KATE MIANO FOR MAYOR

A couple of heavy items to discuss today. Sad topics. I have opted to start with the happy rather than those.

Which means first and foremost, Kate Miano.

Lovable, warm, caring, interested in people and causes. An available helping hand. A successful woman to boot.

The 2018 recipient of the prestigious Humanitarian of the Year Award. Former Fantasy Fest Queen. Conch Shell Blower winner. The list endless.

Kate has been around a while. She personifies the Key West of yesterday and today. Perfectly blended.

Instead of sitting back and relaxing, she wants to take on Key West’s present woes. Solve the community’s problems. As only a Mayor can do.

The election is not till August. Already something like 10 persons have filed to run. The total in the end will be 10-12.

A Kate Miano for Mayor Kickoff Party is scheduled for friday March 9 at the Gardens Hotel. Six in the evening. Open bar and food. Come, join, visit, meet. Kate would love for you to stop by.

I would too. Bring your friends.

I have had company for a few days. Delivered the company to the airport yesterday for return to the north country. Flight canceled. The Northeaster. Flights cancelled today, also. At the moment, tomorrow looks good.

Early to the Chart Room last night. Good friend John bartending. Stayed a couple of hours. When I left, standing room only.

It never fails. As soon as the sun has set, tourists come pouring into the Chart Room.

Met some very interesting people.

Cathi and Mark from Atlanta.

We talked of Irma and its impact on Atlanta. Cathi and Mark lost a few trees. I told the story of my being kicked out of an Atlanta hotel after two nights because Irma was coming.

Cathi and Mark married 21 years. She “the best real estate agent in Atlanta.” Mark into finance and insurance.

Both 50ish, considering retirement and buying a home in Key West. Are frequent visitors to Key West. Hope they do opt to live here. They would be welcomed with open arms.

Met a sort of neighbor from upstate New York. George from Rochester. Ninety miles from my home town of Utica.

George unquestionably smart. Spent his career as a Physics Professor at the University of Rochester. Physics was always too heavy for me.

George and I almost contemporaries. He is 87. Sharp.

He used to visit Key West regularly years ago. He was in the Chart Room looking for his old friends Che and British Peter. Che at 83 has become a recluse. British Peter now living in the State  of Washington.

George lived on a boat in days gone by. He still owns the slip on Stock Island.

It was time to eat. I decided to return to Mary Ellen’s on Applerouth. A toasted cheese sandwich and tomato soup. So good the last time. Knew it had to be good again. It was.

Mary Ellen’s nothing fancy. I would describe it as typical Key West.

Entertainment last night. Dildo races. Electric vibrator dildo races.

Only in Key West.

A two foot board, ten feet long. Tipped forward about 25 degrees. Groved so the dildos would fit just right.

Betting beforehand. Bid on which dildo you wanted. The one you hoped would win. Bidding as high as $20-30 for each dildo.

The vibrators were turned on, the gate opened, and the dildos off and running! Spectators yelling just as if at a race track.

I did not bet.

As I was leaving, I heard the next race announced. The “Don’t Drop the Soap Race.”

Again, only in Key West!

I am still with the happy.

Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West loves Harry Truman. The President made 11 trips to Key West totaling 175 days. He loved the place!

Truman arrived this day in 1951 for a three week visit. He would be staying at The Little White House.

Now for the unhappy. Two re Trump and one re Secretary of the Treasury Steve Munchin.

Trump announced yesterday steep tariffs beginning next week on steel and aluminum coming into the United States. Twenty five percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The beginning of trade wars. Most of which historically have resulted in depressions and actual shooting wars.

Trump does not seem to care. He thinks he knows what is best.

The tariff increase would be world wide. No country left out.

Canada is our close friend and neighbor. We buy more steel from Canada than any other country.

China is the U.S.’s banker. The U.S. already owes China in excess of $1.3 trillion. We borrow from China almost daily. We never pay back. China always renews the notes.

Woe us if China decided to stop lending and called in the notes.

Trump does not seem to consider all ramifications before he makes a move. To our nation’s detriment.

The market knows what could occur. It dropped 500 points yesterday.

Another Trump catastrophe in the making. Guns, the NRA.

Wednesday he had a White House meeting involving himself, Congressional people, and parents and victims of some of the shootings. He spoke with bravado how something had to be done and he was going to see it got done. Preferably in one bill. He would sign it right away.

Not everyone bought what he was selling. He had been heard before re other important matters and failed when the time came to keep his word.

That was wednesday afternoon. Thursday evening there was another meeting in the White House. Only Trump. Pence and a representative of the NRA. Just the three of them.

The NRA rep was Chris Cox. Cox is the Executive Director of the NRA’s lobbying arm.

The meeting of the three appeared to have been kumbaya. In a tweet following the meeting, Cox reported Trump “does not want gun control.” Trump tweeted re the meeting: “Good (Great) meting in Oval Office tonight with the NRA.”

Trump playing games. He should have had Cox at the public meeting wednesday afternoon. A face to face confrontation between both sides. A no bullshit meeting.

My guess is the NRA will never budge re AR-15’s and other weapons of war. They will hold firm knowing their bought and paid for Congress will do their bidding.

Finally, Secretary of Treasury Steve Munchin. A former Goldman Sachs banker. An asshole first class from my perspective. Always ready to do Trump’s bidding. Not a free thinker. Happy to be Secretary of the Treasury. Beams with the joy of it.

Munchin married a much younger Scottish actress this summer. Good for him. Nothing wrong in it. However, he took his bride on their honeymoon on an Air Force jet that cost $25,000 an hour to operate. Taxpayer dollars. He justified it by claiming his security required it.

The man a pig impressed with his own self importance.

Munchin spoke at UCLA monday. The students were not nice to him.

One student referred to him as an enemy of the people because of the new tax law. Also referred to him as a plutocratic bullshiter.

Students in the audience yelled “I think you’re full of shit.” They denounced the Republican tax bill as an attack on “people who are in poverty.”

Munchin retaliated with wanting the students to identify themselves and the reason why a question was being asked.

The event was being videoed. Munchin had agreed before hand that it could be and later UCLA could run it on its TV network. Munchin withdrew his permission following his speech.

Cell phones are great. Some students videoed Munchin and excerpts can be found on the internet.

College and high school students are close in age. I sense a marriage and movement in the making. The young will not be silenced.

Enjoy your day!

 

My Yesterday…..Research, Berlin’s, and Bria Ansara

 

Enjoyed my yesterday.

Researched all day. Love digging for information.

Berlin’s last night for dinner. A full house. Got the last seat at the bar. The meal excellent as was Bria Ansara. Her singing touching everyone.

A big night ahead.

Syracuse/Duke at 6:15 on ESPN. Duke ranked #5 nationally. Going to be a tough game. Syracuse needs the win. We shall see.

Dinner with Donna and Terri tonight at La Trattoria. Cocktails first at their home. I have to see Bear. It has been a week.

Key West the home of writers. One, Tennessee Williams. Lived here more than 40 years. Williams died this day in 1983.

Williams’ The Glass Menagerie played yesterday afternoon on Turner Classics. I captured a small portion of its end. I have seen The Glass Menagerie at least twenty times. Amazed each time by the power of Williams’ words.

Spent a bit of time watching CPAC. Second day in a row. The first day, wild screaming Wayne La Pierre. Barbarians at the gate.

Yesterday, the master of exuberance Donald Trump. He was before his people. That 37 percent.

CPAC an ultra conservative group. Not the conservatives of yesteryear, however. Neither Barry Goldwaters nor Ronald Reagans.

What I saw were extremists. Too many Lock Her Up chants. Encouraged of course by Trump. He beat Hillary. I do not understand why he cannot let the dead rest.

The audience reminded me of street thugs. A tough appearing and tough acting crowd. The absolute fringe of the Republican Party.

Their apparent rowdiness meshed well with the Trump we have come to know.

CPAC had difficulty attracting speakers. Prominent politicians avoided the show. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, for example. The only Senator was Texas’ Cruz.

I cannot understand Cruz. During the primary, Trump accused Cruz’s father of being involved somehow in the Kennedy assassination. Cruz now sucking up to the man.

Prominent non office holders also absent. None!

The speakers consisted of Trump and members of his White House staff. Plus FOX News.

Even the mighty fall. Inner corrosion eats away.

The Douglas High School shooting the beginning of the end of the NRA as a power in American politics. The wrong group attacked. High school children. They have no fear. They are like a snowball that starts rolling down a hill. Small at the beginning. Gets larger with every turn. The students with every day.

Corporate America is turning its back on the NRA. Several have severed ties with the NRA. Ties involving co-branding partnerships, discounts to NRA members credit cards, etc. An economic blow to the NRA. Swiftly like a saber decapitating a person.

Corporations involved include Hertz, Avis, Enterprise Holdings, First National Bank of Omaha, Symantec, Enterprise, Chubb Limited, MetLife, Delta, and American Airlines.

Justice comes in many forms. One the soon to be filed bankruptcy application by Remington. In trouble financially. The filing will be for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company may survive. Whether it will be the giant it has been for two centuries remains to be seen.

Remington began in 1816 in Ilion, NY. Fifteen miles from my hometown of Utica. Remington remains the major employer to this day in Ilion. It also has other plants throughout the United States.

Remington is America’s oldest gun maker. A definite part of  American gun culture. The name Remington appears on frontier flintlocks as well as US Army .45’s.

I learned something in the last 24 hours while researching this topic.

Guns sales rose dramatically in the 10 years prior to Trump’s election. Since his election, sales have fallen dramatically. The reason is gun sales rise when politicos are elected who want to pursue more stringent gun control laws. People run to stack up on guns.

Trump supports the NRA, its members, etc. Gun laws supposedly not going anywhere under him. So gun lovers fear not and buy fewer guns.

Such has been Trump’s first year. Till now. I am assuming gun sales have shot upward based on post Douglas talk.

The down trend in gun sales is one reason Remington got into financial trouble. The other is that it was a Remington manufactured AR-15 that killed the first and second graders at Sandy Hook. Remington has borne the burden of defending against lawsuits arising out of the Sandy Hook incidence, though Remington itself was not found liable. Lawyers cost money. Especially in big money cases.

A side note of interest. Remington built a new plant in Huntsville, Alabama in 2014 to manufacture AR-15s. Prior to 2014, they were manufactured at the Ilion plant.

A soap box morning. Required sometimes. Things have to be said. People made aware.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Two months ago, I researched and wrote a column on female genital mutilation. A sensitive issue. An all important one.

It has been sitting on the corner of my desk waiting for the right time to go forward with it. Tonight is that time. Not as a written article. Rather, it will be the lead segment on my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou.

A break from politics. There is more than Trump in this world.

Join me at 9 my time. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Other topics include, U.S. credit card debt over $1 trillion for first time in a decade, some questions as to whether Syrian gas attack chemically based, America’s retail stores closing at a rate faster than ever, Golden Sachs heavy influence wise in Trump administration, and more.

Seder dinner last night! At Donna’s daughter’s home. Thirty four of us. Did it all religious wise! Ate everything! Amazing how cooking can be done without yeast/unleavened.

Sat with Donna, Lynda and Bob Frechette, and Lori.

NBC News this morning reported that Ivanka was “heartbroken and outraged” over Syrian chemical bombing. Her brother Eric so reported. Eric thought Ivanka influenced her father in part to retaliate.

The best part of my Sunday was the Master’s. I forgot to comment on it yesterday.

I was glued to the TV set. A battle between Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose. From the 13th hole forward. A couple of times I thought Garcia was going to blow it again. He did not. He held his head and won on the first playoff hole.

The match tired me out. Intense. Decided not to go out.

Enjoy your day!

CHEAT NOT LEST YE BE KILLED

Woe the web we weave when first we seek to deceive.

Includes extra-marital affairs.

The ruination of many marriages. Occasionally, the death of a spouse.

This morning’s Key West Citizen in its Keys History section made mention of the Hawkins/McRae duel February 9, 1829. The participants wounded. Neither died, however. Hawkins was upset because he saw McRae leaving his wife’s bedroom via the window.

Triggered my interest. Did a little research. The whole story follows.

Charles Hawkins was a Commodore in the Mexican Navy. William McRae, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Hawkins saw McRae jumping out of his wife’s bedroom window. He challenged McRae to a duel.

Duels back then were fought on Key West beaches. Four shots fired. Two each. Both men wounded, but not badly. Hawkins in the wrist, McRae in the thigh.

Hawkins not happy with the result. Wanted the ultimate vengeance. He ambushed McRae and shot him through the heart. McRae died.

Key West is rampant with ghosts and ghost stories. McRae is one of them. It is said his spirit frequently visits the spot where he was murdered. He continues to have a thing for the ladies. He presents himself to them. They scare, scream and run off.

My evening began with a stop at the Bottlecap. The monthly meeting of the Sons and Daughters of Italy. A fun group. Glad I joined.

Someone had made two large trays of lasagna. Delicious!

I sat at the bar with Maggie. A new member. Her first meeting last night. I suggested Maggie and her sister join when I met them at the bocce fundraiser.

Maggie’s sister in Colorado for two weeks.

Maggie and her sister have a place on Little Torch Key. Maggie a physician. Family Practice. Works six months in Alaska. Does not pratice when in the Keys. An occasional Colorado visitor.

A charming woman.

Then to the Chart Room. John bartending. I sat next to David. Kurt and Vicky at the other end of the bar. We met on their last trip to Key West.  They are from Colorado Springs. Kathy was lamenting how frizzy her hair was. She blames the humidity. I thought she looked absolutely beautiful.

On the other side of me sat Dan Schalk. Lives in Pompano. With PYI Inc. His company sells quality marine equipment. His sales route took him south to Key West. He returns to Pompano today.

We conversed quite a while. Schools and sports. He is a proud Wisconsin grad. Super Bowls. Etc.

A nice guy. Would enjoy running into him again.

Rules do not seem to apply to Trump. At least from his perspective. Now this Nordstrom thing re his daughter Ivanka.

Trump tweeted: “My daughter…..treated so unfairly by Nordstrom…..Terrible.”

One of his sons made a statement today against Nordstrom.

Trump and his family’s conduct wrong, wrong, wrong! Will they ever learn a President and his family give up certain things when one of them becomes President. No one is allowed to use the Presidency for personal gain.

Note that Ivanka’s husband sits in the West Wing as one of Trump’s advisers.

Read a recent article in Vanity by Tina Nguyen. She writes Sean Spier was a nice guy well liked in Washington. Till he took his position of Press Secretary with Trump.

He has become Trump’s attack dog. He handles the press meetings as a “…..Hyde-esque Trump stalwart, his force contorted between anger and shell-shock.”

A news comment this morning indicates Trump wants to replace him. Not tough enough.

A major historical event. On this day in 1964, the Beatles were introduced to the United States for the first time. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The audience was mass hysteria. Teen age girls gone crazy.

I recall the evening distinctly. When you have lived as long as I, your mere existence at the time makes you a part of the historical event. I was 29 years old. Father of four. We had just purchased our first home.

Enjoy your day!