In our last Date Line Key West, Dick and I gave you suggestions for lodging and dining. I’m going to expand somewhat by giving you some of our favorite places to visit here in Old Town, KW.

Archeo Gallery (Duval Street)

Known for its authentic hand-knotted Gabbeh rugs (also known as tribal Persian or nomadic Persian rugs), Archeo also has a superb collection of antique African jewelry, artwork and masks, and teak furniture from Java. Archeo staff, under the expert guidance of Wendy, is friendly and knowledgeable and equally happy to educate appreciative visitors as well as to sell their wares.

Besame Mucho (Petronia Street)

One of our favorite things about Key West is the wide array of terrific people who reside here, and no more so than the owners of Besame Mucho—Meredith and Michael—and their inspiring staff. Every inch of Besame is loaded with treasures, big and small, from food condiments and chocolates, to Belgium linens, to furniture, to exquisite, jewelry, handbags, home goods, skin care products, etc., etc., etc. And I can’t imagine how many books Dick and I have bought there through the years. Besame is where Old World apothecary meets Mexican Milagros and Parisian chic—all so artfully displayed that you’ll feel like you’re walking through an intricate shadowbox. Besame is conveniently located in Bahama Village, just a rooster’s throw for hungry souls from La Creperie and Blue Heaven.

Blue (Caroline Street)

You’re only 90 miles from Cuba, and it’s in the 50s with a howling wind. I know you just came from the frigid North, and 50 doesn’t sound bad, but KW can feel like you’ve been stranded on an aircraft carrier—damp and blustery and nowhere to hide. Plus you miss-packed! Nothing you brought seems right, and you’re 160 miles from the shopping Mecca of Miami. Don’t despair. Go to Blue. It’s fun, classy, and jam-packed with quality clothing and accessories. Our friend Tanya will quickly guide you to styles that fit your style. And for non-shoppers in your group, Pepe’s, Schooner Wharf and Half Shell Raw Bar are close at hand.

Hands On (Duval Street)

If you’re a long-time visitor to Key West, you may remember From the Ruins, the unique art-to-wear store on Whitehead Street. Well, Hands On is a latter day version of that beautiful, now defunct store. Cocoa, who was a linchpin at From the Ruins, or any of her staff will gladly introduce you to their exquisite, hand-made clothing, jewelry and accessories. Hands On is housed in a classic Conch cottage directly next to Archeo Gallery.

Cloud 9 (Fleming Street)

I cringe whenever I come across articles on the downside of manicures/pedicures. It’s hard to find a salon/spa that makes one feel hygienically comfortable. Well, Cloud 9 is a bit of a spoiler. Jane Wolf’s petite day spa is the epitome of squeaky-clean standards, friendliness, professionalism, and undivided personal pampering. It’s the only place I go in KW for facials and skin care. Jane and her staff use nothing but top-notch products. Cloud 9 is located above the only remaining bookstore in KW—Island Books, worth a trip in its own right. Legendary Faustos, the family-owned and run food market, is a block away.

Shakti Yoga (White Street)

Whether you’ve been taking yoga for years or are just an occasional practitioner, you’ll find the right class for you at Shakti. Sofia, who founded Shakti in 2005, is a yoga master, as is all of her staff: Tanya teaches Paddle Yoga at Lazy Dog on Cow Key Channel; Margit also can be found at Archeo Gallery; Carl specializes in alignment and out-of whack backs; and Marlene is the resident artist and killer yogini. Experienced or newbie, GO! While your friends are becoming lizard-like tanning out, you’ll feel serenely sanctimonious. Namaste.

Fausto’s Food Palace (Fleming Street)

Where else but in KW could you shop at a grocery store that grinds its own meat for burgers?  Where else could you find grass-fed-to-finish beef, organic vegies, Key West shrimp, locally roasted coffee beans, authentic Cuban pork, the original Cuban loaf, and daily baked artisanal bread? Where else would you find the Wine Queen of Fleming Street, one of Key West’s favorite performers, Vicki Roush? Owner Jimmy Weekly, former KW mayor, is the ubiquitous force of Fausto’s. Dick and I are there almost daily. Be sure to say hi to Louie at the meat counter and Bonita when you are checking out.

Eaton Street Seafood Market (corner of Eaton & William)

Where to buy the freshest fish market anywhere on the Keys? We wouldn’t shop for fish anywhere else. Owned by fisherman Damon and nautical engine guy Shawn, Eaton Street Seafood is where to go for all the just-off-the-boat snapper, grouper, Florida lobster and stone crabs you’ll ever need.

Tropic Cinema (Eaton Street)

With stadium seating, adult beverages (beer and wine), awesome real buttered popcorn, and blockbuster movies as well as small independent and Indi films, who needs the beach?

Key West Literary Seminar

Every January, the KWLS is held at the historic San Carlos Institute on Duval Street. Excellent excuse to leave the northern-most frigid climes. Check out next year’s event—How the Light Gets In—at KWLS.org.

Key West Real Estate

Lynn Kaufelt, in no particular order: professional, talented, kind, beautiful. We’ve known Lynn for nearly 25 years. Lynn, who along with her husband, David, founded Key West Literary Seminar, is a principal in Truman & Co., #1 for real estate in Key West.

My Gary Taubes-initiated low-carb/no-sugar regime has allowed me to close in on my weight goal of 180 pounds (my old running weight). Beer, unlike red wine, is, no surprise, not on my approved list. After you read what my highly favored Food Babe has to say about beer, you may want to ax beer from your diet regime as well. Boy, she’s tough!

When you drink beer, there is almost a 100% chance that you don’t know what you are drinking (unless you quizzed the beer companies like I did). The ingredients in beer are not required by law to be listed anywhere on the label and manufacturers have no legal obligation to disclose the ingredients. For regular beer, calorie levels and percent alcohol are optional and for light beer calories are mandatory but alcohol levels are optional.

Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, author of Appetite for Profit, and president of Eat Drink Politics told me the reason that beer companies don’t disclose ingredients is simple: they don’t have to.

“Ingredient labeling on food products and non-alcoholic beverages is required by the Food and Drug Administration. But a whole other federal agency regulates beer, and not very well. The Department of Treasury – the same folks who collect your taxes – oversees alcoholic beverages. That probably explains why we know more about what’s in a can of Coke than a can of Bud. You can also thank the alcohol industry, which has lobbied for years against efforts to require ingredient labeling.”

I figured if the beer companies aren’t required to tell us the exact list of ingredients, I needed to investigate this for myself and asked them the pointed questions until I got the truth.

Imagine outgoing Chairman Ben Bernanke joyfully wrapping things up at the Fed while humming “tiny bubbles make me feel happy” from Don Ho’s song Tiny Bubbles. Creating bubbles seems to be a job requirement for a Fed Chair.

The Fed is putting on an air of solidarity for incoming Chair Janet Yellen. The broad show of support for Mini “Tapering” is part I. Any concerns about the stock market are cloaked in Fed speak. Take the recent Fed meeting minutes for example. “Several [Fed officials] commented on the rise in forward price-to-earnings ratios for some small-cap stocks, the increased level of equity repurchases, or the rise in margin credit. One pointed to the increase in issuance of leveraged loans this year and the apparent decline in the average quality of such loans.”

What the Fed needs to do is stop the easy money and stop with the silly comments. Take a look at the “rise” in margin credit—borrowing money to buy stocks. I’d say there’s a problem brewing. But no one wants to ruin the introduction to the big stage for Yellen who may be quietly humming to herself, “tiny bubbles make me feel fine”.

As you can imagine, Dick and I have just skimmed the surface of places to recommend and things to do in the Conch Republic. I was at Archeo Gallery yesterday talking with our friend Margit Bisztray, one of Shakti’s beautiful yoginis, as well as a travel and food writer for such publications as Gourmet and Dwell, and was reminded of the impressive job Margit has done with Key West’s foremost travel directory, The Key West Insider Guide. And the news gets better—lucky you—it’s now an app. Margit has lived in Key West for 20 years and knows the ropes. Her app is the same quality as one of my favorite Paris apps, Patricia Wells’ The New Food Lover’s Guide to Paris . Don’t go to Paris without it.

Several years ago, Dick and I went on a great France/Switzerland food tour with David Lebovitz. (Check out David’s tours at davidlebovitz.com and get a copy of his amusing The Sweet Life in Paris.) As part of the tour, we had dinner with Alec Lobrano, restaurant critic and author of Hungry for Paris, and renowned journalist and chocolate/olive oil enthusiast Mort Rosenblum, author of Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit and Chocolate: A Bittersweet Sweet Saga of Dark and Light . We learned so much from each of them about the ins and outs of Paris.

Well that’s what Margit will do for you in the Keys. Now you never have to waste a vacation minute or meal wondering where in the tropical Keys to go next. Go to http://bit.ly/keywestapp. And not unlike Paris, the best part of Key West is often the time you allow for wandering Old Towns’ quaint lanes and alleys and discovering stuff on your own. But even if you’re not coming to the Keys anytime soon, you can pretend you are with Margit’s free app. Happy Key West vacationing and bon appetit!

Once again Hong Kong proves it is an economic powerhouse with a #1 ranking in the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. The index, released by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal shows the U.S. has dropped out of the top ten. Where’s the outrage? Terry Miller of Heritage writes in the WSJ:

It’s not hard to see why the U.S. is losing ground. Even marginal tax rates exceeding 43% cannot finance runaway government spending, which has caused the national debt to skyrocket. The Obama administration continues to shackle entire sectors of the economy with regulation, including health care, finance and energy. The intervention impedes both personal freedom and national prosperity.

But as the U.S. economy languishes, many countries are leaping ahead, thanks to policies that enhance economic freedom—the same ones that made the U.S. economy the most powerful in the world. Governments in 114 countries have taken steps in the past year to increase the economic freedom of their citizens. Forty-three countries, from every part of the world, have now reached their highest economic freedom ranking in the index’s history.

Hong Kong continues to dominate the list, followed by Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada. These are the only countries to earn the index’s “economically free” designation. Mauritius earned top honors among African countries and Chile excelled in Latin America. Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, several Gulf states, led by Bahrain, earned designation as “mostly free.”

Wisconsin prosecutors Francis Schmitz and Bruce Landgraf have wrongly attempted to strip First Amendment rights from my Cato-associated friend Eric O’Keefe. The prosecutors have bitten off more then they can chew and may now have to publicly exonerate Mr. O’Keefe. Here the Wall Street Journal provides a complete update. The Wall Street Journal’s Review & Outlook explains the situation here.

Wisconsin prosecutors investigating allies of Governor Scott Walker must have hoped their targets would assume resistance is futile. It’s not turning out that way. On Wednesday one target demanded that prosecutors call off their secret John Doe investigation or prepare for a civil-rights lawsuit.

Washington lawyer David Rivkin disclosed in a press release that he has written to prosecutors charging that John Doe investigations, which have grand-jury powers and use gag orders to silence targets, violate the free speech rights of his client Eric O’Keefe, who runs the Wisconsin Club for Growth. The letter asks Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm and other prosecutors, presumably including special prosecutor Francis Schmitz and Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, to cease and desist.

The prosecutors’ case “is unsupportable as a matter of law and crystal clear evidence of bad faith,” Mr. Rivkin writes. “I am confident that any federal court that reviews the facts will see your investigation for what it is, put a stop to it, and hold you publicly accountable.” The letter asks that prosecutors shut down the Doe, publicly exonerate Mr. O’Keefe and lift the gag order.

The letter was sent under seal, but Mr. O’Keefe could presumably file what’s called a federal 1983 civil-rights lawsuit charging that prosecutors are violating his First Amendment right to free speech and the 14th Amendment right to due process. That legal fight would not be under seal, and prosecutors could be held personally liable.

Prosecutors would be wise to take the Rivkin-O’Keefe warning and move on—especially after John Doe judge Gregory A. Peterson on Friday quashed the subpoenas to several groups including Wisconsin Club for Growth as lacking probable cause that the targets violated campaign-finance laws. On the other hand, they may be so motivated by partisan animus that they can’t think straight.

Senator McCain wants to push the U.S. deeper into the never-ending Iraqi civil quagmire. Neocon war whoops led by Bill Kristol will likely follow. There is no historical evidence that an American boots-on-the-ground strategy like those in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan has made America safer. Quite to the contrary. Most of what Americans know about foreign policy is promoted by the military industrial complex. This crowd has much to gain from nation building. I urge every American to read The Power Problem  by Chris Preble. I have read the book a number of times and posted a series on the book here (Part I, Part II, Part III). I know Chris personally and have spent a lot of time talking with him about the proven folly of nation building. Read The Power Problem and become a supporter of the Cato Institute to get the real story on how the political power elite in Washington has sold our constitutionally based federal republic out. It is time for a nationwide revolt of purpose before a federal republic-based America is gone for good.

Here’s a quote from Chris Preble’s recent article “Obama Should Ignore Calls to Get More Deeply Involved in Iraq.”

The past decade has revealed the war advocates’ ignorance of Iraqi politics. But recent events confirm that they are equally ignorant of U.S. politics. They lament that President Obama wasn’t prepared to leave U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely, but neither were the American people. And Americans are even less inclined to become embroiled there again.

Sen. McCain and other advocates of deeper U.S. involvement in the Iraqi civil war seem to be aware of U.S. public opinion. The current proposals do not resemble a replay of 2003, with tens of thousands of U.S. troops being sent back into the maelstrom. They could ultimately end up that way, however. Such risks are particularly unwise given that the prospects of success are dim.

Although some in Washington harbored fantasies about nation building in Iraq, Americans never intended to solve that country’s problems, in part because they understood that we lacked the ability to do so. That remains the case today. The Iraqi government has a fight on its hands, and it is a fight that it must win on its own terms.

Related video: