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Cuban Sandwich - This one hit the spot!

I have loved Cuban sandwiches ever since I wandered into a little hole in the wall café in Key West, not far off Duval Street. The year was 2000 and I was in Key West for two weeks doing my navy reserve duty. Someone had told me about the place, so I drove my rental car over there at lunch. I pulled up to the shop. There were parking meters in front and I had no change in my pockets. I pulled into one of the open spots, got out, yanked open the screen door and walked in, asking if I could get change for a dollar so I could feed the meter. The lady (using the term loosely) behind the counter gruffly announced that she didn't make change for the meters. Nice... I was on the horns of a dilemma, I could head to McDonalds for a Big Mac or I could leave my car at the unpaid meter, order a sandwich and beat a hasty exit to avoid the roving meter maid. I chose the latter and I am glad I did. I ordered a basic Cubano, grabbed the sandwich, hopped into my car and found another parking space

Open Letter to Donald Trump... Mr. President, do NOT run again!

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Mr. President, When you announced your candidacy in 2015, you were a novelty – a joke. But, the more primaries you won, the bigger the threat you became. To say your campaign methods were unconventional would be the understatement of the century. You couldn’t win. You were a fool, a boor, you had no experience. The Democrats heard you coming but they really didn’t see you coming. They knew you had no chance. Hillary had already measured the drapes, picked her cabinet and blew up the balloons. They were ready for “four more years”... no reason to start up the famous Democrat vote-fixing machine. The same machine that got JFK over the finish line in 1960 and kept major cities firmly under their control for decades. And then… you won. BAM! Like hitting a donkey up side the head with a 2x4 (metaphor intended), you got their attention.   You played the game to win. “But, but, but, he lost the popular vote” they exclaimed. So what? You won the Electoral College. Like in football, five field

Another treatise on voting

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Over the years I have had a lot to say about voting and elections. Obviously, 2020 was a low water mark when it came to trustworthy elections. Much has been said about Trump's "loss" in November. I have no faith in the results of that presidential contest. Some would call me an election " denialist ". (The buzzword used to be "denier" but denialist sounds much more technically relevant.) What I really am is an election realist . In a close election, if some group has a history of cheating or using creative "options" in order to drag their candidate over the finish line, I am going to assume that they would cheat again.. Human nature is mighty sticky and leopards do not change their spots.. When it comes to the actual mechanics of the election, the responsibility of your precinct and  your city/county election officials is to look at every vote cast, with a bit of suspicion and to provide a valid, reliable and verifiable count. They shouldn

The Home Stretch - Trump v. Clinton

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Editor's Note: This was originally posted on October 9, 2016 We have all heard it before. "This election is the most important election in our lifetime." Yes, it sounds trite, but isn't it true? Don't we always see today's threats as being so much more dire than the issues from four, eight, twelve or more years ago? Sure. Today is always a more realistic concept than yesterday . However, I believe that our choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to become President of the United States is the most important presidential decision to be made in decades. Choosing John McCain over Barack Obama seemed pretty simple. A seasoned legislator with decades of federal experience and years of military service pitted against a hollow shell of a man with a year of federal experience and a tenure as a state senator whose most famous act was voting "present" 129 times. What choice could have been simpler? But America was ready for a change, so Obama was vot

Save the Earth!

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First, let me stipulate that I am NOT one of those who wants to see an earth polluted by whatever manner of trash that any business or individual wants to spew into the air, waterways and lands. I appreciate a clean environment. I do not throw trash out of my car window, dump motor oil down storm drains, nor burn plastic trash in a barrel behind my home. I even drive an electric car. This article from the Associated Press ran in our local newspaper today and is probably published in many others across the US. It reads more like mouth-breathing commentary than it does as a legitimate news story. If you are like most Americans, you will glance at the headline "'Everything is at stake' for climate", look at the pictures of a burning redwood tree, flooding of a home and a baked and cracked lake bed and assume that the earth is about to be destroyed. Then you would move on to the comics or the next meme on Instagram. Thousands of concerned politicians, lobbyists and repor

Oh, what a mess we have on our hands!

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Late last night, November 27, 2020, a Pennsylvania state judge ruled to halt certification of the presidential election on the grounds that massive distribution of unsolicited mail-in ballots went against the Pennsylvania constitution, which would require a constitutional amendment to make such a change. This is a HUGE development. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the US Constitution provides for a Presidential election by saying “Each State Legislature shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...”. In this case, the legislature spoke, but the legislation went against the state constitution which does not allow this type of mail-in ballot. Here's the rub... there is no court in the land which will desire to throw out the vote or to disenfranchise an entire state's balloting. In Pennsylvania's case, over 7 million votes. Legally, it could be done. If the state is unable to certify the election, the appointment of electors fa

Another Fine Mess

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Well, here we are on the Saturday after the all-important US presidential election of 2020. On Election Day, into the wee hours of the evening, Donald Trump had it walking away. It was in the bag. States which were obviously Trump's (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina) were not called while Arizona was called early on for Biden.  We were told for months that Biden owned this election cycle. The candidate who basically hid from the public for six months was going to preside over a "Blue Wave" where the Democrats would take the Senate and further cement their lead in the House. As recently as November 2, we were told that Biden had leads in swing states from between 8 points and 17 points. As we have seen, even with massive shady ballot counting going on, Biden is leading with the narrowest of margins.  Put aside the fact that Biden is leading in the popular vote by around 4 million ballots. This is totally irrelevant. We elect a president via the Electoral College. Say what