Victoria’s Secret is rebranding itself. A total make over in the works. Am image change.

The decision to rebrand occurred 2 years ago. Its image at the time snappy lingerie with enormous wings. I must have missed something. I recall the lingerie. The wings part eludes me.

Goodbye “Angels.” Hello “What Women Want.”

Notice the market sought will be all for the ladies, nothing for the men. A total reversal.

The new image is described as a group of Seven Ambassadors called the “U.S. Collective,” who are known for their advocacy work in gender equality and body positivity, and who represent a wider range of body types and a sexual gender identification.”

CEO Martin Williams in a short statement described the change as “a dramatic shift for our brand and it’s a shift that we embrace from our core.” The old Victoria’s Secret has been “promoting dated ideas of femininity and that its collections were made for a narrow range of body types.”

It’s all in the money.

In 2015, Victoria’s Secret had 32 percent of the U.S. women’s intimate apparel market. The number was down to 19 percent in 2020.

Last year, Victoria’s Secret was forced to close 25 percent of its stores. Already through 2021, it has closed a significant number of additional stores.

Victoria’s Secret believes there will be a new sexual acceptance regarding the change.

The decision to change came instantly in 2018. Ed Rizek, the Chef Marketing Officer for L Brands that owns Victoria’s Secret, committed a faux pas. He misspoke and brought the ladies tumbling down on him.

The issue was the use of the term “transsexuals.” He said he did not think transsexuals should be included in Victoria’s Secret annual show.

“Transsexual” is considered an outdated term  and deemed offensive by many in the LGBT community.

Victoria Secret’s last show was in 2018, the same year the comment was made. The show drew only 3 million viewers compared to 9.7 million five yeas earlier in 2013.

The handwriting was on the wall. Change or die! Hopefully the change would not be too late.

Victoria’s Secret is moving rapidly to effect the change. It is quick to point out it has hired its first transgender model Valentine Sampaio.

The issue/challenge facing Victoria’s Secret is whether what it is doing to effect the change is too little, too late. Will the new market of women it hopes to attract be there for them?

Time will tell.

I am totally unaware what the new lingerie will look like. I saw what is being abandoned, as I have for years. However no photos of the new.

Trump has had some pretty whacky attorneys along the way. Many times in the past two years, I made the observation Trump’s attorneys were way out of line in the voting ballot cases. They were using the law improperly. Even the facts. Breaking all kinds of judicial rules. Saying and writing things without legal foundation.

I mentioned each time that lawyers cannot get away with such actions. The federal law provides sanctions which can be imposed on recalcitrant attorneys.

The sanctions are in the form of money. The judge sets the amount. The bigger the sin, the higher the dollar penalty.

One of Trump’s leading attorneys was Sidney Powell.  A radical lawyer. Everything comes out of her mouth.

She and other  attorneys who defended Trump’s claims re the 2020 election have been summoned for a sanctions hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker in Detroit on July 6.

Finally!

I will be shocked if the sanctions are not huge. Shockingly so. I suspect in the six figures. Anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million.

The Arizona audit has taken another wild turn. Voter data has been transported to a “secret” laboratory in Montana “to be forensically valuated.”

Excuse the use of the vernacular, but what the hell  is going on? Ballots cannot be moved willy nilly from one state to another.

The Arizona audit continues to be pure insanity. Especially when no fraud/wrongdoing came to light in the previous Arizona audits.

Something has to be done to stop this charade. Other states seeing no steps being taken to stop the Arizona audit are going to believe they have the right to do it also. When no one has the right under the Arizona circumstances. No way anyone is going to legally remove Biden from the Presidency.

This is Key West Carnival weekend. Key West’s Juneteenth Celebration. Today’s events include a 4 pm costume parade through Old Town and a 7 pm concert at the Amphitheater.

I have already decided what I am doing this evening. Rather than say I am gong out and then stay in, I have resolved my evening situation this morning.

I will remain home, order a pizza in, and watch the U.S. Open.

Guaranteed.

Enjoy your day!

McConnell announced if the voting rights bill comes up in the Senate next week for a procedural vote, all 50 Republicans will vote against it.

Hear that Joe Manchin? You’ve been had.

The Republican side of the Senate has not been trustworthy for 10 years. No longer are true Republicans. What they are, I am not sure. But statesmen and legislative leaders they are not.

They possibly are barbarians. Seeking to destroy. Waiting to destroy. Doing everything to assure the gate falls.

The Republicans danced Manchin. I thought I read a few days ago he was sitting with 10 Republicans working on the voting bill compromise. Things looked good for a bi-partisanship result. The news was out.

Instead, they made Manchin look like an ass.

He has to learn he is being used. Why is he so blind? Does not make sense.

I hope Manchin wakes up and does the right things. Like kill the filibuster first and foremost. Permit him to retake some of the respect people had before he went on this bi-partisanship kick.

If he fails to so do, history will view him as an egomaniac who could not see beyond the tip of his nose.

New York Times columnist David Brooks in this morning’s Times wrote about trust.

He wrote, “Distrust is a cancer eating away at our society. It magnifies enmity, stifles cooperation and fuels conspiracy thinking. So the question is how do you build trust?”

So how can trust be rebuilt in today’s society? One conclusion is recognizing the answer is not easy to reach.

The more Matt Gaetz talks, the deeper the hole he digs for himself.

He asked yesterday if the FBI was instrumental with bringing on January 6. He appeared convinced the FBI might have had a role in “organizing and participating in the January 6 Capitol revolt.”

Gaetz said, He fears “a political weaponizing of the FBI and the Justice Department…..an agency that has a whole lot of swamp left in it and needs to be drained.”

In reality, Trump brought a swamp the size never conceived before into the Oval Office. A room where Gaetz sat many times conversing and planing diabolical schemes with his leader. Actually, his lord and master.

An interesting article on the internet this morning re coronavirus. Claimed the word is out that those vaccinated against COVID-19 are now “magnetic.” All one who has been vaccinated has to do is stick a key to his forehead and it will stick. Or, a spoon or fork on the chin with a similar result.

I tried it. Nothing would stick anywhere. The representation as good as Trump’s that an inoculation of bleach would cure a person’s body almost immediately of the virus.

This is the day! January 18. The U.S. Bishop’s Conference meets today. One of the items on the agenda is a preliminary vote to draft a divisive document on “Eucharistic worthiness.” Short for prohibiting any political leader who supports a woman’s freedom of choice to be denied Communion.

The Bishops’ effort is actually to embarrass President Biden. A man who appears to be an excellent Catholic. To demean him.

Note the U.S. Bishop’s Conference is a far right organization. It walks hand in hand with the Republican far right. The group also seeks the overthrow of Pope Francis I.

They’re nuts.

The Pope has advised against the action and told them to cease and desist. No one is sure what they will do.

To make the Bishop’s position more understandable, recognize that 2 persons exerting much influence over them are Steve Bannon and Newt Gingrich.

Need I say more?

Things are getting worse rather than better as far as California weather is concerned. The drought continues. More than normal hydroelectric power being used.

The strain on electric supplies has required California to warn blackouts may occur.

This is U.S. Open weekend. The tournament is being played at Torrey Pines in the San Diego area.

I have been fortunate to play Torrey Pines a couple of times. Natural beauty abounds. Cliffs. Roaring sea below. Heavy surf. Sea lions and seals.

The course is also next to La Jolla. One of the finest small communities in the world. Night time wondrous. Restaurants and bars top shelf. People dressing as we do in Key West, except their attire more classic. Everyone is dressed in sports clothes that appear to have been purchased that day.

I enjoyed the evenings as much as the days.

Did a double header last night. Dinner at Two Friends. A first for dinner. Dined with Sloan. All the yeas she has assisted me, I never took her out to dinner. We had a wonderful time!

Blog late today. I overslept by 2 1/2 hours. Something I never do. Then ran into some computer problems.

Better late than never.

Enjoy your day!

Oh, what a night it was!

I had not been in the Chart Room for roughly 14 months. Because of the Pandemic, the Chart Room was closed and I self-quarantined the entire time.

It was great seeing John the bartender again. Whereas I self-quarantined, John spent the time traveling though Mexico and Central America. Did not work at all. Nor did he get sick.

Jean and Joe came in. Love that woman! We chatted and drank.

Seated next to me were John and Carol. They have a Key West home.

John is a retired labor lawyer from Michigan. Carol a former health care administrator for 17 Michigan prisons.

I look forward to meeting them again.

The Chart Room was otherwise busy. Many tourists.

It was good to be back!

The U.S. Open begins today. Great golf ahead for the next 4 days.

I watched much of the Biden/Putin summit coverage yesterday. Putin left me with an odd feeling.

He looked like a man out of place. Different from former appearance.

Did anyone else notice? Am I wrong?

Malia Obama has grown up. She is a senior at Harvard. Graduates in June.

She has trained to be a writer. A TV writer.

She already has a multi-year Netflix deal with a Hollywood production company.

Texas Governor Abbott continues to be an ass. A Trump person in every respect.

I suspect Abbott wants to be the Vice-Presidential candidate in 2024.

He already has been on the attack against Biden. The wall! Claims immigrants coming in big time. Purportedly doing all of nasty things to Texans. Biden not caring and permitting the bad things to occur.

Abbott announced last week he was going to repair and finish the Texas portion of the wall. A few days later, he announced Trump was visiting on June 30. The wall the attraction.

Yesterday, Abbott announced he was going to have Texas throw in $250 million to start a fund to finish the wall. The money would come from public funds he would raise. First Texas money. Later turned into donated public funds.

One of the biggest mausoleums in the world is the Taj Mahal.

Many, many years ago, Mughal emperor Shah Johan I ordered the Taj Mahal built. His wife Mumatz Kahal had died during child birth.

He spent 20 yeas building the Taj Mahal. One of the world’s most beautiful buildings.

I wrote yesterday re North Korea being on the brink of a drastic food shortage. More news available today.

Farmers in part of North Korea are required to donate 2 liters of urine a day to be used as a raw material to produce fertilizer.

An early dinner tonight at 5 at Two Friends with Sloan. The purpose to chat about some development ideas I have for the blog.

Enjoy your day!

Strange as it may sound, dust clouds from the Sahara Desert in Africa may pass over Key West this weekend.

The wind whips up a dust cloud from the sand and carries it from Africa to the Caribbean. Same route as hurricanes that form off Africa and arrive somewhere off the coasts of North and Central America.

If any small hurricanes or tropical storms are developing, the dust clouds basically squash them down.The dust clouds even protect against thunderstorms.

A Sahara dust cloud is described as a “major storm outbreak.” As mentioned, destroys “infant hurricanes.”

A negative, however. Though the dust cloud will knock out a tropical storm or small hurricane, it is bad for air quality. Understandable. Breathing will be aggravated, especially for those with respiratory problems.

Save your face masks! You may need them this weekend.

What has been described is a normal or more than normal Sahara dust cloud. There are small ones. If this weekend’s is small, you may not even know it passed over. It will be high enough and lacking in density so as not to affect humans below.

Every day there is more news of Trump wrongdoings.

The most recent involves Trump pressing the DOJ to investigate a crackpot theory that Italian satellites changed Trump votes to Biden ones.

The DOJ paid no attention.

Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin wrote in a 6/15 article re the topic: “One of the things that makes Donald Trump a unique figure among U.S. Presidents is that, in addition to being basically illiterate, he’s a rare combination of both corrupt as all get-outs and batshit fucking crazy.”

Levin pulls no punches.

A COVID-19 update.

Deaths in the U.S. have passed 600,00. Bad. However the number of deaths per week has dropped to 330. Three hundred thirty was last that low on March 30 last year. Good.

What 600,000 means. One in every 550 persons in the U.S. has died from the virus. Scary.

One coronavirus danger replaces another, however. There is a relatively new COVID-19 variant out there. Called the Delta variant. Presently, 10 percent of the cases in the U.S. are Delta variant.

Vaccination creates a protection against the variant. A “full vaccination” (2 shots) has been found to be “highly effective” as far as hospitalization is concerned. Pfizer and Moderna have proven to provide the best protection so far.

Experts refer to the Delta as a “variant of concern.”

In the U.S., 43.9 percent have been fully vaccinated. Those who have received only 1 shot are 52.63 percent of the population.

There is a message in all this. If not vaccinated, get the 2 shots. If only one so far, get the other. Your life and the life of your loved ones may depend on it.

At the moment, Biden and Putin are meeting in Switzerland.

I am anxious to be made aware of the immediate news re the meeting.

Biden is different from Trump! Obviously and no question! Perhaps he can calm the beast. In this instance Putin, not Trump.

Kim Jung Un is facing a “tense food shortage.” He has told his people that food insecurity is “a top problem.”

Experts warn the worse will begin being felt between August and September. Experts claim it will be a “harsh lean period.

North Korea’s last famine was in the 1990s when millions died.

I guarantee those in the “camps” will be the first to go.

Kim says here are 3 causes: Extensive flooding, the coronavirus epidemic, and international sanctions.

Note Kim remains fat in recent photos. As does Trump. Guaranteed neither would suffer in any food shortage.

Someone mentioned in a Comment that I often refer to the past. Suggesting perhaps I live in the past.

Not so.

An admonition and the reason why I often refer to the past. History repeats itself. If you don’t recall yesterday, you will fail today.

My blog talk radio show was last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Half the show was devoted to  a history of the Chart Room.

Tonight, I shall be off to visit the Wizard of Oz. First however a visit with Dr. McIvor my heart physician. Followed by a short business meeting downtown. Then to the Chart Room! Excited I am!

Enjoy your day!

All is now well in Key West. The Chart Room has opened!

Friday night. No one told me. I got a call from Jean Thornton last night informing me.

The Chart Room will be open every evening, except for monday and tuesday. The reason for 2 closed days is help. John Holster is bartending the other 5 evenings. Welcome back, John! The Chart Room would not be the same without you.

David Wolkowsky is the father of modern Key West. His vision and effort awakened a dormant community.

David was a wonderful man. One of the best I have met in my life time. We were friends. David died a few yeas ago at the age of 99.

In 1967, David thought the Gulf end of Duval had the makings for a good hotel. There were none at that end at the time. He started with a 5o unit motel. Named it the Pier House Motel.

It is said big trees from little acorns grow. Such was the case with the Pier House. David is the person who grew the Pier House to what it is today.

Forty three years ago, some of David’s local friends talked to him about a bar for the Pier House. Something small and intimate.

David agreed. He took out one of the first floor rooms. Added booze and a mahogany bar. The Chart Room was born.

An instantaneous hit! Especially for the power brokers of Key West. Bankers, politicians, Judges, the Police Chief, the Fie Chief, the Deputy Fire Chief, pot smugglers, divers, etc. More business was done during cocktail hour at the Chart Room than anywhere else in Key West.

Mel Fisher was a regular. Fisher eventually found part of the Atocha and $400 million dollars in gold and emeralds.

Jimmy Buffett got his start in the Chart Room. Buffett first arrived in November 1971. He roared into Key West in a 1947 Packard sedan with Mr. Bojangles.

Wolkowsky gave him a job in the Chart Room singing and playing his small guitar. His pay tips and drinks from customers.

Wolkowsky had a smart eye for pending success. He eventually paid Buffett to perform in the Chart Room. Buffett will attest to the fact  the first one to pay him in actual money in Key West was Wolkowsky.

The two became friends and business partners. They purchased buildings in Key West and elsewhere in the U.S.

The Chart Room swiftly became a place for the visiting rich and famous. Men like Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, British Prime Minister Heath, Rockefellers, and Mellons. All guests of David Wolkowsky. David knew everyone and they knew him. They came to Key West to enjoy the Pier House, Chart Room and Wolkowsky’s company.

The locals who initially frequented the Chart Room included Steve and Cindy Thompson. Steve made his fortune with taco stands all over Key West and Florida. Cindy worked as Buffett’s assistant for 30 years.

Others included Hunter Thompson, Tom Cochran, Tom McGvane, Mr. Bojangles, Jerry Jeff and Jim Croce. This was a time when no one was famous yet and drinking was a sport.

Freebies available to this day. Hot dogs, popcorn and a huge barrel of peanuts.. All three go over big.

The bar rail has become the resting place for a handful of the original customers. Small holes were dug in the bar. One for each of the individuals involved. A small plaque with each’s name next to their hole. As they died, supposedly a small portion of their ashes were placed in the holes and sealed over. Only one hole remains unfilled today.

Jean and Joe Thornton regulars today. They are from Birmingham, Alabama. Years ago, Jean went diving with Mel Fisher. She found gold coins and emeralds.  A school teacher, she stopped working immediately. Jean is known as Key West’s Golden Girl.

Time moves on. Regulars come and go. Some move, some by death. New “regulars” come upon the scene. Today’s group includes Jean and Joe Thornton, Sheila Cullens, Steve and Cindy Thompson, Ollie, Kevin and Holly, Che, English Peter Bamberger, David Hecht, Ann Zaler, Valerie Chelley, and Marty Leshaw. Me too, of course.

A person senses history as he/she enter the Chart Room. It’s unavoidable.

Enjoy your day!

Men have fought and died for democracy forever. American democracy. Some still dying. Others however have joined a growing group of dissidents who want to destroy that which has made America great. Democracy.

More than one million have fought and died to guarantee that democracy. The same democracy others are seeking to destroy today.

One of the measures of those who fought and died for democracy are the number who actually gave up their lives in America’s various wars.

Numbers generally reflect truth. The number of persons who died to guarantee democracy is an indication of its value. The same value many today are seeking to destroy.

The wars and number of U.S. deaths: Revolution 4,435, War of 1812 2,260, Civil War 629,000, World War I 117,000, World War II 407,000, Korea 33,700, Vietnam 58,000, Two Gulf Wars with Iraq 8,000, Afghanistan to date 2,400.

Total war dead 1,249,811.

A lot of good people have died to preserve U.S. freedom. To guarantee democracy would be sustained.

Now a bunch of radical insurgents, terrorists to the core, have heard Donald Trump’s call and follow him as if he were the Pied Piper.

They cannot be permitted to succeed. If they do, the U.S. will become a Nazi Germany.

The friendly transfer of power was a trade mark of the U.S. democratic society.

Trump says no more. It is his way or the highway.

There are other dissidents world wide. A growing disease this desire to overthrow a democratic society.

Israel is on the verge of falling into an abyss similar to the one Trump is creating in the U.S.

After 12 years in power, Netanyahu was replaced yesterday. Via Israel’s democratic processes. As with Trump, Netanyahu does not agree with his being replaced. In his brief words yesterday he spoke of a “fraudulent” vote that caused his opposition to succeed. He claimed he would be soon back.

Sound familiar?

Israel’s transition of governments was till recent days a friendly one. A day of celebration. There were no such events yesterday. Netanyahu sat stone faced as Israel’s new Prime Minister took over.

Insurgency spreads. It is a cancer. What one nation can do, so can another.

Certain areas of Antarctica’s ice mass are breaking up faster than anticipated.

The Pine Island ice shelf the perfect example. It is spawning huge icebergs.

There is a bigger glacier behind the Pine Island shelf one. It too is breaking up. However not as fast as the Pine Island shelf. The importance of the shelf is that it keeps the melting huge glacier behind it from moving into the sea.

Damage beyond comprehension would occur if the glacier got out into open water.

Scientists claim climate change is the reason for the problems with the Pine Island shelf and the bigger glacier behind it. Nations speak of cause. They accept climate change as the cause. Many are willing to do something. None doing any where close to enough, however.

Key West and much of the lower Keys could disappear some time in the next 50 years. The ocean front and gulf front homes and hotels will be swept away. The same homes many today are spending from $3 million to $7 million for.

I have spent much of my time over the past 30 years in Key West. Stock Island adjoins Key West. Stock Island the other side of Cow Key Bridge.

Stock Island has primarily been the place where the working staff of Key West live. Housing much cheaper. It was at one time the home of fishing fleets now long gone.

There always has been a sense that Stock Island was saying “Watch us grow!” It didn’t grow till recent years. Now booming.

Class hotels, great food restaurants, first class marinas. etc.

Stock Island is shouting for every one to come and see what is happening. A “I Love Sock Island Festival” will be ongoing from June 16-20. Go and experience the transformation taking place!

I hope as part of the Department of Justice’s investigation it is following the money. Wealthy oligarchs are funding the terrorist groups and the insurgency they bring. Big money!

Think for a moment. January 6. Where did the insurgents get the money to pay for the buses and other type transportation to get them to Washington? Hotel rooms? Meals? Miscellaneous expenses?

Follow the money! Those who funded January 6 are as much responsible as those who actually charged up the Capitol steps.

Enjoy your day!

Happy Sunday!

I decided to spend my Saturday night at home. My new thing remaining home. Read a little, watched TV a little. To bed and sleep at nine.

A certain topic caught my eyes during the reading portion. How soda and artificially sweetened beverages are bad stuff. I have been hearing for a couple of years to stop drinking soda. I go through about 6 bottles of Diet Pepsi a day.

I would like to say no more. However what do I substitute in its place? I already drink several bottles of water a day

Permit me to share what I read about soda being a killer.

I came across several articles. One right on carried an article titled Soda Consumption Reveals Mortality Rates. Title long way to say  sugar sweetened beverages will accelerate death in many instances.

When reference is made to “sweetened beverages,” it includes also “artificially flavored beverages.”

Circulation is a well respected scientific journal. Especially in the area of heart problems. It is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilks for the American Heart Association. A weekly publican.

Circulation ranks #1 among journals in the cardiac and cardiovascular systems category.

Circulation recently reported on a 25 year study. Participants 117,000. The study revealed a 21 percent increase in all cause mortality, as well as cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality.

GThe article an interesting introduction into the heart of the sugar sweetened issue. My problem a simple one. Not deep. I went years ago from Pepsi to Diet Pepsi. What do I drink now that is totally devoid of sugar or sugar sweetener?

It’s almost humorous. As one gets older, he has to give up smoking, drinking and involuntarily sex. Now diet soda!

Audrey Hepburn. One of the finest movie actresses of all time. As well as one of the most beautiful.

World War II was all over Europe. Initially, Holland advised it would remain neutral. Hitler failed to recognize Holland’s neutrality, conquered and occupied Holland during the war years.

Hepburn’s mother and father had separated early in the war. It was only Audrey and her mother Ella living in Holland.

Hepburn literally starved. There was little food available.  Doctors attribute her slender appearance to being malnourished during her adolescence.

As a youngster, Hepburn worked with the Resistance. She acted as a courier delivering papers and money from one group of Resistance fighters to another. The Resistance used children because the Nazis were unlikely to search them.

When Hepburn hit Hollywood and almost instantaneous stardom, her studio found her Resistance background attractive for publicity purposes. However, the matter had to be handled with delicacy.

Hepburn’s parents were Nazi sympathizers and supporters.

Early on, her parents were members of the British Union of Fascists.

Hepburn lived with her mother Ella throughout the war. Her father Joseph had deserted his family early in the war.

Ella returned to Germany early on to attend the Nuremberg Rallies. Following which she wrote an enthusiastic account for the fascist magazine The Blacklist.

Joseph was more deeply involved. He was investigated by the British House of Commons for receiving seed money to start a newspaper from Germans with ties to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

Joseph was imprisoned as an enemy of the State for the duration of the war.

Neither parent was aware of Audrey’s Resistance involvement. Audrey was aware of her parent’s Nazi activities.

During the 1950’s, it would have been disastrous for Hepburn’s squeaky clean image if it were known her parent were Nazi sympathizers. Ergo, the movie studio worked hard to keep that facet of her life secret.

Hepburn’s first film was Roman Holiday in which she starred with Gregory Peck. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress. At some point, she left Hollywood and worked for causes world wide. Especially those involving starving peoples. Much of her work was through the United Nations.

While reading about Audrey Hepburn, Harry Truman came to mind. I recalled having read a statement he made about the work he wanted to do. I had marked it in one of my Truman books.

Truman was a plain speaker easily understood. He once said, “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly a difference.”

The G7 seems to be going well. I like Biden’s statement: “The United States is back!”

The trip an obvious success for the nations participating. However the problem is in the details. Hopefully everything can be worked out in a kumbaya fashion as time moves on.

Terri White sings 3-5 this afternoon at Marylin’s. Drop in. Terri’s singing will make you feel good.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Merrick Garland has been in the news the past few days. For a number of reasons.

I am not certain he is the right person to be Attorney General.

I commented about him in my 3/13/21 blog titled Morning Stew #48.

My thoughts remain the same. My uncertainty continues.

I wrote re his being confirmed for Attorney General. Expressed my concern: “Garland has been touted as ‘best’ for the job for two reasons.”

“First, he headed the Oklahoma investigation 25 years ago. Second, he has been a respected federal judge for more than 20 years.

Both experiences qualifying on their face. However, I question such.

Twenty five yeas is long ago. No one can tell whether he is as good investigative wise as he was then. A good judge does not necessarily make a good prosecutor. Especially after 20 years as a judge. The mind changes. In some instances, the drive also.”

The jury is still out in my mind.

I hope Garland does well and I wish him well. However, he causes me concern.

It happens. Glory to one not seeking it. Like a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

Darnella Frazier is winner of a special Pulitzer Prize.

Darnella is the young lady who was walking by as George Floyd was being killed. She stopped to film the entire scene on her cell phone. The film thereafter went public.

The Pulitzer Prize Board said she may not be a professional journalist, but whose actions had as much impact as any.

Her film went round the world. It had a decided effect on the outcome of the trial.

It does not stop. Weekends have become popular for mass shootings.

This one early this morning in downtown Austin, Texas. Thirteen injured. Police uncertain at this time whether one shooter or a gang.

The story of a modern day Jonas. One whose God was on his shoulder. A Cape Cod diver left with a whale of a tale after a humpback spat him out.

Lobster diver Michael Packer diving off the coast of Provincetown friday when the “capital cetacean” caught him unaware.

Packer was 45 feet down. He felt a huge bump and everything went dark. “I could sense I was moving. Then I realized there was no teeth and I had felt, really, no great pain. And then I realized, ‘Oh my God, I’m in a whale’s mouth and he’s trying to swallow me.”‘

Packer still had his breathing apparatus on.

He thought: “Ok, this is it, I’m going to die.” Thought about my kids and wife. “There was no getting out of there.”

Packard estimates that after 30 seconds in the mammals mandibles, the whale surfaced quickly and spit him out.

He was thrown in the air. Then, “floated.”

“I couldn’t believe I got out of that. And I’m here to tell it.”

Packer was taken to a hospital. Except for bruises all over his body, he was alright. “All in all, I’m a lucky guy.”

I trust he went to Church the next morning.

Texas Governor Abbott has never impressed me. His mental capacity is somewhere below normal. Trump worse. Abbott a close second.

He is a Trumpie true and true.

Abbott announced thursday that Texas will build its own border walls. His reason: The Biden administration is failing “to do its job” on the border and protect Americans from lawlessness.

Perhaps he wants to run for President in 2024 if Trump cannot.

Abbott further announced he planned “immediate” action. He plans “mass arrests”. He plans on building bigger jails.

A couple of Louis thoughts.

I recall during the Trump years the many Texans who went on national TV explaining the migration problem was not as bad as Trump was making it out to be. Wives and daughters were not being raped, disease nothing also.

Many residents advised there was an increase in immigrants. Not as bad as Trump was reporting. The communities were dealing with the problem, though assistance was needed.

Abbott forgets also the increase in costs to build new jails and pay new jailers to watch over the jailed immigrants. In addition to the new court space, judges, and judicial staff needed to process those arrested.

Texans will love the increase in their taxes!

The man speaks without thinking. Shoots from the hip. As does his hero, Donald Trump.

I’m curious how the Biden-Putin meeting will work out.

Biden earlier calling Putin a “killer” does not suggest an harmonious meeting. Biden has thrown the “gauntlet” down. Their public press interview following the meeting should be interesting.

Today is International Gin Day.

I never drank till I was 45. A story itself and for another day.

The first taste of alcohol was Beefeater gin. I liked it. It became my drink of choice. I consumed my fair share over the years.

Three years ago following a serious attack of pancreatitis, my doctor said “Louis, you’re on the wagon. A drink only now and then.”

And so it has been. Sometimes I have even gone two-three weeks without.

I must be honest. It is a tough life when I am out socially and everyone is knocking the drinks down. However, you do what you have to do.

My body improving from its most recent fall. Elbow the major problem. Bending it hurts. My right hip likewise painful if I sit or lie wrongly.

I will survive. Hopefully with no more than a sore body part. My two concerns are always a fractured hip and a brain bleed. The fractured hip is understandable. The brain bleed may not be to some.

I take blood thinners. A hard bang to my head and I could die. Blood could be seeping as a result somewhere in the brain.

Three times I worried my head bang might be dangerous. Three times I went through the necessary immediate tests to determine if the problem had occurred. Fortunately, so far so good.

I feel like the guy in the whale as reported today. God has been on my side each time. I will concede however being in the mouth of a whale is far worse.

Enjoy your day!

I am having a bad day at Black Rock.

Yesterday was a different day till 4:30 in the afternoon.

I was up at 5:30. Had a breakfast meeting at 9. Researched the blog so I would be able to write it quickly when I got home.

Nine found me at Two Friends on Front Street. Shamed I am to admit I have not been in Two Friends in 20 years. No particular reason. Just did not go.

The place was packed. Primarily tourists. Each enjoying a big breakfast.

My meeting was with Dave Hill, the owner of Two Friends, and Guy deBoer.

Never met Dave before. An interesting gentleman.

The purpose of the meeting was for Dave and I to meet and discuss Guy’s idea that we all do a radio show together. Guy moderating. Dave and I exchanging thoughts.

Dave and I are a perfect match. He a Republican, I a Democrat. National events will be the primary thrust of the show.

The show will be all of 10 minutes to begin. When yet to be decided.

I am excited. I will enjoy it and I am confident Dave will also.

Now that Dave and I are friends, I will be having lunch or dinner at Two Sisters hopefully once a week.

From Two Friends to the shirt laundry on Truman. I park my car in the Don’s Place parking lot across the street.

Normally, the parking lot is full in the morning. Around 9:30 the Breakfast Hour would still be ongoing. No cars in the parking lot.

The outside bar was not manned also.

Oh my God, all I could think was Don’s dead. He is dealing with heavy lung cancer at a Chicago hospital.

The door to the bar was open. Several people drinking. Saw Elizabeth who I have not seen in a couple of years. My drinking days are long gone so I frequent Don’s Million Dollar Bar no more.

I sought David. Don’s good friend who now is keeping the books. He was in the tiny house in the back working on them.

I did not want the door to open. I feared Don was dead.

Don has lung cancer. He was a master smoker. He recently had his first chemotherapy session at the hospital. He is staying nearby in his lake home that he and Stephanie built about 10 years ago. Their vacation home. It may never be.

Let me me tell you about Don. He is one of the nicest people I have met. Warm, friendly. The type that gave you all his attention when you were talking. Everyone loved Don! He was the man!

I played golf and bocce with him for 15 years. We occasionally lunched, David with us. Drank most days with him in his bar.

There is a sad humor to this. The doctor told me I would be better off not drinking two years ago. I stopped. Don was told to stop five years ago. Smoking, also. He was able to handle the no booze. Cigarettes were another story.

Don was an athlete in his younger days. He obtained his college degree on a football scholarship at a small college in the Midwest.

He ended up a Vice President with some newspaper chain in Buffalo. He also at one time was publisher of a newspaper somewhere else.

He visited Key West on vacation. Discovered what is now Don’s Place. He always wanted to own a bar. Bought it. Cost him one million dollars. That is why he named the bar Don’s Million Dollar Bar.

Hang in there Donald!

Returned home. It was pushing 11. Did the blog and had it out and published by 12:30.

Made myself a sandwich. Watched a World War II movie. Napped.

I woke at 4:40. I was upstairs.

Those of you who follow me regularly know I developed a falling problem that became acute 2 years ago. Comes with age. I started using a cane full time 2 years ago. Should have started 2 years earlier. It has become my best friend.

I rarely use it in the house. A person who falls generally has a sense a fall is about to occur. There is always something in a house to hold onto to prevent the fall.

I use the handrail on the inside steps second floor to first. One problem. The hand rail stops 4 steps before the end. I’m on my own from that point forward.

Yesterday was a problem. I missed the last step and went flying. I have some art work are not yet hung. They lie against the wall opposite the foot of the stairs. I went through a Jack Baron, Miro, Agam, and Renoir etching.

The art work came out ok. I did not.

My right side. Knee. My right hip. I assume I did not break it. Sore as hell, however. Right shoulder.

I take blood thinners. Bleed easy. My right elbow kept bleeding. An area about 3 x 4 inches.

I was out of band aids. Called a friend to get me some. I now have $25 worth. Was able to use a large band aid to cover the whole area.

Could not get comfortable in bed. Finally fell asleep. One hour. Woke and felt something wet. The blood from the right elbow had found a way out from under the large band aid. Sheet and blanket stained big time.

Gave up on the bed. Went downstairs to a large lounge chair. The position of my arm and hip were important. Both had to be placed gingerly. Watched TV all night. Did not sleep.

The story of my yesterday.

I’ve had better and worse ones. Not complaining. Merely sharing.

Enjoy your day!

My test for this, test for that trip, continues. Yesterday, an endoscopy. Tomorrow, an ultra sound of my kidneys.

I normally do not go into detail re a medical matter. However the Surgery Center is worthy of sharing my experience.

I have had a problem swallowing for several years. Called Zenker’s diverticulum. A growth on the esophagus. Food sometimes gets stuck on the way down. Has been happening frequently lately. Ergo, the endoscopy.

The surgery center is located on Toppino Drive. Behind the I-Hop on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

The first thing that hit me was the cleanliness. The whole place. Reception area to where the endoscopy was done to the room I was in before and after.

I know all medical places should be clean. However, many are not.

The staff terrific. Professional, pleasant and helpful. Cannot remember all their names. However, my physician was Dr. Lawrence Blass. His team consisted of Randall, Anna, Tiffany, and the anesthesiologist whose name I cannot recall even though he spent some time prior to the surgery with me.

I was in and out in 2 1/2 hours.

Fear not if you are in need of an endoscopy and/or colonoscopy. See Dr. Blass or contact the Surgery Center for a recommendation. Good people!

Yesterday was June 9. Nero died on June 9, except not in 2021. In 68 AD. Thirty one at the age of his death.

Not a nice guy. Got off on subjecting people to pain. Nero enjoyed debaucheries, political murders, and burning Christians. Especially after falsely blaming them for setting fire to Rome.

Two passions. Music and religious persecution.

There is no merit to the story Nero fiddled while Rome burned. I have written re the issue several times over the years. Responsible historians say no way. The fiddled had not yet been invented.

It is often said the mighty shall fall. Nero fell.

He was having political problems. Senate members were ready to depose him. The Senate declared him a “public enemy.” The penalty death. Flogging the mode of execution.

Nero believed flogging was a painful way to die. He preferred to have someone slit his throat.. He implored his secretary Epaphroditos to slit his throat. His secretary refused. He asked several of the military loyal to him to do it. They refused.

He did not have the courage to fall on his sword and kill himself. Someone finally slit his throat. Who, I could not determine.

A foolish decision on Nero’s part. While he was hiding out somewhere in the wilderness with his army, the Senate in Rome decided to withdraw the “public enemy” charge and dropped the execution decision.

Historians have toyed with the possibility Nero was Black. Several emperors before him had been Black.

The basis for his “may have been Black” involved several considerations. First, Nero is folk Latin (and modern day Italian) for Black. Rome had previous Black emperors. Finally, Nero’s features reflected a man of Black origin. His lips were huge. His overall face large.

I do not know whether he was white, black, yellow or purple. All I could determine is serious consideration has been given by historians to his purported Blackness.

The first group Biden met with in England were U.S. military at the air base where he landed. His talk to them televised. Biden without question appeared Presidential, intelligent, touching, warm, humorous, etc. The qualities of a leader.

I felt proud during his talk. The troops appeared to also.

Senator Joseph McCarthy rabble roused the military and high level government officials from 1950-1954. Everyone was a Communist from his way of thinking.

McCarthy was crazy. A drunk.

Members of neither party approved of his conduct. However as with people speaking truth in today’s political climate, no one spoke in opposition to him. Everyone was afraid they would be labeled a Communist.

Note Communism was very much feared in those days. War with Russia could occur at any moment. In New York State, it was suggested we build air raid shelters in the back yard. Children in schools were taught what to do in case of an air raid. Not much. Get under your desk!

Atomic bombs were the weapon anticipated.

McCarthy chaired the Senate sub-committee on investigations. McCarthy brought his Communist theory under the umbrella of the sub-committee.

So bad was McCarthy that 3 Democrats deserted the sub-committee. Republican members stopped attending. McCarthy and his attorney Roy Cohn were the only 2 sitting and interrogating at sub-committee hearings.

An investigation in 1954 was of the U.S. Army. The Army retained Boston attorney Joseph Welch to represent them before McCarthy’s sub-committee.

Welch was tiny and slender. Elderly. His image one of maturity and wisdom.

McCarthy began attacking one of Welch’s attorneys. One he had brought with him from his Boston firm. The young attorney was not a witness. However, McCarthy hit him heavily re his background and Communism. All false accusations.

Welch interrupted McCarthy and said in a quiet firm tone: “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or recklessness”

McCarthy attempted to regain control of the attack and stop Welch. Welch angrily interrupted and said, “Let us not assassinate the lad further, Senator. You have done enough. Have you no decency?”

Welch on that day destroyed McCarthy. People were no longer afraid to stand against him.

Trump and his henchman have begun a Fauci attack this week. One that is an attempt to destroy Fauci. Make him the scapegoat for Trump’s failure with regard to coronavirus.

Trump and his people now blame Fauci for China’s purported failure to warn the world that the virus had escaped a Wuhan laboratory.

This Fauci attack is relatively new. Trump himself on 15 separate occasions while President praised China. Congratulated China on its transparency. Now taking the position it was China’s fault the vaccine had spread beyond China’s borders.

All this time and even today, Fauci’s position has been the virus was animal caused. Perhaps a bat.

Trump is now out to destroy Fauci. A good man. Honest from my perspective. A true civil servant his whole life.

May Trump fail in his bogus effort.

May Trump get his just do.

Things have been tough economically for Key West restaurants this past year. Some did a little cheating apparently to keep afloat. The problem is the cheating hurt their employees.

Antonia’s, Little Pearl, and Thirsty Mermaid failed to pay overtime wages to employees as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The three restaurants combined were required to pay $163,310 in back wages.

People ask how they can subscribe to this blog. I share the information with you today.

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Enjoy your day!