BROADWAY LEGEND CAROL CHANNING PASSES ON

Carol Channing died thursday at age 97. A great talent taken from us. To spend eternity as a brilliant diamond in the night sky.

Channing won 4 Tony awards. The first for Hello Dolly! She was the original Dolly Levi.

I was fortunate to have seen her on Broadway in Hello Dolly! An inspiring performance.

Even more of a thrill was seeing her perform in Key West sometime in the mid 1990’s.

My wife and I were staying at the Sheraton Suites. A perfection location. A suite, great pool, good food, and Smathers Beach across the street. All for $85 a night!

We were heading out for Duval one evening when we heard this great singing. I immediately recognized it as Carol Channing. Went outside to the pool and there she was! Blowing everyone out with her unique singing voice!

The chaise lounges had been removed. Tables set up with white table clothes and candles. Everyone dressed. She was probably doing a special appearance at some corporate function.

My wife and I headed over to the pool bar. Open to he public, though not many seated there. Grabbed 2 stools, ordered drinks, and watched her perform.

The beauty of it all was that Channing’s microphone and the spot from which she was performing was all of 5 feet from us!

We never made Duval. The best of everything was at Sheraton Suites that evening.

Never left the house yesterday. Spent the day finalizing my podcast show Tuesday Talk with Key west Lou.

Show went unusually well.The reason great topics. A crazy week. What with the shutdown, Barr’s testimony, tariff wars, opioid crisis, how Trump’s attorney fees are being paid, etc. Plus the touching video/story of the 11 year old baby who heard for the first time.

Sleeping after the show a problem. I get so worked up while doing the half hour show that I do not sleep tuesday nights. I will nap all afternoon today to compensate.

American society is upside down in many ways. One is criminal sentencing. We are all aware.

Let me provide you with an example that is stomach turning. Two police officers involved in child porn getting off with light sentences.

Dean Worthington a sergeant with the Columbus, Ohio police department. He was caught participating in and contributing to a child pornography ring. Children engaged in sex acts with adults.

Charged with 4 counts. Plead guilty. Received a 90 day sentence.

El Paso Deputy Sheriff Donald Fair even worse. He got no time. His crime involved sexually exhibiting a young boy, creating child porn, and exhibiting the porn on the internet.

Ten years probation his punishment.

On yesterday’s date in 2009, Sully Sulenberg made history. He will be remembered for all time.

A U.S. Airways pilot, his Airbus 320 had just left LaGuardia Airport. A bunch of birds blew his engines. He could not return to the airport. He put the plane down on the Hudson River without the loss of one life.

A miracle on the Hudson.

We have heard of tsunamis and water floods taking many lives. Only once a molasses flood.

It was 1919. The place a plant in Boston. The plant used crude molasses in what ever it processed. A 58 foot tank was in the plant’s building loaded with crude molasses. 2.5 million gallons worth.

The tank exploded. An 8 foot wave shot out. Swept away inside parts of the plant building including walls and doors. Made its way to the street. Pushed over beams holding tracks for elevated trains.

Twenty one persons killed, many more injured, huge property damage.

More than 100 lawsuits resulted. A special auditor appointed. Total settlements $1 million. A lot of money in 1919.

William Barr. Trump’s nominee for Attorney General. Testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

My impressions and comments. May be a bit long.

Barr is 68. Retired. Was Attorney General under Bush 41. Attorney General during the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan was President during the “wrong doing.” Bush’s name came up in the investigation while he was President for something that occurred while he was Vice-President.

Barr distinguished appearing. Preppy. Horn rimmed glasses. Right out of the 1980’s.

I did not like his testimony.

Ask first, why would a retired man want to go back to the Washington swamp in his senior years? Not for money. What else, if anything? Think about it.

Two points in his testimony bothered me.

He agreed he would permit Mueller to complete the investigation. Fine. However, he wanot sure whether he would make all, a part, or none of Mueller’s report available to the public or Congress. He claimed it was his decision to make under the special counsel law.

He was correct in that regard. However after the time and importance involved, one hundred percent transparency is required. The people not only have a right to know, they need to know.

Then there is the issue of recusal. Last year, Barr wrote a 19 page report explaining Presidential supremacy as regards investigations and that a President because of it could neither be impeached nor removed from office.

Barr claims the report was unsolicited and he wrote it merely to express his feelings at the time. He also stated it was being misinterpreted and did not reflect what I have set forth in the previous paragraph.

Jeff Sessions recused himself. Barr should also. Barr said not necessarily in effect. He would submit the situation to the Ethics Committee. If the Ethics Committee said he should recuse himself, he would not. His reason being that he considered recusal to be his alone to make.

Some other parts of his testimony bothered me.

He praised Sessions for how he handled the border problem and the issues it raised. Suggested he concurred in removing children from parents.

He claimed thousands were coming over the border. Totally factually inaccurate.

He is for a “barrier.” Did not say wall.

As to voter suppression, he has a concern. Problem is the concern did not appear with people of color and the poor who were finding it increasingly difficult to vote. His concern was for those purportedly voting illegally. Like blocks of votes showing up in a district in excess of the number of people eligible to vote.

My gut feeling is that under Barr, the Mueller investigation will have been a waste. Its pertinent parts will never see the light of day.

My friends, we are losing our government!

Not done with the Barr issue yet.

The United Stats is a nation of laws, not men. It is the underlying principle of the American legal and political system.

Trump and those who support him do not believe in a government of laws. Believe power in the people (certain persons) controlling. Trump himself an example.

Such a group becomes a “ruling class.” Hopefully to be followed in time by a transformation to an “aristocracy.”

John Adams strongly supported and proclaimed the U.S. was a nation of laws and not people. He saw the evils of an aristocracy. He said “aristocracy is a monster to be chained.”

I believe Barr leans towards ruling class as opposed to a nation of laws.

When he was Attorney General under Bush, Barr is reported to have said to Bush: “I’ve had an itchy finger.”

When the Iran Contra problem reared its ugly head as concerned Bush, Barr was for firing special counsel Larry Walsh. Shades of the night Nixon wanted to fire the special prosecutor.

The problem with the Barr nomination is that it is a refection of what is happening to our country. The rich have tried for 50 or more years to take over. To become a nation of people rather than laws. They have succeeded with the Supreme Court. Succeeded with Trump.

They are marching ahead to victory. Unless those who believe in the basics of American democracy take a stand as strong as the ruling class have and oppose this affront to our way of life.

Sorry for being so long winded on this issue.

Enjoy your day!

6 comments on “BROADWAY LEGEND CAROL CHANNING PASSES ON

  1. What if Trump leaves the Government shut down, declares a National emergency, then dissolves the Government and resolves to make all governmental decisions himself, based on his huge genius brain power and gut? His base will cheer.

    • What if Trump stays in Washington, waiting to negotiate, since Xmas and Pelosi tries to leave the country for a week, instead of negotiating with Trump, leaving 800,000 people without paychecks? Is she entirely tone deaf?

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