JOE BTFSPLK

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I am beginning to feel like Joe Btfsplk. The Li’l Abner character that walked around with a black cloud over his head. He seemed to have bad luck. His endeavors jinxed.

My television debut yesterday had a sense of Joe Btfsplk about it. I lasted 4 minutes. Then taken off the air. No, I did not say anything bad. There was no audio. It took several hours to determine the cause. A cable problem some where in the back room.

So there was no first television show for me!

Watch again next week. Please.

There is humor in all this. I moved to the TV station because my previous internet show did not always work. Some weeks, no voice. Others, no picture. Some weeks, nothing at all. I figured that was all behind me. I was going to be broadcasting live from a for real TV station.

Such is life!

While the tragedy was unfolding yesterday, I asked Jenna if she knew who Li’l Abner was. I knew I was in a Joe Btfsplk moment. She did not. Too young.

Al Capp was a cartoonist. From the mid 1930s to the mid 1970s, he drew the Li’l Abner cartoon. It was syndicated world wide.

The setting for the cartoon was the imaginary Dogpatch in the hills of Kentucky. Li’l Abner was a young hillbilly. His girl friend was Daisey Mae.

Joe Btfsplk was a part of the Dogpatch community. He appeared in the cartoon about once a month. Seldom because Joe was considered bad luck. He was a small runty appearing guy. Wore a big flappy hat. Always had that black cloud over him.

I visted with Lisa after the show. She lamented with me. Larry Smith telephoned several times with his critique of the 4 minutes.

I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed. There was a need to drown my sorrows. I knew the perfect place.

I headed over to Blossoms for a Cuban cheese toast with tomato and a large cup of Cuban coffee. I felt better afterwards.

My afternoon was committed to writing next week’s KONK Life article. It’s called Honor Killing. The subject matter concerns Pakistani parents who threw acid over their 15 year old daughter because she was looking at boys. It took two days of agonizing pain before the girl died. It is questionable whether she received medical attention.

Honor killings are common place in Pakistan. Last year there were 943 such deaths. Young girls killed by family members. Acid was used in each instance. Of the 943, only 20 received medical attention

To further compound these heinous deaths, most of the girls were first subjected to gang rape.

Honor killings are tied into religion. My article explores the subject, including the religious aspect.

I got involved in a two hour telephone call around 5. By the time it was over, I was not in the mood to go out last night. I stayed home and watched TV.

A brief comment regarding General Petraeus’ resignation.

The man had an extramarital affair. That in and off itself would not justify resignation in my opinion. His problem was his girl friend had obtained access to his personal emails. Cannot have a girl friend sneaking around and reading emails of any kind written and received by the head of the CIA.

Had it not been for the intrusion into his personal emails, Petraeus hopefully would have stayed on the job.

The United States is no longer the puritanical society it once was. Most of our churches and places of worship are empty. The moral wrongs of yesterday are the rights of today. Let he who is without sin cast the first stoned should prevail. People who live in glass houses likewise should not throw stones.

Enjoy your Saturday!

TODAY…..TELEVISION!

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Ho ho ho! The day has arrived! The Key West Lou legal Hour on TV for the first time!

Watch!

TV throughout the Keys on Comcast Channel 87. Available world wide on the internet. www.tvchannel19. Ten in the morning my time.

I MADE A MISTAKE YESTERDAY. DESCRIBED THE WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR INTERNET VIEWING INCORRECTLY. THERE IS NO PERIOD AFTER tv. THE CORRECT WEBSITE IS www.tvchannel19.com.

Thank you Deanie for bringing the error to my attention.

May I break a leg with the show this morning!

I spent a good portion of yeesterday fine tuning today’s show. Drove Jenna crazy on the telephone. She is my TV guru.

Last night bocce.

I should have stayed home. I played that poorly.

We played two different games on two different courts last night. We had a make up game. We lost 2-1 in each match. Not good.

In our game against the Bubba’s, two games were close. Within 1-2 points. We won one and lost one. Proved once again that we can play with the best. The other game we were beaten badly. That was the game I played in.

I mentioned yesterday that the nor’easter had a name. Athena. This moring I hear the Artic storm about to hit the west coast referred to as Brutus. Then I read that the Weather Channel was now naming all storms. If we ever have one again like Sandy when she hit New Jersey, it will be very confusing. When Sandy hit, four storms merged. Can you imagine Sandy joined Rudolph and Sweet Pea this morning and all three moved on to meet Harry?

I hope you will be able to join me this morning for the Key West Lou Legal Hour. Television or internet. I promise you a good show.

Enjoy your day!

THE DAY…..FINALLY

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This is the day. Election day. Presidential election day.

After years and months of campaigning, it is over. Fortuantely! It can and does get to be a bit too much.

I am an Obama supporter. I early voted for him last week. I am not sure he will win. For the past months, I have had doubts. On the other hand, it is incomprehensible to me why people would vote for Romney. His political affiliation has nothing to do with it. The man is basically a liar. He is also a non supporter of women’s rights. If he wins, it will be because of the economy. Things are still tough. People desperate. The desperation will drive the Romney vote.

I think Romney would make an inept President. Although of some concern, it does not bother me that much. We have survived incompetent Presidents before. My concern is whether we can survive the people who will have elected Romney. I refer to the 2 per cent and the corporations. I fear they will rape the governmental process to satisfy their own economic ends.

Whatever. We shall see.

I have been invited to an election evening party. Should be fun. I am looking forward to it.

I spent a couple of hours at the Chart Rome last night. It was Monday. Mary’s night to bartend.

Fortune befell me. I met Jennifer. We had a stimulating political conversation.

Jennifer is visiting. She is a Parrothead who came to Key West for this past weekend’s festivities. She is staying a few extera days. Jennifer is from outside Philadelphia. Bucks County. She is employed by Bucks County. Its Health Department. She is a Preparedness Planner. Her job is to deal with a disaster, if one occurs.

Sandy, New Jersey and the Presdidential election all came into the conversation. She is a Democrat who plans on voting for Romney if she gets home in time tonight. I asked why. She skirted the issue a bit. When it came to push, it was the economy.

I learned a lot about FEMA and how disasters should be handled from her perspective. Jennifer believes the federal government’s involvement should be limited to providing funds. Money. Her County and State she said are ready and trained to handle disasters. However with a major disaster, more monies are required than are available at the State level.

I learned from her. I raised the issue concerning the firemen who came in from out of state to help New Jersey. The Jersey firemen would not let them participate unless they signed a paper which in effect made them a part of the Jersey firefighter’s union. I thought that sucked.

Jennifer corrected me. The reason for the signing was to protect the out of staters in the event they were hurt. Their home states had no responsinility if an injury occurred. New Jersey had none either unless they signed up to be covered by New Jersey. The out of state helpers were volunteers. Jennifer told me this problem reared its ugly head during 9/11. Many came to help from outside New York and were injured. Many of those are still waiting for compensation.

Jennifer was proud of her job and the state of readiness she and her co workers were in. She was also proud of an additional item. Her 15 year old daughter. Her daughter frequently was mentioned.

The balance of this week is big! The Power Boat Races aka Super Boat Races. The World Championships here in Key West. The races will be Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Big expensive boats. Whole teams here. Racers and crews, wives and girl friends. The races are spine chilling to watch.

My new TV show this friday at 10 in the morning my time. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Comcast Channel 87. Available world wide via the internet. www.tvchannel19.com. The internet connection for world wide viewing is important since the show is now watched in 38 countries.

I worked a bit yesterday on the show. Two additional topics have been prepared.

One has to do with the Greek vote next week to approve further austerity cuts. The people are pissed big time. The unions have called for two days of strike before the Greek legislature votes. No one works. Not even medical staff. People have already started protesting. The demonstrations are averaging 10,000-15,000 persons a day. Tens of thousands more are expected next week.

The other topic involves Pakistan. A Muslim father threw acid in the face of his 15 year old daughter because she looked at a boy on a cycle. The thrust of the discussion involves the fact that the Quaran does not provide for such a punishment. The acid thing is the result of man made law / custom which has developed in a male dominant society that considers women possessions.

Enjoy your day!

A DISAPPOINTING EDITORIAL

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A political Sunday of sorts.

My morning started with the TV talk shows. Meet the Press and Chris Matthews, amongst others. Only one item discussed. The Presidential election.

Afterwards, I continued work on Friday’s TV/Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Additional topics include differences between the Catholic Church and a Polish coffin maker, an expensive Anaconda, recent U.S. Supreme Court activity involving police drug sniffing dogs, Jack the Ripper, the 1965 blackout, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and John Kennedy.

Remember, I have changed broadcasting studios. As of Friday, I will be broadcasting via TV and the Internet. The show will be available on Comcast Channel 87 through out the Keys. It will be available world wide on the internet. www.tvchannel19.com.

Ten o’clock in the morning my time.

Decided to get some beach time. Grabbed my sand chair and headed over to Higgs Beach. A lot of people. More than I had expected. It is getting a bit cooler. The coolness did not disuade any one from swimming. Except for me. I put my foot in and decided the water was too cold.

I brought Sunday’s Key West Citizen and a book with me.

The Key West Citizen is a good and interesting local newspaper. Never many pages. However whatever its weight, it compensates with thought provoking material. Yesterday’s editorial was no exception. I was provoked.

The editorial came out in support of Romney for President. That did not bother me. Although I am an Obama supporter, every one has a right to their own opinion.

What disturbed me was the manner in which Romney was supported. Both candidates have warts. The editorial found Romney free of warts. The editorial was a boiler plated recitation of his alleged virtues. Romney was made to appear as the seconnd coming of a Messianic figure.

The editorial disappointed me not as to its conclusion, but the manner in which it was arrived at.

Sunday dinner was the best! With Lisa and the family. Politics was a part of our evening. Political discussions amongst Lisa, Corey and I are interesting. We are not always in accord. As to Obama however, we are.

Turned out Robert and Ally had been involved in the Presidential election this past week. Both attend Montessori. First and second grades. The school conducted a mock Presidential election. They both voted for Obama. The results will not be announced till Wednesday.

I have always considered such school elections as representative of the thinking of the community. The youthful votes cast generally reflect parental poitions. Such elections are a good barometer of the real result locally.

Enjoy your day!