MARRIAGE OF CHURCH AND STATE

Never made it to Dueling Bartenders last night. Felt a bit under the weather. Disappointed because I was anxious to hear Laura Richardson sing again.

Oil and water do not mix. Nor do Church and State. Never the less, the Trump administration keeps pushing government support for religion. The primary reason to suck up to its strong Evangelical base.

Attorney General Sessions made what can only be described as a scary announcement yesterday. He announced the establishment of a Religious Liberty Task Force. A separate distinct unit within the Department of Justice.

Its purpose to help fully implement the religious liberty “guidance” issued last year under Trump’s direction.

Sessions claims the freedom to practice religion is “under attack.” He added “a dangerous movement…..real…..now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.”

Examples offered included nuns being forced to purchase contraceptives (that’s how he put it), U.S. Senators asking judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma, and the Colorado baker who refused to make a special wedding cake for a same sex couple.

Sessions said the Trump administration in “seeking actually to accommodate people of faith.” Which faith? Whose faith?

Political pundits view the move twofold. First, to protect religious zealots who attack LGBT rights. Second, to push the marriage of Church and State on the altar of Christianity.

The new unit a victory for Trump. A victory for Evangelicals. A defeat for freedom and right to choose.

The U.S. is step by  step becoming a nation where government enforcers have been put in place to enforce unAmerican actions. ICE and this new religious unit examples.

Insufficient justice re the stolen Mel Fisher gold bar. The two men who stole the gold bar valued almost at $500,000 have been brought to justice after many years. The two were sentenced yesterday in federal court. One received 63 months in jail, the other 4o.

I suggest justice insufficient in this instance because the bar no longer exists. The thieves hacked it into small pieces to sell for pennies on the dollar. Only small fragments were recovered.

Another reason is Mel Fisher’s insurance recovery. Around $100,000. The insurance company only paid melt value as opposed to market value.

It has been raining! Big time! Major showers! Every day!

Going to rain again today and this evening. Re the daily shower, the weatherman says, “Get used to it.” As to this evening’s shower, there is “always tomorrow.”

Suicides have always been a problem in Monroe County. The Keys a part thereof.

Suicides in the Keys have averaged 21 per year the past 5 years. By July of this year, 20. Indicating suicides in the Keys are on track to double this year.

The reason is attributed to Irma and the pains and problems she left behind. Sad. We have not yet as a society learned how to adequately prepare for natural disasters. Not meant as a blame. Merely a statement of fact.

Where is Bum Farto? Where is Jimmy Hoffa? Birds of a feather in that they disappeared and have not been seen since. Their disappearances in the same year, 1975. Only 5 weeks apart. Hoffa on July 31, Farto on September 9.

Have they both been sitting on an idyllic Mediterranean beach since 1975, or are both part of foundations for major highways?

I was skipping around the internet yesterday looking for some interesting bit of information to share with you. Came up with Queer Politics being taught at the University of Massachusetts. An actual course. Taught one semester a year.

Described as Queer Political Theory. The course description includes “…..denaturalize (hetero)sexuality and (hetero)gender categories, identities and expression.” Asks “what is queer politics and how, in what way, or to what degree is sexuality political.”

The course fulfills a mandatory diversity requirement.

My curiosity was piqued. Were similar courses taught at other colleges/universities? Was I surprised!

Not only taught, but offered as a major or minor. Described generally as LGBT studies.

I came across a listing of 20 such colleges and universities. The first 5 in order of listing: Cornell University, University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, Brown University, and Towson University.

I graduated from college 61 years ago. No such courses taught. Homosexuality here and there in a psychology course. Buried in the closet for all intents and purposes. Transgenderism unheard of. The major was titled “Psychology.” The generality. Nothing more.

Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou this evening. A podcast. Nine my time. Join me. Guaranteed interesting. A quick half hour of provocative meanderings. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

 

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Espresso Martinis were popular in the Key West of the late 1990’s. Locals and tourists alike imbibing. Even me.

Not consumed as much these days. I hear the drink rarely ordered. Till last night.

I was at Berlin’s waiting for Jean Thornton to join me for dinner. Two couples came in. They were a party of 20, early, having a drink at the bar while waiting for the rest of their group.

The ladies exceptionally lovely. Hair and make up perfection. Dresses obviously from the world’s finest stores. Jewelry like you would not believe. The real stuff. I have not seen that much expensive jewelry on a woman in years.

The ladies were polite, but demanding. They knew exactly what they wanted. Both espresso martinis. Directed Shaun how to prepare them. Each drinking a slightly different variation. An espresso martini is generally prepared with vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso coffee.

The group must have been off one of the 165 foot yachts being seen more frequently in our harbor.

As usual, a pleasant evening at Berlin’s. Jean the best of company. Bria singing. Shaun and Gage to chat with. Janyne arrived. Waiting for friends for dinner in the restaurant itself. Joined us for a drink. A charming woman. She has been operating the Pier House Beach Bar for 17 years.

After the two couples left the bar area, I asked Shaun and Gage who had discovered/invented the espresso martini and where. My impression was Key West in the late 1990’s. Gage checked with someone in the kitchen. He said New York City in 1977.

I checked it out on the internet this morning. Wikipedia says Dick Bradsell in the late 1980’s at the Brasserie in the Soho section of London.

Jean and I stopped at the Chart Room after dinner for a nightcap. Business slow. John bartending. Jean left. I was getting ready to pay the bill when a lady came in and sat next to me. The bar seats were all empty.

She said, “Hello, Louis” I smiled and said hello in return. She said, “You don’t remember me, do you?” I politely said no. She said, “The Chart House last year.”

“Oh, I said.” Truth be known, I still did not recall her.

We made small talk and I left after paying for her drink.

BOB time.

Military evacuation when a hurricane is approaching. Primarily Navy. In the 1990’s, the Navy had a huge contingency in Key West and the Boca Chica Naval Base 10 miles up Route 1.

Military personnel and their families were taken to secure shelters or flown to points north on Navy planes. Free of charge, of course. A plan already in place. Each military person had a number and directions for he and his family.

BOB did not approve. The military were getting a free ride at taxpayer expense. A convenient ride. Whereas poor civilians had to gas up and slowly drive north under adverse conditions.

Amy Bondurant and husband David Dunn for real Key Westers. They moved to Key West more than a year ago and call it home. In their other lives, Amy was an Ambassador under Bush 2, David a prominent Washington attorney.

They still maintain a Paris home dating back to Amy’s ambassador days. Amy e-mailed me from Paris. They intend soon to bicycle through Denmark.

Amy sent as part of the e-mail an article which she thought sobering and wanted to bring to my attention. The article was written by Benn Steil and appeared in the 6/12/18 edition of Foreign Policy. Titled: The World Will Die So Trump Can.

The thrust of the article was the United States as we know it was in decline and responsible was Donald Trump.

He attributed such to the recent failure of the G-7 summit, Trump’s negative remarks re Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Trump’s glowing misunderstanding/non-understanding of tariffs, Trump’s sucking up to authoritarian leaders while making enemies of our friends of 50 years.

Steil’s concern was that Trump has/will become the “new normal.” The U.S.we knew gone. Perhaps never to be again.

This blog goes out over a dozen sites. Some have comment sections. Yesterday’s blog title was Sessions’ Improper Use Of Bible. A reader and frequent commentator is I’mNotLou.

I don’t make the names up!

I’mNotLou’s comment: “Sessions is more a religious forger than a person of faith. He is like too many ‘religious’ folk these days – a student of pick and choose for what suits your taste or your bigotry.”

Trump is dragging the U.S. into a tariff war with China, amongst others. China is the biggest importer of soybeans grown in the U.S. Soybeans a huge part of the economy of several states. Most of which supported Trump in the election.

China will not take this tariff increase sitting down. Trump is picking on the wrong nation to abuse. Beside intending to meet the tariffs dollar for dollar, China has already advised it is looking to the soybean fields of South America for future purchases. Argentina, for example.

Mexico also imports U.S. soybeans. Mexico says it will be looking to South America.

U.S. farmers growing soybeans not happy campers.

Enjoy your day!

 

SESSIONS’ IMPROPER USE OF BIBLE

Thousands of immigrant children taken from their parents. Placed in fenced-in areas inside abandoned Walmart buildings. A tent city being planned.

They are the concentration children of America. I am not proud. I am ashamed. Ashamed that something like this could happen in the United States. Many are likewise ashamed. A large number not, however.

Attorney General Sessions can claim major credit. He tells us he is enforcing a law that has not been enforced recently. Incorrect. What he is doing is using a new philosophy to justify his handling of the children. There is no law permitting what is being done.

Sessions considers himself a God-like man. He even quoted the Bible in a speech yesterday in Fort Wayne to support his wrongdoing. The New Testament Book of Romans Chapter 13 wherein St. Paul commanded that the laws of the government be obeyed because God had ordained the government for his purposes.

One problem, however. Sessions misused the Biblical quote. He failed to read the entire passage. The balance would have made him aware of Chapter 13’s true meaning.

The same quote Sessions used was relied upon by others in the past.

Southerners used the quote to justify southern slavery in the 1840’s and 1850’s. South Africa invoked it during apartheid. Hitler to justify his authoritarian rule in the 1930’s.

Even Nero got in the act. He was anti-Christian. Enemies of the state, he said. Killed them. Necessary to quell dissent. He relied on the quote when ordering Christians dipped in oil and set on fire. To light his gardens at night.

Sessions should read Matthew 25:35…..I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

There is nothing in the Bible saying children should be separated from parents.

America, wake up! We are turning into a bad people! Silent acceptance of improper deeds builds up. To a point where Trump could become the Pied Piper. The masses blindly following him.

Sessions did do something good recently. His Department of Justice announced the successful conclusion by a task force of a 3 month operation called Broken Heart. The goal of the task force the identification and arrest of suspected child predators. The crime, child sex trafficking.

The task force consisted of federal, state, local and tribal officers/agents working in unison. The group totaled 4,500.

A successful effort. Two thousand three hundred arrested.

The media has failed to report or comment.

BOB reflected on the cry to evacuate when a hurricane threatens. Only one way out. Drive. The government says gas up and drive to the mainland 150 miles away.

BOB considers the government direction to be ill conceived. There is not enough gas in Key West to fill everyone’s tank.

I must compliment Gov. Scott. He had it right for Irma. He knew gasoline would be a problem. He used one lane or a shoulder of a highway to get the gas filled tankers to the Keys.

I direct your attention to this morning’s Key West Citizen. The weather report section on page 2. Whoever writes it has a sense of humor. Today’s forecast is “Clouds, sun, a t-storm.” The writer’s comment in small print below: “Nature confused.”

Dinner tonight with Jean Thornton at Berlin’s.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

JOHN HERSEY…..TALES OF KEY WEST

Noted writer John Hersey spent his winters in Key West and summers in Martha’s Vineyard.

He was born in Tientsin, China. His parents Protestant ministers. Hershey spoke Chinese before English. He died in Key West March 23, 1993.

Hersey’s notable works include A Bell for Adano, Hiroshima, and Tales of Key West. It is Tales of Key West I wish to momentarily dwell on.

Tales was written in Hersey’s later years. He had seen and lived Key West first hand. Notable Tales include those of a man dying of AIDS trying to maintain his respectability, fake crime reports, and John James Audubon shooting staggering numbers of birds for the fun of it.

The item re the birds surprised me.

Summer is sneaking in. The seasons change dramatically in Key West. No slow slide. One or two days and the next season is here.

Key West springs always short. The temperatures the past few days indicative of summer’s arrival. Today, the high 83 and the low 76.

It is not the temperature so much. It is the humidity. I have felt it the past two days. Things get sticky. Your body warmer than it has been. Clothes uncomfortable. You’re sweating once again.

Publix at 9 yesterday morning. The cupboard bare again. Needed food desperately. No dinner the night before.

Saturday at 9 am a good time to shop Publix. No one there. Spent $100 and hurried home. Food getting more and more expensive. I do not know how families do it.

I had to complete yesterday’s blog. Researched the material before leaving for Publix. Did the actual writing upon returning.

I was Catherine’s guest for Happy Hour at Martin’s. A charming time. A few drinks. Followed by lamb chops and baked brie.

First part of today busy. Sloan at noon. I have to get back into a more disciplined work schedule. Completing Growing Up Italian on the agenda. Next week, I will begin writing the Key West Lou Commentary once a week for KONK Life. I have let Key West Lou Live slide. Have to get it back in the game.

Not difficult if my time is properly organized. We shall see.

Later this afternoon, I plan on spending some time at Kate Miano’s Gardens. Always a pleasant way to finish the weekend.

There was a fire yesterday on the 50th floor of Trump Towers. One dead, six firefighters injured.

The President’s personal home and offices are higher up on the top two floors.

This is the second fire this year in Trump Towers.

No sprinkler system! Can you imagine living or buying an apartment that high without a sprinkler system!

Sprinkler systems were not part of the New York City Building Code in 1984 when Trump Towers was built. The sprinkler system requirement did not become mandatory in new construction till sometime in the late 1990’s. Trump opposed it.

Scary living. Especially after having seen Towering Inferno a couple of nights ago for probably the 20th time.

Scott Pruitt is part of the swamp Trump promised to eliminate if elected. Instead he brought the likes of Pruitt and other scum to Washington.

For Pruitt’s misdeeds to date, he should be fired. Trump is not firing him. Instead, he praised him yesterday.

There has to be a reason why.

I suspect it is because Pruitt is an attorney and former Attorney General of Oklahoma.

Trump would like to get rid of Mueller. Sessions cannot do it because he recused himself. Rothstein does not appear willing to do it. Firing two Justice Department heads in one day would not look good.

I see the battle plan as follows. Trump fires Sessions. Replaces him with Pruitt. Since Pruitt has already been approved by the Senate for a cabinet position (EPA head), he does not need Senate approval to be Attorney General for seven months. He can serve on an interim appointment. In that time, he would fire Mueller.

Brilliant! Lousy! The stench will be overwhelming.

I am sick and tired of hearing Trump say ISIS has been defeated in Syria. Trump said he wanted to get out. Now his words are that ISIS is almost defeated and we’ll get out in several months.

ISIS is not defeated! They are hiding in their homes, mountains and caves waiting for the US to leave. Then, ISIS will return. The American lives lost for naught.

Another Syria problem is the US is there basically in opposition to Russia and Iran. In a friendly sort of way. Even Trump does not agree with the Russia-Iran position. However he avoids direct confrontation.

The US will be in Syria for years. You invade a country, you send troops in to help, you have bought the country for years.

The worst. Syria chemically attacked its people again yesterday. View the videos on TV. Men, women and children, alive or dying, foaming from their noses and mouths.

Syria is turning into another Vietnam time wise. As have several other Middle East countries. Afghanistan one. Quagmires. We get stuck in these places.

We go in, but never know how to get out.

Tuesday coming. My first book signing. Irma and Me. Andrews Inn at Zero Whalton Lane. Noon to 3. Three other authors signing, also. Someone doing a reading. Refreshments. Should be fun.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

 

 

AYN RAND…..DIFFERENT

 

Ayn Rand considered absolutely brilliant by some. Crazy by others. Some initially overwhelmed by her only to later become disillusioned.

I am in the later group. First, amazed. Considered her thoughts brilliant.  Then realized the nut she was.

Ayn Rand’s birthday was yesterday. She was born February 2, 1905. Died March 6, 1982.

To many, she was and is considered a philosopher. To others, a writer.

Two of her novels initially captured my thought process. I was a young attorney when I first read The Fountainhead. What a book! Its message that individual rights were the ultimate. Societal collectivism be damned.

Wow!

Rand’s message was that society had forgotten “I” and replaced it with “we.” She fictionalized a society where totalitarian collectivism had triumphed. Her hero, an individual true and true who fought the onslaught.

Many questions were left unanswered in my mind after reading The Fountainhead. They were answered when I read her second successful novel, Atlas Shrugged.

Rand believed in laissez-faire capitalism. An economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government intervention such as regulation, privilege, tariffs, and subsidies.

The true Republican/Conservative in thought. And in action. She supported Barry Goldwater for President in 1964.

Her individualistic philosophy is best typified by her own words: An individual should “exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself.”

None of this is mentally imposing. Easy to comprehend. I must concede a movie helped. Atlas shrugged starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. Their unusual love affair formed the basis for what Rand perceived as the individual vs. collective society war.

Rand thought much of herself. She claimed her greatest influence was Aristotle. Followed by Thomas Aquinas. She said if a history of philosophy were written, the three top philosophers would be Aristotle, Aquinas, and Rand. Signifying how high she held her own thought process.

My disillusionment came two years after reading The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I became aware that Rand was publishing a weekly newspaper in New York City. I subscribed to it.

The woman was absolutely mad! Her columns represnted her thought process carried to the ultimate. No frills. The woman was not stable. Wacky an excellent description. Dangerous, another.

Such was the end of my acceptance of Rand’s philosophy.

In spite of my change in thinking, I still recommend The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged for reading. An experience!

Spent last night at the Chart Room. Quiet. John bartending. Chatted with Christina.

Second time I met Christina. Sheila introduced her to me a month ago at the Chart Room. Christina is on the staff at the Custom House. She and Sheila worked together at the Custom House one time.

The conversation pleasant. The evening pleasant.

This afternoon Syracuse/Virginia. Virginia #2 in the country. Syracuse will probably lose. On the other hand, Syracuse is in for a good game. Overdue. You never know. Hope springs eternal.

The Republican “memo” a dud. Its anticipation full of sound and fury. In the end, signified nothing.

The Republican Congress worries me. They serve the Party rather than the people.

Partially responsible is Trump’s magnetic personality. He is a Pied Piper. Most Republicans blindly follow him.

Yesterday morning, the employment numbers were announced. Two hundred thousand more jobs. Big!

It was also announced interest rates would be going up.

By the end of the day, the market closed 665 points down. The sixth largest one day decline in history.

A crack in the dyke? A tiny one, I suspect. The market will be up monday. Money to be made by buying the stocks that went down. I ask however if there is a message in the 665 point drop. An indication of that which is to come.

Justice is confusing these days. Trump responsible for a good share of the confusion.

California legalized marijuana. Now, California is moving through the court system to vacate thousands of felony and misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975.

At the same time that Attorney General Sessions’ Justice Department is gearing up to seek more marijuana prosecutions.

Both actions amazing!

I close with a bit of Florida Keys information.

I never knew how many Keys there were. Merely assumed a lot. In case you have an interest, there are over 1,700 islands. Few populated. Most small. Only 43 connected by bridges.

Enjoy your day!

 

6′ 3″ 236 POUNDS…..NO WAY!!!!!

I have weight problems. Always have. Started my most recent diet at 240. I am 6’1″. Trump’s medical report was revealed yesterday. The report states Trump is 6’3″ and purportedly weighs 236 pounds.

No way!!!!!

I have never looked as fat as the President. Even in my 250 pound days.

The truth be known, he has to weigh at least 30 pounds more.

Why the lie? Why the misrepresentation? The White House doctor is Ronny L. Jackson. Also a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. He did the examination and reported the results.

At 71, the way Trump eats, the tension he is under, his lifestyle…..he has to have more than a cholesterol problem. I read the other day  that his daily MacDonald’s lunch consists of 2 cheeseburgers, 2 chicken sandwiches and a chocolate milk shake. His veins and arteries have to be bursting with plaque pride!

The cognitive test. I take it every year as part of my physical. Not 30 steps, however. Only 10. Easy. What day is it? Who is President of the U.S.? What year is it? Spell a short word backwards. Draw a couple of boxes already printed on a form. Etc.

Child’s play!

Takes all of two minutes. The President’s, probably 5-10.

The results merely represent whether you are mentally ok to get along in society. Trump is more than merely in society. He is President of the U.S. Leader of the most powerful nation in the world.

I would rather he was examined by a psychiatrist rather than merely taking the cognitive test.

Admiral Jackson says Trump is in “excellent” physical health. True or false?

Others who appear to lie for the President include Senators Cotton and Perdue, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.

Formerly respectable, responsible persons willingly walking the plank for the man. Why?

Staying with Homeland Secretary Nielsen a moment, she testified also before the Congressional Committee yesterday that her Department has asked federal prosecutors if the Department can lodge criminal charges against sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal deportation efforts.

Shades of a totalitarian state.

My podcast show last night.Went well. Enjoyed doing it. Opened with three medical issues. The rest of the show Trump. Cannot be helped. He is into everything nationally and world wide.

I was able to catch the second half of the Syracuse/Pittsburgh game following the show. Syracuse won decisively. Glad the team won again! They lost their previous four games.

Weather continues to be cold. Stepped on the porch in tee shirt and shorts this morning after reading today’s weather report in the Key West Citizen. Eighty six degrees today. Seventy seven tomorrow. The rest of the week in the mid 80’s. The cold spell was over!

It was cold on the porch.

Rechecked the Citizen report. I had read it correctly. Checked some of the weather stations. The Citizen had it wrong.

Maybe a joke.

Viagra has many uses. As I live and learn.

Robin Robinson writes a weekly column for the Citizen. Gardening. Her article this past weekend titled: How To Keep Your Fresh Flowers Erect.

Her article reported some put a penny in the water to keep the flowers fresh/erect. Others, an aspirin. Some, viagra. Erectability guaranteed.

The flu season is upon us big time. World wide.

The vaccination apparently not working this year. Experts claim only 10-30 percent effective.

Proof of the pudding Santa Barbara, California. Eight died in two weeks. Seven of them had received the flu shot. All 8, 65 or older.

In another U.S. area, a 40 year old mother who had received the vaccination died within 3 days of becoming sick.

A DACA update.

A California federal district court judge ordered the Trump administration last week to resume accepting renewal applications for DACA. Screws up Trump’s deportation process.

Attorney General Sessions says the ruling “defies both law and common sense.” He cannot understand how DACA can be “mandated” by a single federal judge sitting in San Francisco.

It’s the law, stupid. That’s how it works! Almost since the beginning of our country.

Sessions indicated he is going to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take a direct review of the judge’s ruling. Highly unusual!

The process involves as a first step an appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Assuming a continued adverse ruling by the Circuit Court, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is then proper. If the Supreme Court accepts the case. They accept few.

Time involved, 1-2 years.

Screws up Trump’s plan to deport 800,000 who should not be deported. Would irritate Trump no end. He probably would then tweet that the Supreme Court needs to be examined, outdated, have too much power, many of the justices too old, etc.

On this day in 1961, Eisenhower delivered his Farewell Address. He warned of the “military-industrial complex.” We did not listen.

Enjoy your day!

CATHERINE, THE SAINT, AND TROPIC CINEMA

Another good night in Key West!

Remaining in and early to bed New Year’s Eve lost me nothing. As I reported New Years Day, every evening in Key West is New Year’s Eve.

Started early yesterday. Four thirty. My companion Catherine.

Falling is common with seniors. Especially me. At 82, I seem to have it under control. I watch every step I take. Pay attention to how I am moving. There will be times though when it will happen again.

Catherine is ten years younger than me. She uses a cane. Wobbly on her feet. Walks carefully. Hers not a balance problem. She had hip replacement surgery in October. Still recovering.

She toppled last week at Berlin’s. Not at all last night.

We have a problem when we are together should she fall. I cannot help her up. My heart. I lift nothing. Additionally, when I bend down, I get dizzy and go completely down.

Catherine tends to drop things. Retrieval her headache. She understands.

We are a dangerous couple together.

The game plan was Happy Hour at the Saint and then across the street to the Tropic Cinema to see the Churchill film Darkest Hour.

Food and atmosphere at the Saint excellent.

Then to the movies.

I was anxious to see the Darkest Hour. Love World War II stories. The film is good, not excellent. Worth seeing. Gary Oldman may win an Academy Award for his performance.

I was taken with the woman who played Churchill’s wife. A difficult role. Perhaps a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Our evening was over at 8:30 when I returned Catherine home. Still early. Decided to stop at the Chart Room.

Ollie there. We have not seen each other in months. An environmental genius. Takes nature seriously.

Ollie just returned from a two week vacation. Drove Key West to Washington, DC and back. Except for Washington, stayed a day or two in small communities. Enjoyed the trip tremendously.

The Chart Room was quiet. Shaun bartending. All of a sudden, Jean Thornton showed up. She and Joe had dinner at Berlin’s. Joe was tired. Went home to sleep. The evening still early. Jean stopped in.

We had a very good time. Jean, Ollie, Shaun and Louis. Lots of laughs.

Wounded Warriors Day yesterday in Key West. The Wounded Warrior Project is nationwide. Veterans bike long distances for 3-4 days. Yesterday, they came down from Boca Chica to Key West.

Cheering groups along the way greeted the veterans.

A couple of hours before the bikers arrived was tie a yellow ribbon time. Recalls the popular song of the mid 1970’s.

Local veterans tied 180 yellow ribbons and small American flags on palm trees on North Roosevelt Boulevard and elsewhere. A proud time for watchers and the riders themselves.

The weather still cold. In the 50’s last night. Supposed to hit 70 during the day. Then down to 64 during the evening. Tomorrow or the next day, the daytime temperature will rise to 75-76 degrees. Not for long. Another cold front is coming in Saturday or Sunday and it will be Key West cold for a week.

Syracuse disaster yesterday! My team lost to Notre Dame 51-49. I missed the game. My concern growing.

Attorney General Sessions a man of the past. Nineteen fiftyish. He advised this week that his attorneys would be pursuing marijuana use where States had already made its recreational use legal. There is a Federal law in conflict with State law. The Federal law makes marijuana use illegal.

A waste of time and money. If Sessions wants to pursue drug suppliers and users, he should make war on the opioid epidemic engulfing the U.S. More than 100 persons a day dying from opioid use.

Gallup and Pew are respected pollsters. Each came out with a poll this week showing more than 60 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana. Those not in favor primarily older citizens.

A subsequent article described those opposed as Neanderthals and self-righteous Evangelicals.

Trump made a big speech two months ago. Opioids an emergency situation. One problem, however. Trump did not put the money where his mouth was. He passed the buck to the States to make the war.

French President Macron accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of desiring war with Iran. Claimed the three nations had a deliberate strategy to push war.

I agree. Look at who the U.S. has for partners. Israel and Saudi Arabia. Both great friends of Donald Trump. The old story that birds of a feather flock together.

I get the feeling Irma and Me is selling. People stop me to say they bought the book or ask me questions about it. People e-mail me to advise they ordered the book.

God bless!

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

 

STAY OUT OF PEOPLE’S BEDROOMS

The federal government is at it again! Sticking its nose into my bedroom, your bedroom, my sex life, your sex life.

I refer to the new rule announced. One that takes effect immediately. That quick. The government is concerned.

The issue contraception. A danger. Prevents pregnancy.

Attorney General Sessions advised the new rule yesterday. Employers do not have to cover contraception costs in employee health programs if the employer has a religious or moral objection..

The rule is based on two thoughts.

The first is that birth control could involve fertilized eggs being expelled from the uterus. In effect, an abortion.

There is no scientific backing for the preceding.

The second is that it is immoral for a woman to have sex without accepting the possibility of pregnancy.

Both reasons have the Church and government getting into my bed and yours. Together, no less. It is wrong to impose a personal theology on Americans who do not share it.

Fifty five million women will be affected.

Abortion was in the news this past week, also.

Congressman Tim Murphy is a Pennsylvania Republican. Openly opposed to abortion. A long time leader amongst anti-abortionists.

The House of Representatives this past week passed a bill banning late term abortions. Murphy a co-sponsor of the bill.

Married, Murphy also has a girl friend. She advised him she was pregnant. He e-mailed her that she should have an abortion. She reacted by responding how could he even suggest an abortion after his long time stand on abortion.

The world knew within a short period of time Murphy’s position re the pregnancy. Murphy in an even shorter period of time announced he is resigning from Congress.

I want to tie the two together. Contraception and abortion. Think about what I am about to write: Contraception prevents unwanted pregnancies, abortion never becomes an issue.

Which now brings me to Newt Gingrich. An immoral man from my perspective.

Gingrich has been married three times. He asked his second wife for a divorce so he could marry his present wife while she was in the hospital battling cancer. He also wanted her to agree to an open marriage.

Gingrich was Speaker when Clinton was charged with impeachment. Yelled and screamed for Clinton’s impeachment. Gingrich viewed Clinton’s sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval office immorality of the highest degree.

Lewinsky was a federal intern at the time.

There is a prohibition against using federal property for sex purposes. Especially when both participants are federally employed in some capacity.

While Gingrich was after Clinton for engaging with Lewinsky in the Oval office, he was having sexual relations with his then girl friend Callista Bisek. Bisek was a Congressional aide at the time. The sex took place in Gingrich’s offices.

Bisek is the woman Gingrich wanted to marry when he asked his second wife Marianne for a divorce while she was in a hospital bed fighting cancer.

Bisek is now Callista Gingrich.

All thus far background for what is to follow.

Callista Gingrich has been nominated by Trump to be Ambassador to the Vatican. She has already received approval on the first necessary vote. It is expected she will easily be finally approved.

Newt Gingrich will be an influence to some degree in the Vatican. Even though he is merely husband to the Ambassador.

Judge not lest ye be judged. I am judging. I can’t help it. Gingrich is the last person I want wandering the halls of the Vatican as husband to the U.S. Ambassador. He will gain influence and express positions I am confident I would not be comfortable with.

Yesterday, a busy one.

Another doctor visit, haircut with Lori, manicure with Tammy, and several other matters.

Dinner at 7 with new friend Brenda at Antonia’s. We sat at the bar. Good company.

Bria Ansara came in and sat at the bar, also. Always good to see Bria. She told us Berlin’s was open last night for the first time. A lot of damage. Restaurant windows blown out.

She was not singing last night. Berlin’s thought there would be few customers.

I stopped at Don’s Place on the way home. Chatted with Herschel, Stan and John.

Herschel and Stan are brothers. Herschel lived in Key West for several years. Now resides somewhere out west.

Herschel a good guy. Helps people in need. He spent a week in Houston helping a friend who had damage as a result of Harvey. He has been helping out a former Navy friend in Big Pine since Irma. Stan is also.

The gentleman they are helping was their superior when in the Navy. They have remained friends.

I apologize for not recalling his name. He was at one time Commander of the VFW in Key West.

Stan went to Big Pine following his usual Key West job yesterday afternoon. He found their Navy friend dead.

The cleanup probably too much for him.

I mentioned a few days ago the 1,300 sunk boats that have to be removed from off shore Keys’ waters. Turns out buoys a problem, also. Most blown away. Those that can be recovered will be. The Civil Air Patrol has become involved in identifying them.

Then there are those which will never be located or seen again.

The buoys have to be replaced. A necessity in navigation. Miss a buoy and you are lost. Panic lost in the big wide sea with no land in sight.

Enjoy your day!

MOONLIGHT…..I SLEPT

Enjoyed a good meal and good company last night. I have little recollection of the movie we saw after dinner.

Dinner was at Jim and Donna’s with my MTV neighbor Andrew. Jim’s son Joey joined us for dinner. Donna cooked a unique meal. Good chatter accompanied the feast.

The game plan was to see Moonlight afterwards at Tropic Cinema. We did. I do not recall much. Ten minutes at best.

I fell asleep. Have not done it at the movies in years. Donna was sitting next to me. She said she bent over several times to see if I was breathing.

I am not ashamed. Andrew fell asleep towards the end of the movie.

My opinion as to the movie? I did not see enough to tell. Did the first 10 minutes boredom put me to sleep? I do not know.

Will I see the movie again? Probably not based on the comments of my friends.

Spent some time working on Growing Up Italian. It had been a couple of weeks. Reworked and tweaked the chapter having to do with making wine. My grandfather did every two years. A family event. He had a huge press in the cellar.

The thing that sticks most in my mind was the crushing of the grapes. First, the press. Then, the women. Finally, the children. My turn. Our feet were washed and we were allowed to jump in and around. Enrico Caruso singing in the background.

Did two Go Live segments on Facebook. Go Live with Key West Lou. One had to do with my impression as to how Trump did in his Address to Congress. The other female genital mutilation.

Sessions doing well so far. Has issued several orders undoing years of civil rights successes. The man a bigot.

Now the question arises as to whether he met with a Russian two times re the election.

The thought occurred when I heard the scenario this morning: Russian ties, Russian lies.

My poetic tendency finally revealed!

The stock market is in ascendancy. Like a rocket to the moon. Trump claiming credit.

I am old enough to have seen/experienced several market failures. All I know is that which goes up, comes down. Regarding the stock market, the fall is swifter and more dramatic than the rise.

Bocce tonight. I go to watch my team play, provide support. I miss playing the game.

Enjoy your day!

 

MARTIN FELT…..KEY WEST 1974

This blog is read primarily in the United states. It also has followers world wide. From Australia, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, and Thailand for example.

I received an e-mail this morning from Martin Felt. Martin has lived the past 30 years in Tuscany.

Martin lived in Key West for one year in 1974. Lived for a while on Poorhouse Lane. Poorhouse is a street running perpendicular off the cemetery.

Martin mentioned that he spent time walking in  the cemetery. He also recalled taking and pumping water from a well. The well thing especially caught my interest. Comments were received a couple of days ago re Key West wells near the Casa Marina. I think from Patrick. I was not aware of well water availability in Key West up to that time.

Martin is presently involved in writing a book about his 1974 Key West experiences. Should be interesting. A different world back then.

My yesterday began with an early visit to my heart doctor, Dr. McIvor. I swear by him! A routine test. Will get the results monday. I am not concerned.

Last night was the start of the bocce season. I missed it. Too tired. I was up at 5 in the morning to get the blog out before the doctor visit. By 5 in the afternoon, I was falling asleep watching television. I was in bed and asleep at 9 for the evening.

Spoke with David this morning. Don’s Place is off to a flying start. Won all three games last night.

Heavy date(s) tonight! With lesbian wives Donna and Terri. They are taking me out to dinner. Donna is a concierge. She has a ton of Hogfish free cards.

Go Live with Key West Lou on Facebook. Off to a flying start. Three weeks so far. A learning and adjusting activity. My viewers already exceed my beloved blog dramatically. By 300-400 percent. Amazing! Mostly a different group. Interesting.

A new play opens next week at the Key West Theater. 129 Miles From Walmart. The purpose of the title is to state unequivocally there is no Walmart for 129 miles. Suggesting Key West is a different place. It is. Like nowhere else.

Sessions now Attorney General. Not even  two weeks. Doing damage already.

The transgenders one issue.

Private prisons another.

The Obama administration ordered private prisons to be phased out. Maltreated prisoners, costly, no dollar savings, etc. Yesterday, Sessions ordained private prisons would continue. His reason, the federal government would need additional jail space in the future. For what? Immigration detainees?

Interestingly, an increase in jail population occurred beginning with Reagan. Population up 78 percent under Reagan. Fifty six percent under Clinton. Thirty two percent under Bush 2.

Finally dropped under Obama. Increase limited to 5 percent.

Staying with reversals under the Trump administration, the CIA was ordered this week to halt support for anti-Assad rebels in Syria. Does this mean we are on our way to joining with Putin in support of Assad?

CPAC interesting yesterday. Bannon in the forefront. Openly expressed his view that it was not establishment change in the U.S. alone he sought, it was world wide. The guy is dangerous!

Back in November in the New York Times, Bannon was compared to Lenin. Lenin sought the overthrow of existing government. Took a while. However, his philosophy finally succeeded. Bannon wants to accomplish the same thing.

I read somewhere that Cheney was Mother Teresa compared to Bannon.

Trump is on TV speaking before CPAC as I write. He is with his own. They are cheering his every thought. He is glowing in the adulation.

Enjoy your day!