

Benedict is becoming a problem. The Burke/Bannon group is pushing him in a direction he does not enjoy.

All being done with the intent of getting rid of Frances and replacing him with a Pope more to the Burke/Benedict way of thinking.

A recent quote re Francis: “As for Pope Francis, he was presented by the press as a progressive. That isn’t precisely true: he’s merciful. He has a pastoral approach: he hold his hand out to the sinner. It isn’t the same thing at all.”

A pleasant thursday afternoon and evening yesterday.

Joined Laurie on her radio show at Station 107.5 FM, WGAY FM. A fun time! Our exchange gets better each week. Love doing the show with her!

Then to the Chart Room. Watched some of the Masters. Jean arrived., We chatted a bit. Decided to have dinner together. We did at La Tattoria. Tiffany bartending.

Dinner over at 8:30. Jean hopped on her bike to go to Vino’s. I in my car to go home.

Remember when Castro decided to teach the U.S. a lesson. He sent thousands to our shores. Refugees. He assumed we would welcome them. We did.

One problem. They were mostly mental defectives. Castro’s way of saying…..Up yours!

Trump had a similar idea.

In November and February, Trump seriously considered dumping the overflow migrants into “sanctuary cities.”

Teach sanctuary advocates a lesson!

Trump considers Ivanka a very smart woman. In recent months, he has considered appointing her to lead the World Bank or serve as UN Ambassador. Trump claims his daughter is very good with numbers and a natural diplomat.

He claims the only reason he did neither is because he knew he would be accused of nepotism.

Michael Avenatti. Came upon the scene 2-3 years ago. A sudden big time lawyer.

I was uncomfortable with Avenatti. He did not conduct himself as a lawyer. Especially one of quality. Cases are won in the courtroom, not on the steps of the court house or on TV.

Everyone I discussed the matter with disagreed with me. This guy is terrific! All thought.

I feel sorry for Avenatti. Like Humpty Dumpty, he fell off the wall. Doubt he can be put together again.

He was arrested yesterday on 36 counts. Based on a federal grand jury indictment. The feds seized his $4.5 million jet. Some of the  charges include income tax evasion. Some of the counts charged occurred over a 10 year period.

His fall came about recently based on a matter in which he was representing a client against NIKE. His demand $20 million. NIKE thought it was extortion. The authorities were called in.

The next 2-3 years are going to be difficult for Avenatti. Tough especially for a lawyer. I wish him well.

I close with Albert Einstein. A wise man in many ways, he said: “The greatest danger to the world is not the bad people but it’s the good people who don’t speak out.”

Enjoy your day!

Birthday party time last night. Donna’s. Friends gathered with her upstairs at the Blue Macaw. A good time had by all.

Terri sang Happy Birthday! to her wife. May she sing it for many years to come.

On the way home, I stopped at Publix to pick up a few things. Things I forgot at the time of my last visit.

Later this after noon, I sit with Laurie Thibaud for 1 1/2 hours. I will be guesting on Laurie’s Party Time Show. Beginning at 4. Station 105.7 FM, WGAY FM.

Laurie and I will sit facing each other and cover a multitude of sins.

Join us.

Then to the Chart Room. Don’t know at this point what I will be doing after the Chart Room.

Medical marijuana has finally found its way to Key West. Strictly recreational to this point.

The first medical marijuana store has opened or will be opening this weekend on Flagler. I think in Habana Plaza. In the next 2 weeks, two more. Both on Duval.

A lot of sick people going to need marijuana medication. I suspect the number of those requiring it will grow rapidly.

Without power late yesterday afternoon. Almost 2 hours. A sailboat hit power lines near Tavernier.

Attorney General Barr continues to make me uncomfortable .He speaks with forked tongue. He is emboldening Trump in wrongdoing.

During Watergate, John Sirica was the federal judge in charge/control of proceedings. The main thrust of the Mueller investigation does not seem to have reached that point yet. It needs to do so sooner than later. Otherwise Trump’s people will make a mockery of the investigation and prove that crime does pay.

Barr should be careful. An Attorney General can be criminally charged. Recall Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell. He spent 19 months in jail.

Measles. One of my childhood afflictions. Everyone my age today got the measles when they were very young. Once you had the measles and survived, there were built in immunities in your body to protect against ever getting the measles again.

Then came the vaccination shot. Replaced in effect actually getting the measles. The vaccination reliable. Twenty years ago, measles were declared to be gone. U.S. persons did not have to concern themselves. The vaccination protected all those vaccinated.

In every society, there are those who for various reasons are opposed to whatever. There were and are parents in the U.S. who do not believe in the vaccination and court’s have permitted them to legally prevent their children from being inoculated.

Rockland County, New York, was experiencing a measles epidemic. Within areas inhabited by orthodox Jewish families. The number infected somewhere in the 160’s. The County Legislature passed a law requiring unvaccinated children to be vaccinated immediately. Otherwise, they were barred from attending schools and being in public places.

Some anti-vaccination families took the matter to State Court. The Judge threw the ban out . Claimed it improper. The kids could go to school and anywhere they wanted.

The County filed an immediate appeal.

A stupid decision, I thought. A rogue Judge.

Now 2 weeks later, a portion of New York City has been declared a measles health emergency. The Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Interestingly, an orthodox Jewish community also. Two eighty five measles cases since October. Contrast that with only 2 cases in the whole of 2017.

Mayor de Blasio declared a public health emergency. All unvaccinated persons must be vaccinated or face heavy fines.

Note the measles epidemic occurred in orthodox Jewish areas in both Rockland County and Brooklyn. There had to have been a gathering of orthodox Jews which caused the disease to easily spread.

Enjoy your day!

Love to read! Began in early grammar school. Books from my parent’s small library. Many words foreign to me. I sat with a thick dictionary at my side. An example, I read all of John Steinbeck’s works by the time I was 12.

High school was easier when it came to reading. My pleasure continued. The world opened up to me.

Then came college. Wow! The literature classes exciting. I was introduced to new writers and through them new places and life situations.

One of my favorite all time readings took place in a college literature class. O’Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi. Deeply sensitive. Magic in itself.

The Magi is the story of a poor but devoted couple who each sacrifice their most valuable possession to buy a Christmas gift for the other.

The story was published  April 10, 1906 as part of O’Henry’s short story collection The Four Million.

The Magi should appear alone several places on the internet. Look it up. The tale is short. Read it. Excite yourself emotionally.

Last night my podcast show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Excuse my lack of humility…..A great show! The topics interesting, came together well. I was excited doing it. Sure my listeners enjoyed hearing it.

Easter Sunday around the corner. The 24th. A week from this Sunday.

Love holidays! Family get togethers. Great food!

A bit of disappointment in recent years. Robert and Ally no longer receive baskets. Too old. Which means I will go without as far as Easter candy is concerned.

I started a tradition way back when Lisa was a little girl. Easter egg hunts. Graduated to Easter gift hunts. Held on the first floor of my Utica home. Everyone a winner. The one who found the most received a special prize.

When the children felt they were too old to participate, the hunt fell upon my parents. Years later, upon my former wife and me. By that time, the children had become parents in their own right and the grandkids became hunters for the Easter booty.

It was fun! We all yelled you’re hot, you’re cold, you’re close, oh no, and the like.

What would Key West have done without Harry Truman? What would Harry Truman have done without Key West? A mutual admiration society.

On this day in 1950, Truman left Key West to return to Washington. He had spent an entire month in Key West.

From what I understand, Truman would take a long walk through town in the morning. Stopping to chat along the way. He was a loved man!

Then work till mid afternoon. Following which he napped. Then dinner. His evenings spent at a round table in the Little White House playing cards and sipping his favorite drink. A letter to Bess. Early to bed.

Some days he would deviate. Go swimming or fishing.

The rest and enjoyment Key West brought to Truman deserved.

Geiger Key. We all know the place. On Geiger Key. A thatched roof eating place. On the water surrounded in large part by mangroves.

Geiger Key is named after John Geiger. Geiger died this day in 1885. He was born in St. Augustine in 1807. Came to Key West to work as a pilot for Commodore David Porter in 1823.

Geiger was the first licensed harbor pilot in Florida. Also worked as a master wrecker.

Geiger was one of the first settlers in Key West. He built what is now known as the Audubon House.

The things we know little about, the things that are kept from us. The government responsible for our ignorance.

We have intentionally been left in the dark or our leaders are too stupid to recognize our weaknesses, etc. Probably a combination of both.

I spoke concerning this problem on my podcast show last night. What I said re Venezuela and a U.S. invasion of Venezuela the part shared last night.

Several weeks ago, Trump suddenly became interested in the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. The people had insufficient food and power.

It was like…..Donald, welcome to the 21st century! The two problems have existed for at least 5 years. Was Trump even aware how the Venezuelans 5 years ago had run out of food, ate their family pets, then the animals in the zoos, followed by grass and foliage, then roots dug from the soil?

I am sure he was not. I cannot believe he even paid attention.

All of a sudden several weeks ago, Trump is concerned about the humanitarian crisis. Bullshit! His concern, as is Russia’s, for Venezuelan oil. Venezuela has the largest reserve of in the world.

Trump sent troops to Columbia and sat them down on the Columbia/Venezuela border. I think 3,500 ground troops. My number may be incorrect.

The U.S. is supposedly the world’s greatest military power. We are learning such may not be the case.

The troops never moved into Venezuela. The reason is that Venezuela, in spite of all its economic problems, has a radar system vastly superior to anything the U.S. could put in the air.

U.S. ground troops could not survive without air coverage. Our troops would be destroyed by Venezuelan air power.

Turns out Venezuela has a highly effective radar system. Referred to as S-300 Anti-Air System.

It has 6 of these systems. Each can identify and knock out 25 U.S. planes in a sortie. Six of the systems being utilized at one time means 130 U.S. planes, etc. destroyed.

These numbers applicable to U.S. fighters, bombers, attack planes, and ballistic missiles.

The S-300 System has a hit rate of 85-90 percent.

Notice we have heard nothing further about an invasion of Venezuela. Don’t even know if U.S. troops are still sitting on the Colombian border.

I would like to know why Trump did not know that our “air force” was ineffective against the S-300 Systems. Why didn’t his generals know? If they did, why didn’t they tell him? Did they tell him and he ignored their counsel?

All of a sudden small ineffectual economically depressed Venezuela can ward off an American invasion. Unheard of! At least till now.

Re military power, the story does not end here.

Lets talk about the U.S.’s terrific fighter airplane the F-35. The stealth fighter plane. The beauty of the F 35 is that it cannot be seen. Modern radar cannot identify it either.

The preceding is what we were told. Turns out it is not the case. The F 35 fails against modern cutting edge air defenses such as the S-300 and S-400.

The F-35 is worthless. The pitch re its stealth worthiness false. Pure bullshit.

An F 35 sold to Japan recently went down. No one sure yet why. Japan said it is grounding all F 35’s.

The F 35 suggests the U.S. is not capable pf building up to date effect weaponry. The U.S. no longer superior as concerns military equipment.

Some are already suggesting that such is occurring because U. S. leaders the past 40 years have not paid attention to the military. Just as the U.S. has not paid attention to infrastructure.

Instead our leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, have served the “elite.” Permitting U.S. companies to move to Europe, approving favorable tax legislation for them, etc. In effect, our government for 40 years has dramatically helped to develop the ultra rich one percent. To the detriment of the rest of the country in more ways than one.

A closing note. The U.S. spent billions of dollars developing what is turning out to be the useless F 35. It was just last October that Trump said the F 35 was a terrific plane…..You can’t see it!

Good luck!

Enjoy your day!

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. By the cone. Free all day all over the U.S.

More than 1 if you are so inclined.

Ben and Jerry’s has been doing this one day free be for several years. For a couple of reasons. One to say thank you to their customers. The other to introduce non Ben and Jerry’s customers to the product.

Free cone day in Key West is at Ben and Jerry’s,  124 Duval Street. Free scoops from noon to 8.

Ah, last night! A pleasant one.

Got a late start. Close to 7. Went directly to the Chart Room. John bartending.

Kevin and Holly back. They were gone for 3 months. They wasted no time while away. Visited Ireland. Another country also, I believe. I cannot recall which.

Mary at the bar. Had not seen Mary in a while. Interesting lady to talk with.

Left about 8:30. Wanted to be home in time for the Virginia/Texas Tech game at 9:20. Stopped at Dion’s on the way for chicken.

The Dion’s chicken was good. As always. The game even better.

I thought Texas Tech would win. Wasn’t happening. Behind a lot during the game. Texas put it together near the end when it had to. The game ended in a tie.

At that point, I fell asleep. Never saw the overtime. Woke at 2 and hurried to the computer to see who pulled it out.

Virginia, 85/77.

Congratulations to Virginia. What I like the most is that last night will be the high point in each Virginia player’s life, no matter how long they live.

They achieved big time! Few have the opportunity.

Weather report today interesting. Going to rain off and on. Will be warm.

Key West weather has been warm for a couple of months. Low 80’s generally.Not humid. Comfortable. Evenings in mid 70’s, yet cool. sleep with the window open.

Weather man says it will change today and tonight. Humid.

Burmese Pythons always a Florida story. One million plus live in Florida.

The State has acknowledged that it let the python problem get out of hand. Instead of eradicating them when they began to pop up, Florida did nothing. When it was determined several years ago that the population exceeded 1 million, the State said eradication impossible. We can only hope to contain their growth.

So far, all activities to contain have yielded insignificant results.

Last week,  scientists captured a 17 foot long Burmese python. Yes, Florida is hiring scientists to assist in discovering a way to kill large numbers off.

The python was captured in Big Cypress National Preserve. A swampland west of Miami. One of the largest ever captured. Weighed 140 pounds. Pregnant. Carried 73 developing eggs.

The python was captured via a new and different approach. Radio transmitters were attached to some male pythons. During breeding season, the males are easily able to find female pythons for sex. The radio transmitter on the male tells the scientists where the females are. They swiftly go forth and kill the female.

Burmese pythons are not native to the U.S. They are native to Southeast Asia.

So, how did they get to Florida?

Pythons began appearing in the Everglades in the 1980’s. It is assumed python pet owners disposed of their pythons in the Everglades when they wanted to get rid of them.

Sex big with pythons. They propagate.

Still not a humongous problem, however. The big problem occurred during 1992 Hurricane Andrew. A category 5. Did a number to the Homeland area.

Somewhere in Andrew’s pathway was a python breeding facility. The facility was blown away. The pythons who survived got a free ride. One way or another, they ended up in the Everglades.

Some have been discovered in the Keys. Northern Keys primarily. A few mid-Keys. Two or three made it to Key West.

We want no more.

Oh, did we learn! Recycle! We listened. We complied. Learned how to and did separate garbage from recyclables. Companies like Waste Management gave us a huge and different colored container to put the recyclables in. Garbage collectors like Waste Management constructed huge recycling facilities.

Recyclables no longer a big deal. It was a moneymaker for everyone. Cheaper collection fees to homeowners, additional fees to garbage collectors, more money to those who recycled recyclables into usable materials which were then sold to manufacturers who needed them.

No more.

China was the biggest customer of U.S. garbage collectors. They have plants all over China to recycle. Until a year ago. China got out of the recycling business. Trump’s tariff war contributed. Though not a cause, the tariff wars accelerated the end of Chinese recycling plants.

In many parts of the U.S., recyclables are going directly into the landfill along with the garbage.

Trump is a nasty man. No one has to tell you. It is obvious.

He has the bad habit of making up names to call adversaries and people with whom he does not agree.

Most recently, Congressman Jerry Nadler. Nadler is Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Nadler a big man. One time fat. Had bi pass surgery several years ago. Thinner, but not all the way.

Trump has begun calling Nadler Fat Jerry.

Trump should talk. Trump is huge! Much heavier than Nadler. A pot calling the kettle black situation.

Trump needs to beware. Someone is going to retaliate and call him Fat Ass or Fat Donald.

Remember, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

A return to Pope Francis, the Vatican, and homosexuality. Touched on it yesterday. A bit more added today.

Francis called for the recent synod to deal with the rampant homosexuality in the Vatican and Catholic Church generally.

He got shot down by a certain powerful group of Cardinals.

James Alison is an openly gay priest highly respected for his theological writings on the subject. He said, “It’s the revenge of the closet! It’s the vengeance of the closet.” Alison went on to say that the homosexual Cardinals “in the closet” declared war on Francis who was encouraging gays to “come out of the closet.”

Luigi Gioia, an Italian Benedictine monk, describes why the homosexual Cardinals turned on Francis: “For a homosexual, the Church appears to be a stable structure…..that’s one of the explanations for the fact that many homosexuals chose the priesthood…..Francis by wanting to reform it, made the structure unstable for closeted homosexual priests. That’s what explains their violent reaction and their hatred for him. They’re scared.”

Today is tuesday. Tonight Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me at 9 for a quick moving half hour. I touch on interesting topics.

Enjoy your day!

The Catholic Church and homosexuality. A problem of major proportions. Good guys and bad guys involved. Persons you may not be aware who are involved. Most opposed to Pope Francis.

Steve Bannon first. He is on the move again. He helped screw up the U.S. government when Trump took office. He is now after Pope Francis and the Vatican.

Francis is trying to deal with the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse problem. He believes in transparency. Get it all out.

Obviously, he has opposition from within the Church. Especially the hierarchy.

Many homosexuals. An example being the Cardinals. Eighty percent are considered to be homosexuals.

I have been reading Frederic Martel’s In The Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy. Revealing. In addition, I have been following various news reports.

Francis is not homosexual. Such being the case, why did the Cardinals elect him Pope? Simple. There are 2 factions of homosexual Cardinals. One group does not fear notoriety, the other wants the problem to remain in the closet.

Francis was a compromise.

Francis a straight guy in the midst of  “queens.”

Steve Bannon has become involved in helping to screw up the Catholic Church. He has opted to get involved in the fight and is helping one side.

Recall that Bannon is a destroyer of existing governments. It was his goal when associated with Trump. Did a good job in getting the ball rolling. He is now working to destroy the Vatican, the government of the Catholic Church.

The homosexual situation provides him the opportunity.

The primary group opposed to Francis is led by the American Cardinal Raymond Burke. Burke wants a second Vatican. One physically outside the Vatican in Rome. Burke’s group promotes itself as being the place for traditional Catholics and political conservatives.

Bannon is working hand in hand with Burke. Burke outwardly is anti-homosexuality. A homophobic. Rigid in how he projects his beliefs.

Martel in his book claims that those Cardinals evidencing “homophobic rigidity” are guilty of “the lady doth protest too much.”

Francis has shown concern for the Catholic laity who are homosexuals. The we are all God’s children theory. Burke and his group claim that Francis’ perceived leeway toward gay Catholics shows he is unfit to lead.

Burke wants to establish a Church tribunal system similar to the U.S. Court system. The Church courts would put on trial all accused of sexual abuse. Sinners themselves deciding the faith of accused sinners.

Burke and Bannon a formidable team.

Then there is Newt Gingrich. A troublemaker in his own right. He is married to Callista. His third wife. The woman he was having a 6 year relationship with while trying to impeach Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Callista was nominated by Trump and approved by the Senate to be Ambassador to the Vatican. Her appointment throws Newt into the center of Vatican politics. I do not know if he and Bannon walk hand in hand.

Trump is anti-Francis. Francis is against Trump’s handling of the the immigration problem. Francis believes in climate change. He has spoken out loudly re both.

The whole thing a mess. Francis standing alone against a multitude of sinners. Except for God, few support him.

On this day in 1928, Ernest and Pauline Hemingway arrived in Key West for the first time. They arrived on a steamship from Havana.

Hemingway had no intention of remaining in Key West. He had ordered a new Ford. It was to be waiting for him when he arrived in Key West. It was not. Took several weeks to arrive.

Hemingway fell in love with Key West during that time and remained some 10 years.

Key West is fortunate Ford could not get the car here timely.

The Cow Key Bridge run was fun. I neither participated nor watched. Never have. Maybe I refuse to dress like a cow.

The Seven Mile Bridge Run equally successful. The winner a 16 year old lad from Marathon. Ran the 7 miles in 39 minutes flat.

One thousand five hundred participated in the Run.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned or was booted by Trump. Appears to have been both scenarios.

Nielsen was Trump’s tool. She performed all his directives faithfully. Like caging children, like taking children from their parents.

Word is that Trump finally dumped her yesterday because she was reluctant to prevent asylum seekers entry to the U.S. U.S. law provides asylum seekers must be admitted. Trump wants to prohibit them entry.

Whatever, she did the Devil’s work while she held office.

Remained in again last night. Continued researching. Must get out tonight, however. Probably Dueling Bartenders and the Chart Room. Maybe La Trattoria.

Enjoy your day!

Dildo races.

Only in Key West!

All sizes, all shapes.

The race track a slightly elevated board. Four dildos at a time race.

A sight to see. Four dildos wiggling down the track. Vibrators help. The crowd yelling in support of at least one. Just like the horse races. A form of legal betting permitted.

This interesting sport is held at Mary Ellen’s on Applerouth. A bar. Key West quirky.

Love it! Booze and food. Soul food. Grilled cheese sandwich my favorite.

The races every Tuesday night at 9. Other nights also, if so requested.

The races are held as a charity fundraiser event. The most recent by the Fringe Theater.

Good fun for a good cause.

Always a crowd.

Last night interesting. Had a bit of a conflict. Wanted to watch both Final Four games and enjoy dinner with Donna and Terri. Great basketball and great cooking.

I missed the first game. The exciting one as it turned out. Virginia/Auburn. Virginia won by 1 point 63-62. On three foul shots made by Virginia with 0.6 seconds left. That is less than 1 second.

Won’t bore you with the details. Had to be a hell of a game!

Left Donna and Terri immediately after dinner. Got home just as Texas Tech/Michigan State was starting. Texas Tech won 61-51.

An upset.

I watched Texas Tech play last week. Impressed me. I suspected they would win. It’s all in their defense. They steal the ball. When the other side is dribbling or passing. Frequently. It’s the way they have been trained to play.

Today, Sunday. Love Sundays!

Hot Dog Church and Kate Miano’s Gardens. Lovely ladies at both. Meet and chat with old friends. Make new ones.

I have been trying to reach Guy de Boer for 2 days. Finally made contact this morning. He had dropped his phone in the canal.

I once dropped my cell phone in water. I was standing at the toilet doing what men do standing at a toilet. Talking on my phone at the same time. I could walk and chew gum. Somehow the phone slipped out my hand and dropped into the toilet.

One way to get a new phone.

What goes around, comes around. No question about it.

On December 7, 1941, Japan in a sneak attack bombed Pearl Harbor. Two thousand four hundred three Americans killed.

Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. I have not always agreed with that Biblical passage.

Vengeance re Pearl Harbor belonged to America. Without question. It would come massively when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

It came earlier, also. On this day 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk by Allied forces. The Yamato was engaged in a counter offensive  struggle for Okinawa.

The Yamato was recognized as the greatest battleship in the world. Weighed 72,800 tons. Had 9 18.1 inch guns.

Yamato’s job was to destroy the Allied fleet off the coast of Okinawa. It was Japan’s only hope of retaking Okinawa.

The battle turned into a suicide mission for the Yamato. For some reason, it had insufficient air cover and fuel. Nineteen American aerial torpedoes struck the Yamato. The ship went down.

Two thousand four hundred ninety eight Japanese drowned.

The Americans had their first taste of vengeance on a massive scale.

Four months later, it was as if God had wrought His vengeance. The U.S. dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan. The number of dead as a result in excess of two hundred thousand.

It has frequently been said that by bombing Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had waked a sleeping giant. No question about it.

Enjoy your Sunday!

A change of pace blog today. No politics or heavy stuff. What better subject to begin with than sex.

A few old wives tales revisited.

Masturbation will make you blind, hairy or cause you to have a weak brain.

Source old time religion. From centuries back.

No negative effects. If true, the whole male population would need walking canes.

Nosebleeds mean uncontrollable sexual arousal.

The theory being that “pressure” during sex causes a build-up in blood. Semen not involved in the theory. Japanese in origin. Totally false.

Can’t get pregnant if you have sex in the water.

The reasoning is that water flushes out the vagina and “floods sperm.” Poor drowning sperm cannot make it to the cervix, uterus or fallopian tubes.

Wrong! Sperm are very good at what they do. Last 3-5 days in the vagina. Swim like hell to get to their goal.

Big feet and hands mean a big penis.

Science has proven over and over such is not the case. A man with size 16 shoes does not guarantee 10 inches anywhere else. A University of London study in 2002 found no correlation between feet/hands size and penis size.

So much for sex.

Never got out last night. Spent the evening watching old movies. Third day of Greta Garbo flicks on Turner Classic Movies. A beauty. Even better, an outstanding actress. Watched Garbo involved with Napoleon. Napoleon played by Charles Boyer.

Started my yesterday at 4:30. Rose early because I had a full day ahead of me. Had to get the blog out before I went out.

Research and writing of blog completed by 10:30. Quick shower. Haircut at noon with Lori. Manicure at 12:30 with Tammy. Followed by grocery shopping at Publix. Home at 3. With groceries yet to be put away.

I had no energy left. Remember, my day began at 4:30. Took a nap.

Tonight dinner at Donna and Terri’s. Donna cooking. No doubt it will be an exemplary meal.

Then home to watch the Final Four. Will probably miss the first half of the first game.

I had the good fortune of attending 3 Final Fours. Two where Syracuse played. One I went to just for the fun of it.

A Final Four exciting! Like a Super Bowl. Hard to believe, but I attended 11 consecutive Super Bowls.

The Super Bowls were easy. I was in a position to do a major favor for a Vice-President of  one of the professional football teams. His younger brother needed assistance.

The V-P never forgot. Every year thereafter he sent 2 Super Bowl tickets. Great seats all the time. I assume they are still coming and my son is using them.

The V-P reciprocated also in another fashion. My oldest granddaughter Sara graduated from college some 15 years ago. He gave her a job in his marketing operation. She is still with the pro football team.

The Schooner Western Union was launched in Key West on March 7, 1939. It was the last large schooner built in Key West.

The Western Union is still around. Sitting dockside near Schooner Wharf. Needs a ton of work. Needs a ton of money to do the work.

The Western Union has been a problem for years. Always needing repair work. Several groups have tried to take care of the situation. Generally however, a band-aid solution.

A not for profit presently responsible for the boat. Looking for money.

The schooner must be self-sufficient. Whoever is caring for the vessel this time should work it out along those lines. Otherwise, let it go. I hear too many people who are no longer sympathetic because the vessel always needs more money.

A few days ago, I wrote about the Vietnam War and the Vietnam War Veterans Day in Key West. Unfortunately, an unpopular war. People were not happy with it.

Several comments have been received. I want to share 2 with you.

“I lost my brother in Vietnam and to this day I don’t know for what or for why.”

Another by a wife. The government had 2 programs. One a 2 year draft. The other a 3 year voluntary sign up guaranteeing you would not serve in Vietnam.

Her husband opted for the 3 year offer. At some point after he was in, the government reneged and sent him to Vietnam. She commented, “I know that one was my husband and he never came home. We never got to have daughters, Lou. I wish I too had done what your wife did. In the end, you did the right thing.”

I have several times written and spoke regarding the theft of Social Security funds by the federal government. Funds borrowed, never to be paid back.

One of these instances was a blog I wrote on November 5, 2015 titled The Theft of Social Security. You might want to find and read it. Eye opening. Go to www.keywestlou.com. Right hand column has my blogs listed by month and date. Go to November 2015 and scroll down to the second 11/5.

When I wrote in November 2015, the national debt and intergovernmental debt totaled $18 trillion. The intergovernmental portion was $5.1 trillion.

Intergovernmental is taking money from one agency and loaning it to another. Includes the federal government dipping into the Social Security Fund since Reagan’s days and never paying back.

The intergovernmental loans are set up so there is no legal obligation to repay. The federal government gives the equivalent of an IOU in return for the money. You can’t take an IOU to court or to a bank.

Since the intergovernmental will never be paid back, it should not be considered a debt. However the federal government does for accounting purposes.

In 2015, I subtracted the intergovernmental debt from the national debt. To me, and to you it should also, represent actual dollars owed. Not make believe ones that will never be paid back. Subtract $5.1 trillion from $18 trillion and it is $13 trillion the government actually owed.

The $5.1 trillion in 2015 included $2.7 trillion owed to Social Security.

Works the same way  today, except the numbers are bigger.

The last generated figures are for 2018. The national debt was $22.2 trillion. Of the total, $5.9 trillion was owed to intergovernmental agencies. Monies that did not have to be paid back. A total of 230 agencies involved.

Subtracting the intergovernmental from the national debt leaves a “for real” debt of $16 trillion. Not the $22.2 trillion the federal government always talks about.

Social Security is not insolvent. Won’t be for a number of years. Would not be threatened if the federal government paid back the monies borrowed in full or over a period of years.

Every day Social Security takes in more than it pays out. What a deal! The federal government borrows daily and never worries because it knows it will never be legally required to pay back.

I took the time to spell all this out because someone asked in a comment how much I thought the federal government’s real debt today was.

What really pisses me off is that most of our Senators and Congressmen do not even know about this sweet borrowing deal and theft. They actually believe Social Security  is going insolvent. Too many old age free loaders getting paid from Social Securty. They further forget the old foggies are being paid out of monies they paid in.

Again, read my November 5, 2015 blog The Theft of Social Security. You will say at the end…..For real?

On this day in 1917, the U.S. formally entered World War I. The war to end all wars!

A joke! Count the number of wars we have been engaged in since 1917.

My personal feelings are that men love war. Thrive on it. Macho men. Otherwise, there would not have been so many wars since World War I nor in all of history.

Enjoy your day!