TRUMP MACHIAVELLIAN?

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While in college, I took some political science courses. One had as required reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince.

Machiavelli was born this date in 1469. He is considered a father of modern political theory. The Prince written by him in 1532. A political bible to this day for many.

Machiavelli was a friend to Cesare Borgia. A political leader. Of the worse kind. A bad guy. Borgia inspired Machiavelli’s title character in The Prince.

Some observations re Machiavelli’s The Prince.

The term Machiavellian is used to describe an action undertaken for gain without regard for right and wrong.

Machiavelli’s vision of an ideal leader: An amoral, calculating tyrant for whom the end justifies the means.

Machiavellian is associated with the practice of diabolical expediency in the realm of politics.

Descriptions applicable to Trump? I think so.

My podcast Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou last night. Opening topic was a review of some of Trump’s actions of the past week.

Like referring to Jong Un as “a smart cookie” and saying he would be “honored” to have him visit Washington. Inviting Duterte to the White House. Exhibiting a lack of knowledge of American history re Andrew Jackson and the Civil War. Refusing to withdraw his description of Obama as a “sick and bad guy.” His pre-existing conditions comments inaccurate and misleading.

Glad there are only seven days in a week!

Japanese War Crime Trials began this date 1946. The primary trial was in Tokyo. Japan Premier Tojo the key defendant. The charges war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Japanese charged overall far exceeded those similarly charged who were Germans. Five thousand accused were tried and judged by tribunals across the Pacific.

While in law school, I was fortunate to have Robert Miller as my Professor in Criminal Law and Evidence. Miller had served as defense counsel to certain Japanese in the war crimes trials. My recollection is it was in the Philippines. I may be wrong as to location, however.

Miller sprinkled his lectures with stories of the trials. Using them to make a point and keep our interest.

We were fortunate to have had him.

The Kentucky Derby this saturday. Everyone is having a party! I am undecided between Kate Miano’s Gardens and Don’s Place.

Willie Shoemaker is one of the greats of the jockey racing world. Comparable to baseball’s Babe Ruth.

I mention shoemaker today because it was on this day in 1986 that he rode Ferdinand to a Kentucky Derby win. Ferdinand was 18-1. Shoemaker was 54 years old at the time. He was the oldest jockey to win a Kentucky derby.

Ferdinand was not his only Derby winner. Actually, Shoemaker won a total of 4 Kentucky Derbies, 2 Preakness Stakes and 5 Belmont Stakes.

I was privileged to know him.

In the mid 1970’s, I had a condominium at the Jockey Club in Miami. A private club. Members only on the grounds, restaurant and bar.

Shoemaker had a condominium at the Jockey Club, also. We would frequently meet at the Club’s bar. Generally, the men waiting for their wives to come down for dinner. Shoemaker charming,  soft spoken. Always the gentleman.

He was perfect sized for his chosen profession. Ninety eight pounds, 4 feet 11 inches.

The gung ho type. In his later years, he was in a terrible automobile accident. Left him a quadriplegic. Paralyzed from the neck down. He became a trainer. From his wheelchair. Won many races and his horses several millions of dollars.

Enjoy your day!

 

SYRACUSE BEATS #6 FLORIDA STATE

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So many matters of importance occurred in the last 24 hours. Trump, immigration/refugee ban, draining the swamp, Peter, Paul and Mary, etc.

For me, the most important was Syracuse defeating Florida State 82-72. Florida State ranked #6, Syracuse unranked. A big victory. Students rushed the floor in excitement.

I was alone watching the game from the comfort of my easy chair. I shouted out a GREAT! at the end of the game. No one heard me. I was like the tree falling in the forest. No one hears it.

Worked on rewriting one chapter in Growing Up Italian. Sunday Dinner. A great family time!

The Sons and Daughters of Italy had a fund raiser yesterday. A bocce fundraiser. Excellent attendance. Many who had never played bocce. I served as teacher to two novice sisters from Little Torch Key.

Who would have thought bocce could serve as a fundraiser? Giorgio did. He is to be complimented.

Cold continues. Sixty three during the evening. The high today only 67. Rain big time off and on. Winds 20-30 mph. White caps visible in the ocean. A gray day expected.

Two Civil War events on tap this week. Described as Living History events.

One in the Palm Garden of the Key West Library. Thursday from 11-3. All kinds of information and artifacts re the Civil War.

The other at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Friday and Saturday. Part of Civil War Heritage Days. A mid 1860s encampment.

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven was published this day in 1845.

Remember Goodnight Irene, If I Had a Hammer, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, and Blowin’ In the Wind?

Peter, Paul and Mary. Hits they sang.

Peter, Paul and Mary did not write the music they sang. They did make the tunes winners, however. Even Bob Dylan benefited. It is said the vocal group made Dylan’s revolution possible. Blowin’ In the Wind was one of them.

Andrew Jackson was our Nation’s first populist President. Trump is a populist President. Trump and many of his followers compare Trump to Jackson.

In 1834, there was a labor dispute. Workers on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The workers were rebelling because of persistent poor working conditions and low pay. The workers consisted of Irish, German, Dutch and blacks.

Jackson sent in federal troops to quell the disturbance. It was the first time a President had ever done so.

Trump has not sent federal troops anywhere. Not yet. He could in the future. Recall this past week his observations re Chicago, carnage, murders, etc. He suggested the Federal government might have to go in if things did not get better. The National Guard?

Trump’s handling of the immigration/refugee situation yesterday reflects a Jackson type mentality. Overbearing, overwhelming.

A further comment re the immigration/refugee order. Seven countries were named. Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Not one terrorist from the seven named nations has ever performed a terrorist act in the United States.

Whereas, Saudi Arabia has. Seventeen or eighteen of the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 were citizens of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also gave us $4 a gallon gasoline.

Saudi Arabia not listed in the order. Oil, money the reasons? Whatever, the Saudi’s have had their heads up our asses for years. One arm around our shoulders, the other in our back pocket.

One more Trump issue.

He claimed during the campaign that he was going to drain the swamp. Get rid of lobbyists who come directly from government and end up working for lobbying groups that require government favors. A five year ban.

Trump’s order refers to administration officials. I do not know what administration officials refers to. Merely his immediate White House staff? Does it extend to Congress and the military?

I did a little digging. Could not come up with the answer.

Congressmen eat big when they move from the hallowed walls of government to working for lobbying groups. Recall Eric Cantor who was defeated in a Republican primary four years ago. He immediately was hired by a lobbying group. Starting salary $3.4 million a year. He did not even finish his term. He resigned his seat soon after the election and went to work in the private sector.

Our generals and admirals likewise benefit. Eisenhower warned us to beware of the military-industrial complex. They hire the retired military at huge dollars who then go back to their still in the service friends and work out contracts generous to the military manufacturer/producer.

Yes, the honeymoon is over. I gave Trump a week before criticizing him. I wanted to wait longer. He is our president. Give him a chance.

I figured three to six months. No way where Trump is concerned. He is a dynamo. He has already done more in his first week than any other President. More does not necessarily mean good, however.

He is not qualified for the position. He is a trouble maker.

I worry.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

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Trump is the man! The people selected him. He deserves our support. I wish him well.

He will screw up, however. Inevitable.

We are all entitled to our opinions.

Many of you who follow this blog are Republican or Conservative. Or, a bit of both. When I say something in the political arena with which you disagree, some of you hit back with all kind of vulgarities.  Do I call you a flaming asshole when I disagree with you? Not nice. I would expect Republicans/Conservatives to have better manners.

Trump was voted in on a wave of populism. The last truly populist President was Andrew Jackson. Way back in 1829 was he elected. Jackson turned out to be an excellent President. I hope Trump will also.

Protests yesterday in ten or more major U.S. cities re Trump’s election. The last time I saw such protests was in 1968 during the Chicago Democratic Convention which nominated Hubert Humphrey. The Chicago protests were larger and violent.

I live on a little island known named Key Haven. There was a question on the ballot as to whether Key Haven residents wanted mosquito testing using genetically modified mosquitoes to take place on Key Haven. Some 3 million GM mosquitoes would be dropped.

The vote was against. 419-224. I doubt it will help. The powers to be decided beforehand it would be a non-binding vote.

Superboat races began yesterday. A big deal! Every hotel, restaurant and bar on the Gulf filled with spectators.

Poker Run will no longer be locally sponsored by Key West’s Sunrise Rotary. The bike gangs put the nail in the coffin. I suspect Poker Run next year will be held in another Florida community.

Veterans Day friday. Key West’s parade begins at 4 on Duval. The parade is sponsored by the U.S. Navy.

We must never forget our veterans. As a nation, we have failed in recent years.

The U.S. Marines. Their birthday! On this day in 1775, the Marine Corps was born. During the American Revolution.

Ever hear of Mary Anderson? On this day in 1903, she obtained a patent for the first windshield wiper. Her invention was mocked. Her patent ran out. Someone else picked it up and got rich. She never made a penny from her invention.

Another Key West something I never knew. The Bagatelle Restaurant at 117 Duval was relocated there in 1974. The two story house was originally located on Fleming next to the library.

Key West Rotary history time.

The year 1928.

The February 16 weekly Rotary meeting was held at the Hotel La Casa Marina. A special guest speaker. Ruth Bryan Owen. She returned two years later as a member of the U.S. Congress. She was from Miami. Her election district included Key West.

Ruth Bryan Owen was one of the first women to super achieve.

Her father was William Jennings Bryan. He ran unsuccessfully for President three times. A pacifist. Prosecutor in the famous Tennessee Scopes trial.

Ruth was married three times. Divorced her first husband. Outlived the next two.

During World War I, Ruth volunteered as a war nurse on the Egyptian-Palestine front. She was there from 1915 to 1918. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed her Ambassador to Denmark and Iceland. She was an early producer and investor in Hollywood film making.

A pacifist as was her father.

Ruth was a delegate to the San Francisco Conference which established the United Nations. Thereafter, she was named an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.

During her lifetime, she always remembered and was a friend of Key West.

Day 4 of the diet. Made it through the first 3 days. Think I am going to make it.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

MY HEART WAS SLEEPING

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My stress test was yesterday morning at 11:30. I gave up on the treadmill for the test years ago. Too much work. Went to the nuclear test. Easy. The last two have been dobutamine.

For the dobutamine test, I am lying down. Hooked up to everything. The dobutamine dripping into my arm.

The test took unusually long. The dobutamine is supposed to get my heart rate up to 120. Started at 60. Stayed at 60 a long time. I could sense a concern that it was not going up. They gave me a shot of something else. Still no progress.

I kept hearing from those working on me that my heart was still sleeping. Another way of saying I was not moving much off the 60.

A doctor was called in. Now, I was concerned! I could hear the discussion. Do we stop and have him return another time? Do not want to give him more of whatever?

My heart must have heard the discussion. It woke. Started moving.

Rest of test normal.

The after effect, a first. I was exhausted! Dead tired! Wow! Made it to home and bed. Slept for three hours. Felt better afterwards.

I will be informed of the test findings tomorrow.

The test was the result of my having chest pains two weeks ago and on the same day. I took nitroglycerin each time. The pain went away each time. Not a good sign. If pain disappears, means you are probably experiencing a heart problem.

I slept through the time I was supposed to be rewriting and refining the material for my blog talk radio show in the evening. I winged it. The show went the same as if I had spent that extra hour working the material over.

Enjoyed a light dinner at Roostica.

The Presidential primary races suck. Need issues and not personal clashes.

Our country has had similar campaign wars in years past. Today is nothing new. Except may be exaggerated more.

I spoke last night about the Presidential election of 1832. Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. Hot! They ended up hating each other. Jackson won. Clay returned to the U.S. Senate.

The Senate was investigating some matter. They wanted documents in Jackson’s possession turned over to the Senate. Jackson refused.

Clay figured he had Jackson! He got the Senate to censure Jackson. The Senate did not have the power. Jackson  ignored the censure.

Jackson was a proud man. He took the censure attack personally. When Jackson left office, he said his only regret was he had not shot Clay.

Last summer, I met Frances Watson Clark at the Chart Room. We spent a long time chatting. She wanted to write a book about Key West. She wrote it and recently sent me a copy. Title: Images of Modern America – Key West.

The book is a series of photos taken over the years. Not in sequence. Each with a brief history beneath the photo. Her work in actuality a novel. Not merely a bunch of pictures. The wording below each photo a piece of Key West’s yesterday.

I recommend the book. sales@arcadiapublishing.com.

The book has the usual Acknowledgements section. Frances mentioned me in the Acknowledgements. A first for me. She wrote, “A chance encounter at the Chart Room granted me the fortune of meeting Joe Petrone, a columnist for KONK Life and blogger extraordinaire…..”

I know. She got my first name wrong. Nevertheless, I appreciate the mention.

Joe Liszka died in October. I wrote about him at the time. A Key West luminary.

At 5 o’clock today, a Celebration of Life will be held at Tennessee Williams. The theatre was needed because of the anticipated crowd. In addition to all his accomplishments, Joe Liszka was loved.

Today is hump day and screw off day. Hump day we know. Screw off is because today is my friday. I work through the weekend. The weekend being my busiest time. Wednesday, thursday and friday are mine. Nothing to do, except write this/my blog.

Screw off has already begun. I remained in bed till after 7.

Enjoy your day!