Today is Friday, January 13, 2023, the kind of day that triskaidekaphobia is designed for. Elliot and I went about our business hardly aware of the ominous date looming before us. We spent a lot of time on the Island having breakfast at the Floral Park Diner, on Tulip Avenue, and seeking a bowl shade for my floor lamp in the living room. Not being satisfied with finding a shade at a lamp store in Rockville Centre, on Sunrise Highway, we drove to a Target nearby and actually bought a torchiere floor lamp with a reading light on the side that resembled a lamp that I first saw at Flushing Lighting. This lamp, however, was considerably cheaper than that first lamp, but the only drawback is that it requires “some assembly.” These are the two words that I fear most when buying something, so let’s see if we can somehow assemble it using our brawn and brains. I will update you on this over the weekend when we attempt to put it together.

I can only report on one story since it’s late here. We are guilty of watching another episode of Welcome to Chippendales after coming home having dinner with our friend “Mark” at Nick’s Bistro, on Metropolitan Avenue. We had a 7:45 p.m. reservation, but we were able to be seated moments earlier. The interior of the restaurant is small, so the atmosphere was quite crackling with peoples’ loud voices throughout our meal. Thus it was difficult to hear Elliot and our friend Mark at times. The one good thing about our dinner was the food. Elliot and Mark had beet salad with shrimp, while I had mushroom barley soup and some Greek dinner special that was cabbage with potatoes. It was very tasty. I was unable to finish it, so I took home the remainder of it. For dessert, we had Greek cannoli that was quite different from Italian cannoli in the type of filling used. The shell was a caramelized almond cone, stuffed with New York-style cheesecake. It was quite yummy.

The one story illustrates how soulless the modern-day Republican Party has become under House Majority “Leader” Kevin McCarthy who has sold his soul to become speaker and does not care about anything else. So today the editorial board of the St. Louis Post–Dispatch wrote a blistering editorial of the newly elected speaker for his stance on the problem plaguing one of his own, Rep. George Santos who appears to be masquerading as someone else and this so-called leader has nothing to say about it. McCarthy, the mouse, has refused to do anything about the controversy surrounding this New York fraud.

Yesterday, McCarthy brushed off questions posed to him about Santos from the press, saying so fucking weakly, “He is seated. The voters elected [no, the voters elected a man posing as “George Santos,” not the real chubby, bespectacled clown] him to serve. He added that Santos “has to answer to the voters, and the voters can make another decision in two years.” Which is to really say, that we’re fucked! We have to tolerate this counterfeit representative for two years and wait to finally vote him out. What a fucking acknowledgment of doing absolutely nothing about this person’s cheating to get elected to office!

Editors of the paper wrote this about McCarthy’s amoral personality: “McCarthy has proven time and again that concepts like ethics, principles, and personal responsibility – longtime pillars of the Republican platform – mean nothing. Which is precisely why Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, McCarthy’s nemesis in last week’s battle over the speakership, suggested McCarthy had sold shares of his soul in his quest for power.” This is the only time I would agree with the odious Gaetz who certainly has his own lion’s share of ethical issues to surmount.

The editors further add, “McCarthy needs every Republican vote he can muster. He can’t afford to lose Santos’ vote. And if he allowed Long Island voters to decide for themselves in a new election after they’ve been hoodwinked, the chances of them voting for another Republican would be slim to none. So it appears that another share of McCarthy’s soul has gone to the highest bidder.”

In the meantime, the chorus of voices demanding that Santos resign grows louder and louder, with the bastard still refusing to yield to public opinion. How can this cockroach serve his so-called constituents effectively if he’s been deemed a pariah by his own party? The only thing that could happen is if the soulless McCarthy actually gives him a committee assignment. I wonder how that would play among the rank and file? Maybe only Marjorie Taylor Green would take the fraudster under her Jewish laser.

Democrats Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, who presented Santos with an ethics complaint this week, have also introduced a bill that would require those running for office to disclose key parts of their personal biography under oath. In a hilarious dig at Santos’ name, the bill is dubbed the “Stopping Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker,” or “SANTOS,” Act. Ha, ha! Very good; I love it. It should be passed immediately.

Have a good weekend.

Stay safe and be well.