President Trump’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress last night was a disgrace. His words fraught with danger. His thoughts scary. 

He has been a failure as a President, a failed businessman, and a failed human being.

Trump wants everyone to believe the U.S. is a failed nation and he is going to save us. The failed one is he, not the U.S. However if he is successful  continuing as he has the first six weeks of his second Presidency, he is going to bury not only the the U.S. but the entire world. Economically and militarily.

His audience was equally disgraceful. Republicans and Democrats alike. The Republicans cheering a leader who will fail in the end. Fearful of the man who leads their party. Afraid to stand up for what is right. Afraid to oppose wrong.

The Democrats befuddled. They know not what to do. The “enemy” different from any they have ever known.

As the U.S. fails, so will the rest of the world. First, economically. Trump’s tariffs will give birth to inflation and a major recession worldwide. As bad as the one that began in 1929.

Loyalties are changing. Yesterday’s friends are becoming today’s foes. Yesterday’s foes today’s friends. The U.S. and Russia a perfect example.

The Republicans and Democrats as seated last night reminded me of nations waiting to do battle centuries ago. Facing each other on a battlefield. At an appropriate moment, moving forward against each other.

We are not a nation in decline. We could become one under Trump’s Presidency, If Trump seeks personal success, he will find it if he destroys what was a great nation with his wayward judgment, lies and mistruths.

Food for thought.

First he threatened. Put the fear of economic gods in everyone. Backed off to show he was a good guy. Now drops the bombs. Tariff bombs. Pure insanity. No nation wins. Trump’s ill advised bravado actions will hurt the U.S. as much as other nations.

China said it would retaliate. Trump’s tariff’s on China went into effect today. China immediately announced a 15 percent tariff on some U.S. imported goods and 10 percent on others. On top of which some 20 U.S. companies were blacklisted. They can only do business in China with China’s permission.

The 15 percent China imposed retaliatory tariff will primarily affect U.S. farm products such as soybeans, meats and grains. The 10 percent tariff chickens, wheat and corn.

Most of the U.S. products come from MAGA red states.

Trump last week accused Ukraine of perhaps starting World War III. It will not be Ukraine and Russia so much as the US. screwing around with China.

Canada and Mexico have yet to announce their retaliatory tariffs. 

The DOW dropped 650 points yesterday. The DOW had significantly bad numbers last week. Americans with money in the stock market are going to begin growing uncomfortable. More and more each day. Trump’s “brilliant” tariff move is going to affect them greatly.

Trump advised yesterday a “pause” in the delivery of military aid to Ukraine. He had to play that dirty card! He is trying to force Ukraine into a “peace deal” that would leave them no protection in the future. All to benefit Putin.

We know Trump does not know what he is talking about. We know his Cabinet and aids dance to his tune. “Yes” people. Even the Republican Senate who should be standing up to him at the moment.

Woe is we. Woe are European democratic nations. The time is upon Euro nations to stand firmly behind Ukraine. Less talk of support. An actual show of support with immediate big time military aid. Including boots on the ground, if necessary. Russia can’t fight the whole world. It will back off of its retaliatory threats.

Trump can’t leave anything alone. He wants the federal government to take over Washington, D.C. The federal government can’t seem to properly take care of the nation. I suspect even a smaller city would be too much for it.

Putin has issued a new threat. War with the U.S. and NATO if either gives missiles to Ukraine. Trump’s buddy threatening the U.S.! The world has evolved into a creepy chaotic place in the first five weeks of Trump’s Presidency.

Trump does not always speak the truth. He has assured the American people that Social Security and Medicaid were off the table. Someone failed to tell Musk. He appears to be gearing up to go after Social Security.

Musk was on the Joe Rogan show friday for three hours. He said, “Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

Why? How?

Pope Francis does not appear to be getting better. He is back on a ventilator after his respiratory problems got worse. I fear he will soon be joining his Maker.

Bum Farto back in Key West news today. Actually, the phrase/question that has become synonymous with his name: “Where is Bum Farto?”

Farto disappeared this day in 1976. The Key West Fire Chief had been convicted in federal court of drug charges. He was on his way to Miami for sentencing. He has never been seen since.

Last year was not the best for me health wise. This year a couple of maladies. Minor ones, fortunately.

I saw the good Dr. Norris yesterday. I have not seen him for several months. The best of the best when it comes to primary care.

Two problems.

My left ankle is infected and swollen. A growth accidently was knocked off two weeks ago at physiotherapy. The relatively tiny wound became infected. Began bothering me over the weekend. Norris said an infection. The growth not cancerous. A common type that comes with age. He placed me on an antibiotic for a week. I took the first one this morning.

Turns out I broke my nose also. About a month ago. Thought nothing of it and did nothing, including having it checked by Norris. I did not consider it broken. 

Taking care of myself in my old age has its built in problems. My ironing board would neither close nor open. It got stuck at mid point. I was screwing around with it to make it close. It did! Swiftly and suddenly! Snapped up and hit me hard on the upper right side of my nose. Swelled a bit, hurt a bit. No big deal. Three days later some dried blood dropped out of the nostril.

The nose has continued to hurt a bit. Getting better, however. Since I was seeing Norris for the ankle, I mentioned my nose to him. Before he even looked, he said I had broken it. Then he got out his instruments and took a look inside. Yes, it had been broken. No big deal. Was healing well.

Such is life. I prefer no problems. If I must experience some, may they be minor. Last year’s heart attack, three heart surgeries and 5 1/2 weeks in Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami was enough.

Enjoy your day!

I came across a detailed story about the Netherlands on YouTube yesterday. Most interesting! Permit me to share a bit with you.

The Netherlands favorite color? Not red, white or blue. Orange. The Dutch even have a national holiday which celebrates the color. King’s Way. April 27. Everyone parties dressed in orange.

The Village of Giethoorn is located in the Netherlands. Unique. Affluent homes. No roads. Transportation is via canals.

Amsterdam an exciting city. It has a world wide special section called Dwallen. The sex neighborhood. Night times packed. Strictly adult entertainment. Two thousand workers. Houses of ill repute referred to as “entertainment houses.” Three hundred seventeen entertainment houses in Dwallen.

Window women a primary attraction. Cost $43-$53 for 15-20 minutes.

Flowers obviously a main Netherlands’ attraction. Not just tulips. All kinds of flowers. As far as the eye can see in different colors. The view has been described as a place where “nature becomes art.”

Flower auctions are held daily. In huge numbers. Great volumes sold for delivery world wide. Auctions different from what are held in other parts of the world. The auctioneer sets a high number and then the bids are in lower numbers.

Van Gogh did his famous Starry Night painting in June 1889 from his asylum room window facing east at Saint-Remy Province. The painting depicts a scene just before sunrise. Van Gogh painted in an imaginary village. The painting’s home is the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In recent years in honor of van Gogh and his work Starry Night, an illuminated bike path that glows in the dark was created. 

The bike path is one kilometer long. It is located in the City of Eindhoven.

Illuminated with thousands of twinkling stones that feature glow in the dark technology and solar powered LED lights.

Finally of course there are the many windmills the Netherlands are famous for. Several hundred years old. Still in working condition.

Appears the Netherlands is worthy of a visit.

Greg Sterling is Dean of the Yale Divinity School. He recently commented re Trump’s USAID cuts and the millions of Africans it affects. Sterling pointed out 20 million African lives were saved from AIDS. Trump’s dramatic cuts will remove U.S. provided AIDS assistance to 6 million in the next four years. Making death inevitable.

Sterling said, “Trump’s cuts are anti-Christian at the core.” Right he is! Trump cut neither thinking nor caring what the affect would be.

As suggested by Sterling, care for the poor is a prerequisite to our Christian commitment. Christ said: “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” Matthew 25:40.

Stated simply, how we treat the least among us will impact our eternal value. Christians are shown to be who they are by their care for others who are in need.

I close with a growing Florida problem. Perhaps not a problem. In reality, a benefit long awaited. The issue has to do with housing and its outrageous costs in recent years.

The Florida housing market is in the process of collapsing. Contracts are failing. Property taxes sky rocketing.

Numbers speak loud and clear. Forty one thousand home purchase agreements fell through in January. The number equals 14.3 percent of homes under contract in January. The number up by 13.4 percent compared to one year earlier. The highest contract failure rate for the same time period since 2017.

Hang in there. House prices may still come down dramatically!

Enjoy your day!

The weather warmed up beyond expectations yesterday. Hit 87 degrees.

I was at Brady’s Irish Pub at noon for the Syracuse/Virginia Tech game. Sat in my usual kitchen chair at a table in the back. Me alone with the TV set.

Syracuse played a hell of a game. For 35 minutes. Then blew it!

With 4 minutes left in the game, Syracuse was up 13 points. I was confident a Syracuse victory in the making. Virginia Tech went on a run. With 4 seconds left, Virginia Tech was winning by 3. Death awaited! Surprisingly, Syracuse made a 3 pointer and the game went into overtime.

Overtime was a disaster for Syracuse. My team was outscored 19-13. Syracuse lost a game they had led most of the way and were decisively ahead with 4 minutes to go. The final score was 101-95.

Dejected does not adequately describe how I felt.

On top of the defeat, my back went when Syracuse was winning by 9 with 10 minutes to go. Why, I don’t know. But it hurt like hell! I was tempted to leave and take my pain home with me. I did not want to miss a Syracuse victory, however. So I suffered terribly till the end of the game and worse thereafter. The defeat and my back!

This definitely has not been Syracuse’s year when it comes to basketball. Thank God the football season went 10-4 in Syracuse’s favor.

My back bothered me all night and still bothers me this morning. Sometimes you just can’t win for losing.

Lets move on to politics. International ones.

Euro and other democratic nations met in England yesterday with Zelensky. They all talked strongly in favor of support for Zelensky and Ukraine.

Talk can be cheap, however. Negotiations seemed to be the thrust. I believe the nations supporting Ukraine must be prepared to fight militarily if push comes to shove. It may. The U.S. appears to be supporting Russia and ready to dessert Ukraine militarily. Other nations will be subject to Russian attack thereafter. Putin’s game plan. The return of the Russia of old!

The free nations of the world must be ready immediately to step in. No wasted time. Strike if something adverse occurs. Swiftly. Such readiness alone might be sufficient to discourage Russia from taking further steps.

Readiness to do battle the key. 

This coming tuesday a big one for Trump. If he is true to his word, his plan re tariffs will go into effect. He will hit Canada and Mexico with 25 percent and impose an additional 10 percent tariff charge on imports from China. The three nations the U.S. does the most business with.

Keep it up, Donald! Hit whoever you want with tariffs. Friend and foe alike.

Guaranteed a tariff war will be a loser not only for those imposed upon, but for the U.S. also.

Another way to describe the Zelensky, Trump, Vance meeting is the Trump team rooting for Putin…..in a gross betrayal of the West.

During the campaign, Trump promised the moon. Everything! Anything to be elected! Lied like hell! He was the “day one” guy. Promised to do this and that on day one.

Like not cutting Social Security, protecting Medicare, free in vitro fertilizations, disavow the heritage Fund’s Project 2025, promising he had nothing to do with it.

He promised he would lower the cost of housing, groceries and other necessities. He promised cheaper eggs.

Basically, he has generally delivered nothing but pain so far. 

He is still game for his tariff plans which will raise the price of goods for most Americans.

The best yet…..The fantasy that has developed that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will distribute stimulus checks  drawn from supposed savings to taxpayers. From what? Grossly exaggerated erroneous savings numbers?

What will be Trump’s reaction if a recession occurs? The result of his misdeeds and failure to keep promises made.

An example of a Key West price indicator moving in the wrong direction. The per gallon price of gasoline. From saturday to saturday this past week, the price increased 24 cents a gallon.

The Custom House in Key West was built around 1898. Construction completed near the time of the Battleship Maine explosion in Havana Harbor. It was a federal building back then.

A Naval Court of Inquiry was was arranged to investigate why the Maine exploded on March 1, 1899. The Inquiry was held at the recently completed Custom House.

I close with a major store closing in many states. Not a healthy reflection of what is happening with the economy.

Macy’s announced it was closing sixty stores in 2025.

Enjoy your day!

Trump and Vance achieved one of two possible goals yesterday. Achieving nothing for themselves or world pace in the process.

The two must have believed they had Zelensky and the Ukraine by “the balls.” Otherwise they would not have proceeded as they did. To embarrass the President of another nation and then in effect throw him out of the White House.

Zelensky did what he is charged to do. Protect his country. Because Trump trusts Putin, no reason for Zelensky to do so. No reason why  other national leaders would either. Putin a two faced liar. His promises totally unreliable. Only a Trump would buy his representations. Trump a person who wants other dictators as his friends and not tried and true American friends of more than 80 years.

Trump and Vance succeeded in embarrassing Zelensky. Making themselves look like asses in the process. I did think Zelensky handled his end of the confrontation poorly. He lost his cool. Who could blame him, however. 

Another dictator, Turkey’s Erdogan, is apparently now going to take a shot at interceding to bring an effective peace between Ukraine and Russia.

Should he fail, the European nations will be required to step in and provide U.S. type assistance to Ukraine. They already are to some degree. More I suspect will be required. Like boots on the ground.

During this “negotiating” there is no guarantee of success. World War III could result. At some point a frustrated and upset Putin may use his nuclear weapons. Then all hell will break loose. Including U.S. involvement. The “ocean” no longer a valid protection argument. My fear, and it is one that should affect the thinking of all Americans, is that our young ones will be fighting in a major conflict and that civilians and cities will be killed and destroyed. Visualize Ukraine and Gaza as they stand today to understand.

I spoke with Robert a couple of days ago. I told him if things did not work out between Ukraine and Russia, he and Ally could be in the military fighting for the U.S. He agreed such could occur.

Are American college students discussing this possibility?

Trump’s election was a mistake in every respect. Everything he has touched in the slim five weeks he has been President is turning into a disaster. Can we survive the 4 years it will take for his term to end?

Yesterday and today should be days of thought. Hope you are thinking and concerned. Under the circumstances, I cannot end my blog today with…..Enjoy your day!

One of America’s great actors Gene Hackman died yesterday at age 95. I considered him one of the best of the best. He could play every type role.

His death occurred under questionable circumstances. The police indicate “no foul play involved,” however. Hackman was found dead in one room. His wife Betsy dead in the bathroom with pills spilled about her. A family dog dead in a closet.

Carbon monoxide suspected. Autopsies being performed. The cause will be determined in due course.

His death and that of his wife and pet sad regardless of the cause.

The weather cool outside this morning. When I started my research at 7 am, it was 68 degrees. Only 69 at the moment. High will be 73.

My standard is that Key West is cold for locals at 74 and lower. So a chilled day it will be. Tourists will suffer not. Seventy degrees is more than sufficient for them to enjoy the warmth and island.

Visited Lori yesterday for a haircut. Always enjoy my few minutes with her. A haircut and cold wash following takes all of 3 minutes at best.

The storm monday affected her. The rain swept into her place of business. One and one half inches of water. No damage. However, a serious cleanup was involved. The water came in under the door and through the windows.

The egg crisis continues. A dozen now $8 and more. Restaurants are raising their prices or adding a surcharge. Can’t blame them. The shortage affects everyone.

Trump is no help.  He did not reduce prices when he took office last month. His mass firings have only made matters worse. A number of people fired were working on a bird flu response.

The Department of Agriculture predicts egg prices will jump 41 percent this year. Wow!

The U.S. is looking to other countries for help. We will try to import 70 to 100 million eggs in the next month alone.

Trump is talking “tough” with NATO and other Allies at the same time he is wooing Putin. It will do Trump no good. Trump has lost all respect with other countries. They take him as a joke. An irresponsible one.

Roberta Flack died this week at 88. She is best recalled for Killing Me Softly With Song, Tonight I Celebrate My Love, and The Last Time I Ever Saw Your Face.

Interesting. College graduates 25 years and up are moving to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Dallas. They are heading to the places where the best pay is available.

On this day in 1983, a record 106 million people watched the series finale of M*A*S*H.

Today is an important one re U.S and Ukraine relations. Trump and Zelensky will meet at the White House. I hope Zelensky does not sign a mineral deal with Trump.

Inflation around the corner. High prices for basic goods continue under Trump. Plus, his terrible tariff ideas which will cripple the U.S. 

If only the rich and powerful are free to speak their minds, it is not free speech.

The Texas measles outbreak could be more serious than it appears. The beginning of a nationwide epidemic. Kennedy may not be worried. Everyone else should be, however.

I close with Syracuse basketball.

Syracuse plays Virginia Tech tomorrow at noon at Virginia Tech. I have no idea what will happen.

I have to move fast. I have an appointment with Tammy for a manicure.

Enjoy your day!

Unusual Citizens’ Voices for today. Four!

“Now, I’ve never seen the island this flooded in all my years – you’d think a hurricane had passed over us!”

“If you are angry in Key West, you just like being angry.”

“All it takes is one person exposed to measles to come from Texas or New Mexico through the overcrowded airport to expose Key West to this highly contagious disease. We will find out who is not vaccinated.”

“To the Snowflake Voicer whining’s about people insulting the current President, I remind us of the acronym for your pals’ favorite chant the past four years: ‘FJB.’ So get used to it. You ain’t seen nothing yet.” (For your information, FJB stands for Fuck Joe Biden.)

MSNBC is on a rampage. Getting rid of shows, firing star performers, cutting back on staffing. Primarily involved are black starred shows.

Rachel Maddow has lost most of her staffing. Joy Reid is gone, together with her staff. Interestingly, Morning Joe has survived…..thus far. Perhaps indefinitely. Joe and Mika visited Trump in Mar-a-Lago and genuflected. Makes me wonder if NBC overall has done so.

What is the truth behind what is occurring? Why has such occurred?

The first child has died as a result of the Texas measles outbreak. Texas’ worst epidemic in 50 years. The child was not vaccinated.

Since late January, Texas has reported 124 cases. Eighty percent are children.

Thank you Donald and RFK Jr. Keep on the side of the unvaccinated. The one dead child in Texas will grow in numbers. Inevitable.

The Texas death and the outbreak itself are the result of the consequences of declining vaccination rates.

Musk attended Trump’s first Cabinet meeting. Why? He’s not a Cabinet member nor is DOGE yet an official agency. 

Members of the Cabinet did the right thing by Trump by applauding Musk.

Sick!

Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has a meeting scheduled tomorrow with Zelensky. Trump expects Zelensky to sign some sort of deal giving the U.S. certain of Ukraine’s mineral rights in exchange for security assurances.

Zelensky, trust Trump not.

The Republican budget bill passed contains a major declination of a campaign promise by Trump and Republicans. They promised Medicaid would never be touched.

The bill passed and now on its way to the Senate contains major Medicaid cuts. Some SNAP ones also.

Trump and Republicans lied. 

Note the Medicaid cuts will help make possible generous tax cuts for the wealthy.

I have a concern. Federal employees being laid off in large numbers. Yesterday Trump also announced he would be closing many Washington located federal offices and moving them to State locations.

Query: How will the government run with significantly fewer employees? Where will the dislocated federal employees whose Washington job sites have moved get new jobs?

Does anyone think these things out?

Inaction allows evil to flourish. Edmund Burke in 1795 said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Even the Bible contributes to the thought: “Therefore to him, that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17.

Democrats, good Republicans and Independents must rise in opposition to that which is going on and which without question will lead to a different U.S. and perhaps a no longer U.S.

Last but not least, Syracuse finally won another basketball game. Defeated North Carolina State last night 74-60.

Enjoy your day!

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!

Jesus said: “The truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32.

We do not hear enough truth. Lies predominate government. Not enough are yet speaking out against the falsehoods. Though I believe in due course they will. Sooner than later, I hope.

When I was a young man, we were made aware of the Red Scare” (fear of the spread of Communism). There was an abounding tsunami of hate and recrimination abroad in the land.

For instance, people were called before a Congressional committee, found in contempt and jailed for refusing to name names of alleged communists or “fellow travelers.”

Most prominent in this witch hunt were Senator Joseph McCarthy and his committee counsel, the notorious Roy Cohn, who held hearings for example, concerning suspected lax security in the U.S. Army. During the hearings, Army counsel Joseph Welch was inspired by a disparaging McCarthy allegation as to a member of his staff, to famously respond, “Have you no sense of decency?”

This was a a turning point, as CBS commentator Edward R. Murrow seized upon the moment to call out McCarthy on national TV in 1954 saying, inter alia: “This is no time to keep silent…..we can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the republic to abdicate his responsibility…..Cassius was right: ‘The fault dear Brutus is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”‘

Amazingly, 70 years later, Roy Cohn’s dark influence still abounds in the land.

Where have you gone Messrs. Welch and Murrow? A needy nation turns its lonely heart to you.

I had the good fortune many years ago to briefly meet with Edward R. Murrow in a relaxed setting. It was the Stamford Yacht Club. I was on a boat next to Murrow’s. It was evening. We started chatting. He invited me to come on board. He was as honest and frank personally in our talk as he was professionally. It is true. We need more of him.

Most have taken to kneeling to Trump. Others remain quiet. 

At the moment, and sooner than expected, the people have begun speaking out. Republicans and Democrats alike. Recent town meetings reflect the situation. People are becoming increasingly pissed off at Trump’s first five weeks in office and are speaking out. The time, hopefully soon, when political leaders of both parties will do likewise.

Enjoy your day!

I was a lone eagle last night. Decided at the last minute to go out to dinner.

Telephoned TK to save me a seat at the bar at Antonia’s. TK has been a friend for 30 years. About the same number of years he has bartended at Antonia’s.

Just my luck. TK said he had finally retired 3 weeks ago and did not know who the new bartender was.

I have always felt kindly towards TK. He was the first person to invite me to his home for dinner. We were new to Key West having only recently purchased the home in Key Haven. Met TK. He was bartending at another restaurant at the time. He invited me, my wife and daughter Lori to his home for Thanksgiving dinner. A kind and welcoming act. 

I stopped at Antonia’s anyhow hoping to grab an empty seat at the bar. No way. Packed. People waiting for bar seats and tables.

Walked over to La Trattoria. Some empty seats at the bar. I grabbed one.

Did a bad thing. I ordered a drink. My first in more than a year. The doctors said no more drinking following my heart attack. I felt lonely and capitulated to the feeling by imbibing. Only one, however. A Beefeater on the rocks. So good! Enjoyed it slowly.

A couple sat next to me after a while. Sue and Jimmy from North Haven, Connecticut. A charming couple. Mid-60s. Both retired. Sue the manager of a restaurant, Jimmy a project manager for a company that repaired fire and water damage. Two children, seven grandchildren.

I spent most of the evening talking with Sue who was seated next to me. 

They were on vacation. Spent only 2 days in Key West. Were leaving this morning. They had stopped at Key Largo on the way down and today were going to Marathon for a few days. Retired, they now traveled a  lot. Key West was “on their bucket list.”

I admonished Sue that they had to stay 1-2 weeks in Key West to discover its flavor. The only fun spot in the Keys. Key Largo and Marathon boring in comparison. Suggested she and her husband return. Let me know first so I could prepare an itinerary for them that would allow them to enjoy the flavor of the community.

My meal was good. An egg plant appetizer and a half order of penne pasta in a garlic and oil sauce. Just enough.

While Presidnet, Harry S Truman made 11 trips to Key West totaling 175 days. Key West became his run away place to rest while President. He returned several times when an ordinary citizen.

One such visit was on this day in 1957. A sort of business mixed with pleasure trip. He appeared at a dinner held in his honor at the Casa Marina Hotel. The dinner was a fundraiser for the Truman Presidential Library.

On this day in 1945, the Marines raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. The photo has become a U.S. treasure.

Folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land is Your Land” this day in 1940. It has become one of America’s most famous folk songs.

Came across a photo on the internet this morning of children in a U.S. hospital in an iron lung. The standard treatment for polio before the introduction of the Salk vaccine.

Beware of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempts to rid the U.S. of the vaccine. Our children will return to the iron lung existence if he does.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington, D.C. this day in 1861 to assume the Presidency. He made the trip in disguise exercising all kinds of deception. There was no Secret Service back then. Seven states had already seceded. The threat of his assassination was heavy in the air.

I close with a suggestion for prayers. Two. 

One for Pope Francis. It is questionable whether he will recover from his present illness.

The other for our country. The United States of America. We need it! If Trump is successful in what he is doing, the United States will no longer exist as we have known it.

Enjoy your Sunday!