MY BOOKS DON’T BALANCE

Posted on by

I have difficulty making my check book balance. And I have only a measly Social Security check to be concerned with.

The federal government on the other hand has tons of money. Especially the Department of Defense/Pentagon. Should be easier. Especially with hundreds of thousands of employees. A number I assume bookkeepers.

No, the Pentagon has trouble balancing its check book.

Congress hired Ernst & Young to do an independent audit of the Pentagon’s finances. Hard to believe, but the Pentagon had not audited itself for decades. A serious error. Especially since 2 of every 3 federal tax dollars collected goes to the Pentagon.

On November 15, Ernst & Young advised it could not complete its audit. Too many bookkeeping deficiencies, irregularities, and errors. A reliable audit impossible.

The amount Ernst & Young could not trace/account for $21 trillion.

Beside poor bookkeeping habits, graft has to be involved. Too many dollars unaccounted for not to have been.

Cold yesterday. Required long pants. Nothing fits because of my 62 pound weight loss. Found an old pair of khakis. Fit. Tucked my shirt in.

I looked terrific! Straight! Did not even have to suck in my stomach!

The proof was when I walked into Lori’s for a haircut. Lori looked at me with bright open eyes and exclaimed “Louis, you look terrific!” One of her associates said, “Oh, my God!”

I threw my arms up in victory and exclaimed “Love it!”

Oh, vanity. However, I deserve to be vain in this instance.

Last night Blue Macaw for a while. One drink. Then off to Publix. Most of the food I had purchased before I got sick I threw away. No longer edible.

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day.

Key West’s gay community was hard hit. I have been here 30 years. I saw it when I began coming down. Sad. Men wasting away.

The interesting thing was the the love. Evident everywhere. Partners taking care of those afflicted. Gays taking care of each other. Straights helping the gay community in every conceivable way.

Key West took the problem in hand. Organized. Worked at the problem.

Today, life can be sustained if a person is afflicted.

A lovely AIDS Memorial sits at the end of White Street at the opening to the bridge. The day will be commemorated with a procession from City Hall to the AIDS Memorial where a service will be held.

No question, it will be sensitive and heart warming.

Syracuse/Cornell tomorrow night at 8. Syracuse should win by 20 points.

A special significance to the game. Coach Boeheim has 2 sons, Jimmy and Buddy. Jimmy plays for Cornell, Buddy Syracuse. Going to be interesting. Mom Juli will be cheering for both teams.

Trump and his defense team have been out foxed.

For over a year, Trump’s lawyers have been fighting Mueller re interview, depose, have the President answer written questions with written answers? Finally, last week the President provided Mueller with written responses. Trump proudly said he prepared the answers himself, not his attorneys.

Trump’s attorneys only permitted Trump to answer collusion with Russia. Refused to have Trump answer obstruction inquiries. Probably because it had to be obvious Mueller had much evidence obstruction wise to charge. However, it appeared little to nothing re collusion.

Yesterday, Trump’s former personal attorney Cohen plead guilty in federal court to lying to Mueller about a host of situations connecting Trump up with Russia. Collusion!

The President is in deep shit trouble. Collusion obviously viable. Big time!

I blame the President for the fix he is now in. His fault. Instead of retaining the best lawyers available, he took on hacks. Lawyers like Rudy Giuliano. Over the hill or incompetent, or both.

Again, Mueller’s play brilliant! Sucked the President’s lawyers right in.

Disease at the border. It now exists. Did not earlier when some were saying illnesses like leprosy were being carried by the immigrants.

Trump has created a situation where more than a thousand migrants are stuck in a small area at the border. Caused by Trump denying them the right to apply for asylum which would have resulted in the prolonged crowding not to have occurred.

Food not plentiful. Showers similarly. Sewage a problem. Portable toilets overused, plugged with crap on the floors. Disease inevitable. TB, chicken pox, and AIDS.

Good job, Mr. President. Everything you touch becomes a disaster.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

DAY OF REST

Posted on by

As far back as I can remember, Sunday has always been my lazy day. I plan to do much. End up doing nothing or next to nothing.

Yesterday, no different. My plan was to go to the Gardens later in the afternoon and then home to watch the Academy Awards. Missed the Gardens. Caught the Academy Awards.

My comments re the Academy Awards brief.

A good show. Jimmy Kimmel said at the beginning a tight schedule time wise. Hoped winners would keep their thank yous short. Even offered a prize for the most short. A $17,500 Jet Ski. Thought the Jet Ski thing tarnished the show a bit.

If time was a problem, why were the commercial advertisements so long. Perhaps the longest for this show. Also, some of the musical numbers ran longer than normal.

Inconsistencies.

Another item I found troublesome. Support for the feminist movement profound. Nothing wrong with it. However, I do not recall any mention of the gun issue which is at the least of equal importance.

Whatever, I enjoyed the show.

I did spend some time reading in the afternoon. Finished Collusion by Luke Harding. The book cover says: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia helped Donald Trump Win. Not quite. I fear a race to the printer caused the book to fail in showing with particularity how Russia helped Trump to win.

The book ends with parts of the time frame during transition. Two more months and the author would have had significantly more to talk about.

Don’t waste your time reading the book.

Love Kate Miano! A good friend, a good person. Candidate for Mayor. Hope she wins!

Her campaign slogan: Expect Great! Elect Kate!

I like it.

Don’t forget Kate’s campaign kickoff party Friday night. Six at the Gardens. Free food and drink. Bring a friend or two. Kate deserves everyone’s help.

Been cool the past two nights. High 60’s. Turned on the heat. Today 76 by day and 66 by night. Heater back on tonight. Not all night. I use it to take the chill out of the air when I go to bed.

I don’t think Wilbur Ross is good for the country. Ross is presently Secretary of Commerce. The guy on TV the past few days explaining how a trade war would not really impact on the American consumer. Used a can of Campbell Soup and a can of soda to explain his position.

Recall Herbert Hoover began a trade war. Look where it got us!

Ross and Trump met during Trump’s Atlantic City casino days in the 1980’s. Ross was a Rothschild banker. His specialty then and throughout his career has involved the purchase of bankrupt businesses, get them going again, and then sell them for a profit. Much involved with steel mills in this regard.

Ross was and is known as the King of Bankruptcy.

Re Atlantic City, Ross was not representing Trump. He was representing one of the banks. Whatever, Trump ended up putting his corporations into bankruptcy while at the same time retaining control of the casinos. Brilliant! Ross thought to be responsible,

Ross has Russia connections all over the place. Some of which he failed to sufficiently disclose during his confirmation hearing. Shortly thereafter, the Paradise Papers bloomed. Leaked documents which showed Ross had failed to clearly disclose his financial ties to Russian interests. He provided further information and agreed to divest himself from some 80 companies he had an interest in which were doing business with Russia. Not disclosed by him the first time around.

It is suspected some of the companies remain undisclosed even at this time.

The Ross items not clearly or sufficiently disclosed include the following.

He was Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus. A bank that did significant business with Russian persons.

His Navigator Holdings. Ross’s interest in a shipping company that transports petrochemicals for Russian gas and petroleum. The Russian company is Silbur.

Silbur has been sanctioned for its close ties to Russian oligarchs and Putin’s son in law Kirill Shamalov.

A question remains as to whether there has been sufficient divestment.

Ross checkered and questionable. Yet he sits at the right hand of Trump.

Senator Lindsey Graham shocked me with a comment he made yesterday. He thought a war with North Korea was “worth it.”

Graham acknowledged deaths in the millions. Tens of thousands of American soldiers. Significant non-military deaths up and down the Korean peninsula.

An American general said that such a war would involve brutality beyond the experience of any living soldier.

Graham’s words were based on his belief that such a war would bring “long term stability” to a region requiring it.

Trump is crazy. Is Graham also? Who under any circumstances would want a war of such devastation?

Tonight, Dueling Bartenders at Aqua.

Enjoy your day!