Did it rain monday! It was a monsoon. A storm of storms. Almost expected a tsunami to follow.

The rain which began in the morning was excessive. Three to six hours. Heavy. Constant.

Flooded streets all over the place. More and deeper than normal. The rain came as high tide was cresting which made the flooding worse.

Some have described monday’s rain and flooding one of the worst ever.

Key West rains can be strange. It can rain on one block and not on the next. I was speaking with a Stock Island resident last night and he said Stock Island had a few light sprinkles early in the morning. Nothing more. Proves my point.

Yesterday, Key West advised residents and visitors to avoid nearshore swimming. Possible pollutants.

Monday’s extensive heavy rain acted like a power wash of the island. Pollutants such as motor oil and animal waste run into canals and ocean waters near the island. Only surface waters, not sewer water.

A Citizens’ Voice comment: Congressman Gimenez visited Key West last week. A good Republican. He visited safe confines for him. City and County offices and meetings. He failed to hold a town hall meeting. Apparently he did not want to be subjected to the wrath of an unhappy public re how two of the world’s wealthiest men are destroying our democracy.

Most Republican officeholders buy the Trump/Musk line. They think the voters, many whom voted for Trump, do not know what they are talking about. Come the next Congressional election, they will find out.

A step back in Key West history. Key West resident Pete Neho fought for the featherweight boxing title against Al Singer in Madison Square Garden in 1929.

In 1928, a sort of distant relative of mine Bushy Graham became the Bantom Boxing Champion of the World when he defeated Corporal Izzy Schwartz for the title at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. He never got to defend the title. He gained too much weight and had to move up to the featherweight division.

Bushy’s brother was my uncle Frank Graham. Also a boxer. Frank married my father’s older sister Mary.  As I got older, my Uncle Frank told me had he known I would physically grow as I did he would have trained me to become a professional boxer.

It was The Grand last night with Steve. The place was jam packed. Not a seat to be had. I arrived early so it was no problem for Steve and I.

Matt was in Puerto Rico celebrating his partner’s birthday. Ed there as usual. A good guy.

A Pat Benson came over and asked if I was Key West Lou. Turned out she is a Key Wester, a good friend of Jean Thornton’s and reads my blog every day. I immediately loved her! We had a nice conversation. I am sure we will run into each other again.

My relatively new neighbors Karen and Chuck were there also. I have not seen them in a few weeks. Nice people. Chuck mentioned his 90 year old mother was coming to visit. I said I look forward to meeting her as I am 89. Good for a laugh! However, I do look forward to meeting a contemporary age wise. Almost so ethnically also. She is of Sicilian extraction and I Italian.

I had been thinking of fried calamari for a few days. Enjoyed an order. Also consumed 4 Diet Pepsi’s. No alcohol.

Next on the agenda Donald Trump. Cannot be avoided. A fan of his I am not. However, he dominates our news and lives so there are thoughts I would like to share.

A new Executive Order or something of that sort. Trump advised yesterday what I consider would be U.S. citizenships being for sale at the rate of $5 million each. 

Yes, he did.

I was under the impression that we have a way to citizenship. Takes time, a test, etc. Not under Trump’s plan. Somewhere around $5 million will buy a gold card visa. The system obviously favors the rich. Makes it possible to acquire a formal relationship with the U.S. quickly. Another way of making our country become the home and power base of oligarchs. His plan favors the rich over skilled professionals.

He estimated his plan would produce trillions of dollars for the U.S.

Donald, everything is not about money.

I don’t like it. We are not for sale. There is a tried and true method that has worked for decades. Stick with it. Some even arrive poor, but become millionaires after arriving by hard work, etc.

The Republicn House squeezed a budget proposal through by an almost basic party line vote of 217-215. Now goes to the Senate for approval.

The very definition of racism invites racist white men ranting about others being racist about them. In reality they are “insecure boys,” not men.

Only Trump would do it. On monday, he had the U.S. vote for Russia and against Ukraine re the war.

Trump is in the process of gutting Medicaid. The game plan. Next will be Medicare. Then, Social Security.

Trump must be stopped.

He fails to realizes many on Medicaid are MAGA persons. Looks like he does not need them anymore and so cares not about them anymore.

Musk upset with the numerous judicial rulings against his and Trump’s plans. He refers to the adverse rulings as the “tyranny of the judiciary.”

Trump and Zelensky will meet friday. Trump expects Zelensky to sign a minerals deal. I think he is wrong. It will not happen.

We shall see.

It is called adding injury to insult. The military hierarchy fired recently generally live in government housing. They were given three hours to leave their residences.

I close with Syracuse basketball. Syracuse plays North Carolina State at 7 tonight. I assume another Syracuse loss in the making. I may watch the game at Brady’s Irish Pub. The experience a form of self-abuse.

Enjoy your day!