The weather warmed up beyond expectations yesterday. Hit 87 degrees.
I was at Brady’s Irish Pub at noon for the Syracuse/Virginia Tech game. Sat in my usual kitchen chair at a table in the back. Me alone with the TV set.
Syracuse played a hell of a game. For 35 minutes. Then blew it!
With 4 minutes left in the game, Syracuse was up 13 points. I was confident a Syracuse victory in the making. Virginia Tech went on a run. With 4 seconds left, Virginia Tech was winning by 3. Death awaited! Surprisingly, Syracuse made a 3 pointer and the game went into overtime.
Overtime was a disaster for Syracuse. My team was outscored 19-13. Syracuse lost a game they had led most of the way and were decisively ahead with 4 minutes to go. The final score was 101-95.
Dejected does not adequately describe how I felt.
On top of the defeat, my back went when Syracuse was winning by 9 with 10 minutes to go. Why, I don’t know. But it hurt like hell! I was tempted to leave and take my pain home with me. I did not want to miss a Syracuse victory, however. So I suffered terribly till the end of the game and worse thereafter. The defeat and my back!
This definitely has not been Syracuse’s year when it comes to basketball. Thank God the football season went 10-4 in Syracuse’s favor.
My back bothered me all night and still bothers me this morning. Sometimes you just can’t win for losing.
Lets move on to politics. International ones.
Euro and other democratic nations met in England yesterday with Zelensky. They all talked strongly in favor of support for Zelensky and Ukraine.
Talk can be cheap, however. Negotiations seemed to be the thrust. I believe the nations supporting Ukraine must be prepared to fight militarily if push comes to shove. It may. The U.S. appears to be supporting Russia and ready to dessert Ukraine militarily. Other nations will be subject to Russian attack thereafter. Putin’s game plan. The return of the Russia of old!
The free nations of the world must be ready immediately to step in. No wasted time. Strike if something adverse occurs. Swiftly. Such readiness alone might be sufficient to discourage Russia from taking further steps.
Readiness to do battle the key.
This coming tuesday a big one for Trump. If he is true to his word, his plan re tariffs will go into effect. He will hit Canada and Mexico with 25 percent and impose an additional 10 percent tariff charge on imports from China. The three nations the U.S. does the most business with.
Keep it up, Donald! Hit whoever you want with tariffs. Friend and foe alike.
Guaranteed a tariff war will be a loser not only for those imposed upon, but for the U.S. also.
Another way to describe the Zelensky, Trump, Vance meeting is the Trump team rooting for Putin…..in a gross betrayal of the West.
During the campaign, Trump promised the moon. Everything! Anything to be elected! Lied like hell! He was the “day one” guy. Promised to do this and that on day one.
Like not cutting Social Security, protecting Medicare, free in vitro fertilizations, disavow the heritage Fund’s Project 2025, promising he had nothing to do with it.
He promised he would lower the cost of housing, groceries and other necessities. He promised cheaper eggs.
Basically, he has generally delivered nothing but pain so far.
He is still game for his tariff plans which will raise the price of goods for most Americans.
The best yet…..The fantasy that has developed that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will distribute stimulus checks drawn from supposed savings to taxpayers. From what? Grossly exaggerated erroneous savings numbers?
What will be Trump’s reaction if a recession occurs? The result of his misdeeds and failure to keep promises made.
An example of a Key West price indicator moving in the wrong direction. The per gallon price of gasoline. From saturday to saturday this past week, the price increased 24 cents a gallon.
The Custom House in Key West was built around 1898. Construction completed near the time of the Battleship Maine explosion in Havana Harbor. It was a federal building back then.
A Naval Court of Inquiry was was arranged to investigate why the Maine exploded on March 1, 1899. The Inquiry was held at the recently completed Custom House.
I close with a major store closing in many states. Not a healthy reflection of what is happening with the economy.
Macy’s announced it was closing sixty stores in 2025.
Enjoy your day!