Common events can be happy ones. I have two ahead of me today.

At 3, I will be receiving a CT Angiogram of my chest. Recall last week, I suffered extreme heart pain. The worst ever! Thought I was getting the big time heart attack. Strange since recently I had received 3 heart surgeries at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami over a 5 week period in February and March.

The CT scan today is to determine why the pain. Fortunately, no pain since last week.

I am upset it took this long to get scheduled for the test. Eight days. I am doing it at the Key West Hospital. Nevertheless, I am thrilled the day is finally here.

Happy #2 is Cathy Holka arrives at 4:30 today for a few days. My Cocktails at 7 friend from Seattle. She is stopping in Key West for a three days visit. 

Cathy is on her way home from a trip to Belize. While there, she decided to spend a few days in Key West. 

In Belize, she broke a bone in her foot while snorkeling. Walking with a boot now.

She will be my dinner companion for the next few nights. And my companion day wise also. 

Cathy loves Key West. She resided her for a few years in the late 1980’s. She rented an apartment at the former Mercedes Hospital building on Virginia Street.

From the teens to early 1940’s, the Mercedes Hospital was administered by nurse Maria Valdez de Gutsens. Since her death, rumor has it she continues to walk its corridors and rooms. Touching and otherwise helping the sick.

Cathy claims she was “touched” by Mother Gutsens.

Cathy says she was really sick. A bronchial condition. Fever, sweats, body wracked in pain. She was asleep. Felt someone raise her arm as if taking her pulse. She could not see who it was. Mother Maria was not visually visible. She could feel, however. There were lights flashing through her window from the outside also.

Cathy describes her experience as “totally peaceful.” Yet, no words spoken. 

She describes the happening in the words of the time. She claims it was a “blast” and “cool.

Cathy would like to meet another who has had a similar experience. To discuss their happenings and how each felt about it.

I believe the whole Gutsens/Cathy story. A nut Cathy is not.

By the way, she did not get any better soon as a result of Mother Maria’s visit.

Cathy will arrive this afternoon wearing a boot.

Keep shooting! Continue selling guns without adequate safe guards!

Ty’oh Settles a lovely 3 year old. Will never make 4.

She was riding in a car which was caught in a Washington, D.C. crossfire. The vehicle, driver and Ty not pat of the crossfire battle.

A bullet struck and killed Ty.

Some things are hard hard to do.

Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy last year. He since has been forced to live on a budget of $43,000 a month. He now says he cannot live on that amount. He requires an increase.

William Shakespeare’s words of centuries ago still commonplace today. Like “The course of true love never did run true…..Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once…..What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet….What’s love cannot be undone.”

Lunched yesterday with Theo and Dina at the Thai Light Restaurant at the foot of the Palm Street bridge. Sushi!

My friends loved it! Fortunately, I enjoyed their company. Thought I could handle a California roll without teeth. Could not. Theo ate my portion.

I pick up Cathy at 4:30 at the airport. My medical procedure should be over by that time. 

I am looking forward to her visit. She always cooks a meal for me. Lamb chops one of my favorites and she does them for me. Not this trip, however. No culinary efforts required of her. Cannot chew. Therefore cannot eat. Cathy will owe me two meals the next time she visits.

Enjoy your day!

Cinco de Mayo is a yearly celebration held on May 5 to celebrate Mexico’s victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Mexico’s troops were led by General Ignacio Zaragoza.

For some reason, Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated with any significance in Mexico. However, it is celebrated in Key West. Key Westers party with dancing, drinking and food. Margaritas the drink of choice.

Enjoy the special holiday today!

Mystik Dan, a long shot, won the Kentucky Derby. An 18-1 shot.

The finish thrilling. A three horse photo finish that took judges several minutes to decide. The victory by a nose.

Trump creates problems. He seeks to isolate a particular group to support him by so doing.

Trump’s recent is his pledge to fight “anti-white feeling.” He claims whites are downtrodden because of government and corporate programs created to battle racism and boost diversity in American life.

Trump continues attacking his prosecutors. Yesterday, he accused Democrats of ” running a Gestapo administration.” He called Jack Smith a “fucking asshole.”

Presidential language?

Especially the Gestapo charge from a man who has openly made statements he would run a boss driven government similar to those of autocratic authoritarian leaders.

Lunch today at Thai Island Restaurant on Palm Street with Theos and Dina Markos.

Sushi time!

An interesting Frank Sinatra observation on the internet re his eating habits. One of favorite dishes was stuffed artichokes. Mine, also, though I rarely get them these days.

A holiday favorite prepared by my grandmother, mother and former wife that I enjoyed. Rarely available in Key West restaurants.

Sinatra’s favorite stuffed artichoke was prepared similar to that I enjoyed. Fresh herbs, bread crumbs, cheese, oil, capers and chopped black olives.

Oh, the days of good meals!

An interesting little known Rory McIlroy fact. He left high school at 16, with the support of his parents, to focus on his dream of becoming the world’s top golfer.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Today’s the day. The most famous horse race in America. The Kentucky Derby!

The race solely for three year old thoroughbreds. One and a quarter miles.

It is the first leg of the Triple Crown.

The Derby known also as “The Run For The Roses.” The winning horse is draped in a blanket of roses.

The race lasts two minutes. Referred to as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.”

The Derby was first run in 1875. Today the 150th running of the event. It is the most watched and most attended horse race in the United States.

The father of the Kentucky Derby is Col. Meriwether Louis Clark Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1872, he organized the Louisville Jockey Club which raised the money to build the track known as Churchill Downs. The track is named after John and Henry Churchill who provided the land for the racetrack.

In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was run before 10,000 people. Today’s attendees will be roughly 160,000. The betting handle will be in the area of $20 million for all of today’s Kentucky Derby races.

The Derby is wrapped in tradition. The mint julep the traditional drink of the race. Foodwise burgoo, a thick stew of beef, chicken, pork and vegetables. Spectators watch from everywhere. From the infield costing the price of a general admissions ticket. Poor viewing, but great partying. “Millionaires Row” are expensive box seats that attract the rich.

An infield ticket on the day of the race costs around $275. The ticket charge begins two weeks earlier at $135 and runs up as race day approaches. A Millionaire Box Seat is in the thousands. A bit cheaper is a “reserved seat” which will cost the day of the race $3,500 with a special fee added thereon. The additional fee in the area of $500 plus.

The Kentucky Derby not a race for pikers.

The purse this year is $5 million. The winner collects $3.1 million of that amount.

Partying begins two weeks prior to the race. The best!

I have never attended a Kentucky Derby in Louisville itself. I have attended other Louisville events, however. A great partying town anytime!

My Key West days have generally been spent at the Yacht Club, Don’s Place or the Chart Room watching and partying. Fun time all!

The race is at 6:57 this evening. If not in Louisville, watch on TV! A thrill!

Enjoy your day!

Sugar Ray Robinson was born this day in 1921. Considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound. Six times a world champion. Once as a welterweight, five times as a middleweight.

I got to see the man at least a dozen times. Not as a boxer, but as a fellow on his way to visit his Mom

I attended Manhattan College. Located at 246th Street, just off Broadway. His Mother lived on 238th Street, just off Broadway. Sugar Ray used to park his 1950 “pink” Cadillac convertible on Broadway when he visited. My friends and I would occasionally walk Broadway. Not to see the Champion. Merely to take a break from studies.

On those walks, we were fortunate a few times to see Sugar Ray getting in or out of his car. He always gave us a “Hi, guys!” We always returned with a “Hi, Champ!”

Later years I learned the color of his car was not pink. It was reported he would never drive a pink car! It was fuchsia.

On this day in 1765, the first North American medical college opened in Philadelphia.

Fires were difficult to control 100 plus years ago. In 1901, one fire alone destroyed 1,7000 buildings in Jacksonville, Florida.

For sports fans…..On this day in 1936, Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut. He got 3 hits.

On this day in 1937, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel “Gone With The Wind.”

An oldie movie favorite is Going My Way. Premiered this day in 1944 starring Bing Crosby.

American citizens sacrificed big time during World War II. Rationing, for example.

I remember. My Mother had a book of stamps which were to be used for certain purchases. One was meat. It was a rarity at meal time. Little was available. Pasta was the frequent meal of choice.

No one complained. It was one of the ways everyone contributed to the war effort.

Meat rationing finally ended in June 1947. Rationing of many items continued for a time after the War.

Fred Klein leaves Key West tomorrow to return to New York City. From being a Snowbird to a Metropolitan New Yorker. A good man. The best! Hopefully, I will be able to spend more time with him next year.

Janis Paige. Retired actress and singer. A beauty, a talent. Her career spread 60 years.

She is now 101 years old. God bless!

One of her hits was Pajama Game on Broadway.

Brittney Griner says she considered suicide while imprisoned in Russia. She said, “I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks.”

She described her time in the Russian corrective colony 300 miles southeast of Moscow as “really cold. It’s a work camp. You go there to work. There’s no rest.”

She added, “The mattress had a huge blood stain on it, and they gave you these two thin sheets, so you’re basically laying on bars.” She described conditions as “unsanitary…..prisoners using long-expired toothpaste…..to clean off mold in their cells.”

Glad Brittney is back and her life normal again. May all U.S. citizens imprisoned in Russia be returned to the U.S.

Enjoy your day!

Tons of items requiring comment. Some consequential, some not. All important to me at the moment, however.

Engelbert Humperdinck is 88 years old today. My age. His name alone is worthy of comment.

Engelbert was a great singer beginning in the 1960’s. British origin. Became popular world wide. The song that made him was Release Me. I recall dancing to the tune and many of his other love recordings back then.

His name strange. Not originally is. His for real name was Gerry Dorsey. He adopted the long Engelbert moniker with Release Me. Engelbert Humperdinck was the name of an older German composer.

Engelbert is still working today. He has 17 concerts arranged.

Another famous singer of love songs in the 1960’s and thereafter was Tom  Jones. Fierce competitors. Jones reportedly disliked Engelbert vehemently for some reason.

Both great performers.

I finally went out to dinner last night. My surgery recovery has kept me in.

Dined at A & B Lobster House with my dear Greek friends Theos and Dina Markos. They had arrived for their annual visit yesterday from Greece. They were Greeks bearing gifts. Brought me many.

I still am without teeth. My dinner consisted of Lobster Bisque. As usual, outstanding. No alcohol. My drinking days are over. It was a Diet Pepsi for me.

I watched Theos and Dina enjoy their meals. I complained not.

Great people! We frequently keep in touch during the year. Theos reads the blog every day. 

I have spent much time in Greece. Greek women are special in that they care for their men in strange ways. Most women do. Greek women show it. It impresses me that Dina cuts her food and shares it with Theos. Directly into his mouth and on his plate.

We plan on getting together more during their stay.

There is a line between civil disobedience and lawlessness. Campuses belong to the universities, not the students.

I am bothered that I hear no concern by the protesters for the Jews initially killed, brutally, and those taken hostage on October 7. Palestinians are not the only ones who have been victimized.

The students fail to take into account that Palestinians lets Hamas run Gaza for 20 years.

Let all the facts be discussed. Not selectively as the student protesters have been doing.

In the last 24 hours, police have become significantly involved on the campuses of Columbia, UCLA, Dartmouth, Texas University, Tulane, Fordham and City College of New York.

Properly so.

A new recommended cure for sciatica pain. A banana a day. Sort of like an apple a day to keep the doctor away.

Trump supports Presidential immunity. Covers his ass! On the other hand, he wants to prosecute Biden. Doesn’t make sense. But then not much Trump articulates does make sense.

Trump knocks Biden every opportunity he can. Even where the charges against Biden are false.

Trump forgets what he says today comes back to hit him in the face tomorrow.

Trump has difficulty pronouncing certain words. Like “America,” “Hamas,” and now ‘infrastructure.” He also mixes up Joe Biden with Barack Obama.

Dementia?

The Studios of Key West. A big evening tonight. The Studios’ Opening Thursday of the Month. Three floors of art. Followed by a drink at the rooftop bar to conclude a pleasant evening. Six to eight.

Abortion and limitations thereto resemble a scenario where women’s bodies increasingly belong to the State. Wrong! A no no! Women’s rights re being decimated! Wake up men!  You are contributing to a violent wrong! By permitting such legislation to pass! Time to protect the ladies again!

Key West Hospital updating. The Lower Keys Medical Center has completed renovations to its cardiac catherization lab.

I hope the renovation is well done. I recently had three heart surgeries  at Mount Saini in Miami. Spent five weeks there.

Sunday I had a bad chest pain experience. I am being scheduled for a heart catherization in Key West to see if something is amiss.

Time to call people what they are. Those who claim “voter fraud” are not skeptics. They are “ignorant.”

Trump is beginning it again. Says he will only accept 2024 election results “if everything is honest.”

Republican Senator Vance of Ohio is being considered to be Trump’s running mate. Amazing how a worm turns. Vance said in a TV interview recently that he is “skeptical” Vice Presidnet Pence’s life was endangered.

He wasn’t watching the same TV I was. Perhaps because he was right in the Capitol and heard and saw everything going on first hand. Now he is reflecting the typical political whore and Trump ring kisser by denying Pence was in danger of death.

Enjoy your day!

Marriage is and has been an evolving state.

Lets begin with the stone age. Couples existed, but not as we know them today. Males and females got together for sex, child sharing and life’s daily tasks. Respect was lacking. The male/husband dominant. The female/wife a slave of sorts.

Traditional marriage as known today difficult to pinpoint. Non-existent.

Marriage became a mix. All numbers and kinds as time moved on.

Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Men have taken multiple wives in various cultures. China and Africa the most common. American Mormons in the 19th century.

Polygamy is still common across much of the Muslim world.

The idea of marriage between one man and one woman is relatively recent. Two centuries ago, monogamous households were a very tiny portion of the world population. Existing in Western Europe and little settlements in North America.

The first recorded evidence of marriage contracts and ceremonies dates back some 4,000 years ago t0 2350 B.C. in Mesopotamia. Marriage at that time was primarily among the poor class. Its purpose to preserve power, forge alliances, acquire land and produce legitimate heirs. Marriage as described came into being as society moved from a hunter to agrarian one. Women had little say who they married and how they were treated once married.

Religion/the Church is involved today. It was not at the beginning, however.

In ancient Rome, marriage was a civil affair governed by imperial law. When the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century, Catholic Church courts took over and elevated marriage to a holy union. As the Church’s power grew through the Middle ages, so did its influence over marriage. The Catholic Church’s Council of Trent which existed from 1545 to 1563 elevated marriage to a Sacrament, decreed weddings be performed in public, by priests, and before witnesses.

Love was not part of the relationship. Love and marriage were widely regarded as incompatible. Public kissing between spouses was condemned by Plutarch as early as 200 B.C. who described it as “disgraceful.” In the 12th and 13th centuries, Europeans viewed extramarital affairs as the highest form of romance, not marriage. In the 18th century, the French philosopher Montesquiece wrote that any man who was in love with his wife was probably too daft to be loved by another woman.

Romance entered the picture in the 17th and 18th centuries. Enlightenment thinkers determined life was about the pursuit of happiness.

The Industrial Revolution contributed. It enabled middle class young men to select a spouse, pay for a wedding, with regard to parental approval of no consequence. Love blossomed!

Marriage changed in the 20th century. Women grew from subordinated objects to the equal of their husbands. They were no longer regarded as property. If unhappy, couples could divorce. Today divorce ends approximately 50 percent of U.S. marriages.

Whereas men had been “playboys” for centuries and cheated, women now joined the club as “playgirls.” By the end of the 20th century marriage stability had become endangered.

Gay marriage became acceptable further undermining traditional marriage.

What’s next? Who knows. Change is a gradual constant where marriage is concerned.

Enjoy your day!

Willie Nelson is 91 today. Happy birthday, Willie!

He has made America happy with his voice and tunes. My favorite…..On the Road Again!

May he continue to perform and make another generation of Americans happy!

From happiness to sadness. On this day in 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnam capitol in Saigon fell to Communist forces.

It was a disgraceful day for American Army and Marine troops. They gallantly fought to protect the capitol and persons inside seeking to escape. Escape was helicopters from the roof while Communists were shooting from the ground and fighting to enter the building. The disgracefulness was we had been beaten and required to escape in an embarrassing fashion.

My feeling at the time was how could this happen to American forces?

We were shamed.

Campus protests must end. Universities have gone far enough in “negotiating” a solution. Time to call MORE police in.

My opinion. Many will disagree. Such is life. Time for “education” to take back university grounds.

Trump does not like his attorney in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. His attorney is Todd Blanche. A professional with experience and a reputation to back it up. Trump would not have retained him in the first instance if such were not the case.

Trump feels his attorney is not “aggressive enough.”

Representing Trump can be no bargain. No matter how much he pays his attorney. If he pays him.

Donald, you picked him. You’re stuck with him. Shut your mouth and let him do his job. He is a responsible capable attorney. Let him do what he does best. Lawyering.

Stop being an asshole! You are only hurting yourself.

Not all attorneys are Roy Cohens. Nor do they want to be. Recall he was repeatedly indicted and ultimately disbarred. Your kind of attorney, Donald?

Enjoy your day!

The musical Hair premiered on Broadway this day in 1968.

I was fortunate to view one of the opening performances. Not on Broadway, however.

Hair opened 40 blocks to the south in the East Village where it had a six week run before moving to Broadway.

The show received instantaneous dynamic reviews when it opened off Broadway. Dealt with issues involving the generation gap, Vietnam War, drug culture, and sexual revolution.

I had to see it. My policeman friend Bob Mazza joined me. We drove to New York City to view the off Broadway presentation. I thought Hair was right on. Bob was more conservative. A typical police officer. He thought the show stunk, was disgusting.

April 28 involved another significance. The year 1945. It was the evening of April 28-29. Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun were married. Not the typical exciting wedding. They both died within hours by suicide.

Adolf, deservedly so. Allied troops were nearby. He died not wanting to face his prospective captors alive.

Eva had loved Adolf for years. She was happy to finally marry him and soon thereafter die with him.

TB has increased every year since 2020 in the U.S. following a steady decline.

The increase follows a 27 year decrease. Last year alone, 9,615 cases were recorded in the U.S. Nevertheless, the incidence of TB in the U.S. continues to be “among the lowest in the world.”

Tik Tok could experience a nationwide U.S. ban in one year unless the China banned parent ByteDance divests. The U.S. would not be the first to partially or totally ban.

Countries that have partially or totally banned Tik Tok are Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Somalia, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. has already partially banned. U.S. authorities had already ordered government agencies prior to Congress’ recent vote as part of the money package to delete Tik Tok from its data bases and systems over data security concerns. More than one half of the 50 U.S. states also have banned the app from official devices as have Congress and U.S. armed forces.

MAGAs do not hesitate throwing blows. Get even ones. Trump now slamming RFK Jr.’s family. Speaker Johnson soon to walk the gangplank.

Mark Twain words of wisdom: “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”

Enjoy your day!

Food for thought.

There was a time when we blamed Russia and/or China for American unrest. No more. Today, it’s home grown.

An example is present day college campus unrest.

David French is an attorney who specializes in campus protests. He generally represents the protesters.

Following is a small portion of his Opinion piece which appears in today’s New York Times titled “Colleges Have Gone Off the Deep End. There Is A Way Out.” The portion reads: “What we’re seeing on a number of campuses isn’t free expression, nor is it civil disobedience. It’s outright lawlessness. No matter the frustration of campus activists or their desire to be heard, true civil disobedience shouldn’t violate the rights of others. Indefinitely occupying a quad violates the rights of other speakers to use the same space. Relentless, loud protest violates the rights of students to sleep or study in peace. And where protesters become truly threatening or intimidating, they can violate the civil rights of other students, especially if those students are targeted on the basis of their race, sex, color or national origin. The end result of lawlessness is chaos and injustice. Other students can’t speak. Other students can’t learn. Teachers and administrators can’t do their jobs.”

Biden provided his usual competent performance last night at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. One of his best lines was that he was “running against a 6 year old.”

Two thousand six hundred attended the event. They had to enter through a large crowd of Gaza protesters.

Today is April 28. Its significance historically.

On this day in 1789, a mutiny on the HMS Bounty actually occurred. Not just a movie script. The Bounty story involves Fletcher Christian and Captain William Bligh.

Three movies have been produced based on the factual happening. The first in 1935 starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton. The next in 1962 starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard. The last in 1984 starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.

On this day in 1945, Benito Mussolini was executed. Il Duce and his mistress were shot by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee to Switzerland. Their bodies were transported by truck to Milan where they were hung upside down on a gas station pole where they were reviled by the masses. Disgustingly.

Some 20 years ago on one of my Milan trips, Anna took me to view the gas station pole. It had become a tourist attraction.

April 28 also has Key West significance.

On this day in 1968, National Airlines made the first jet landing at Key West International Airport. 

April 28 also a day of concern re Fantasy Fest nudity in 1994. A never ending issue.

The Key West Chamber of Commerce met to figure out how to make Fantasy Fest fun again. In the previous year 1993, Key West had crashed on nudity. Kept it down. As a result, the 1993 Fantasy Fest proved to be a “bummer.”

Vaccine opposition is an issue of concern.

Those that are anti-vaccine are endangering themselves and their children. You do not have to be an authority to understand it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a statement which clearly establishes that in the 50 years since 1974, vaccines have prevented 154 million deaths. The number represents a 40 percent decline in infant mortality since 1974.

I take the time to report WHO’s findings since two “prominent” political figures are anti-vaccine. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ronald DeSantis.

DeSantis has already clearly established his lack intelligence. Kennedy is moving in that direction.

Makes me wonder if people like DeSantis and Kennedy are so arbitrary and off base merely to attract the political support of the small group who are anti-vaccine.

I was leafing through the internet yesterday and came upon a lengthy interesting article re MASH. The U.S. Army medical unit functioning in Korea during the Korean War. Alan Alda starred.

MASH was and still is one of TV’s finest moments. Seventy percent of TV viewers watched MASH’s last show. Says it all.

Whereas the Korean War lasted 3 years, MASH ran for 11. Bespeaks the quality of the show and its popularity.

Enjoy your Sunday!

The U.S. is in turmoil. Again. It happens every few years. One of the last times I recall when things were this bad was the late 1960’s into the early 1970’s. College campuses were in an uproar. The Vietnam War was at the heart of most problems. Court decisions were becoming questionable,

One of the three main problems today involve the U.S. Court System. Especially the Supreme Court. Two others involve the many college campuses that are in an uproar and women’s rights which are being stomped upon.

Each unhealthy.

Troublesome times come and go. Fortunately the go part. They pass in due course. May today’s move on as historically others have in the past.

The Supreme Court. Certain of the Justices are the problem. The conservative ones. They have to go.

Justice Alito no longer warrants his seat. He lost it long ago. His attitude changed way back when Chief Justice Rehnquist died and Alito was overlooked for the Chief Justice seat. Roberts was appointed instead by Bush.

Alito has “lost it.” His mental leaning exhibited such when during the immunity argument he argued that Presidents should be allowed to commit crimes without fear of prosecution in order to “save” democracy. What Alito said in effect is that Presidents need to know they will never be prosecuted for any crimes they might commit while in office, or democracy will collapse because office holders might try to overturn a free and fair election in order to stay in power and avoid criminal charges. 

Crazy?

Absurd?

Counsel came right back at Alito with “I’d think it’s exactly the opposite, Justice Alito.”

Alito has to go. Together with Thomas and perhaps Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. These guys are all nuts or tending to rapidly be so.

Chris Hayes commented following the immunity argument re the certain of the Justices: “All the king’s men sat openly colluding” with Trump on immunity. It appeared they had an ax to grind.

 Gorsuch’s statement re the importance of the immunity decision was described as “pompous.”

Thomas should not even have sat on the case. His wife has openly contributed to Trump/Republican causes. Nevertheless, he remained. His attitude basically don’t screw with me.

Freedom of speech is to be respected. College students are relying on it. However they forget that all rights are not absolute. Everything has a limit or exception. Shouting fire where there is none in a crowded theater is a no no. Free speech, yes. Wrong, however. Does not fly. The same with much being expressed on college campuses. I can buy the college students supporting Palestine. I cannot support their demands. Things like divesting investments, etc. Their wisdom and experience lacking to support their positions. They are not qualified to speak to the issues they raise.

Clear the campuses! Preferably without national guard. Kent State in 1970 still sticks in my gut. Local police are sufficient. 

Something must be done. The campus takeovers must end. Anti-Judaism must cease.

Insanity follows. Recall this week a student’s cry during and after a disciplinary hearing. He recorded his comments and ran them on Instagram also. His name Khymani James. His comment: “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

He later apologized for the statement.

Ronald Reagan was confronted with similar campus problems in 1967 when he was California governor. He handled the problem well. As he later did when President with the airline controllers. Ordered the problems “cleaned up.” He viewed the campus problems as anarchy having nothing to do with academic freedom.

Pregnant women are being tuned away from emergency rooms all over the U.S. 

GOP anti-abortion laws have placed women’s lives at risk. One woman was left to miscarry in a lobby rest room after the emergency front desk refused to check her in.

Similar problems becoming commonplace. Things have gotten worse since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Hospitals and doctors are confused as to the treatment they can provide. Less care has become the option.

Criticism is easy. Solutions difficult. I am old school. Authority must be respected. If it fails, get rid of it. Change it. Get rid of the Supreme Court Justices who are not functioning as they should. The Alito’s and Thomas’s definitely must go. Throw the students who are causing problems way off base out of school. They do not deserve educations. Straighten out our laws so women’s rights return and continue to be protected. I sometimes think state legislatures composed primarily of women would solve the problem. Especially if the ladies pass some laws that physically affect, abuse and endanger the lives of men.

So much for today. Enjoy your weekend!