Hey wilderness yourself on Josh, there's chuck, there's just looks gap key West Florida Dateline other most point to the United States, smugglers Island, that's what it's called, sometimes yeah, because key West, obviously just the location itself is going to lend itself to smuggling smuggling stuff in from other places by boat, and I mean it has like it's. There was a pirate haven for a very long time, but apparently that the local population really took through that and just kept it up, but like over time with their smuggling just kind of changed and

At this point in question, this point in history that we're gonna can dive into right. Now it had become marijuana and cocaine. Those were what was being smuggled through key West, the glorious eighties keys of cocaine and key West shortest shore to ever seen our imagine so. These drugs are coming to South America through Cuba and then, obviously from there it. So it's a quick ninety miles to get two key west. There's a report from the european nineteen. Eighty three, the quote: crews on fishing boats brazenly unloaded bales of marijuana. High school utes made big money driving the contraband, a hundred, fifty nine miles northward to Miami Drug.

He lives, have lavish sham pain parties at peer house. The push waterfront hotel, so these kids were driving the stuff up and to sit in the back. Their pickup truck will ya round the island. In particular, I think when they left the driver to Miami this little cooler, but everywhere tarp overtly wide open in key west. At a time the local law enforcement, the local, like city government. There everybody seemed to either directly involved in smuggling or turning a blind eye to it, probably because they are getting kickbacks or whatever was other fire station that was shut down there, because so many firefighters were busted fur marijuana smuggling, while that they had to shut the thing now in one of the fire cheese is actually put impressed.

For the amazing so by the by nineteen. Eighty two at the latest, if not earlier the Reagan administration said this totally contradicts what Nancy saying we're gonna do something about this and they set up the South Florida task force against crime which doesn't really create any kind of good acronym. Yet I found a little s. Everything T F, Europe's thousand there come on we're brawny right so by nineteen. Eighty to hear one that he running alone should be named the organisation to day. Septa two billion dollars in drugs coming through South Florida, in just one thousand nine hundred and eighty two alone. Imagine how much they missed out sure you know so they were really quick enough. They also like basically took over the city government investigated. The police, like

they really went into key west and the keys in general, and so we were cleaning this place up and those two billion street value righty life. But that is correct me up that these two always say that the I think they can inflate that to make street like the manufactured suggested retail price. The majority here. So one of the things they did on this text task force was set up a border patrol checkpoint and between the again before the keys are off. The mainland of Florida said they would set up between the keys in the mainland and flourish city, yeah, just right at their it. For the city on highway, one yourself of that and basically effectively what they did was shut off key west from the United States, yet they re the only way in and out they raised the border up above the keys and basically made the keys like another country as ostensibly that's exactly what happened and the keys did not like this very much. Should we take a break,

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website without ever leaving her couch. Yet so are you ready to or more switch divisible, then head divisible, thy com, slash stuff and get twenty dollars off your first month of service and exclusive special offer just for stuff, you should know listeners, that's visible dot com, slash stuff! Ok Chuck, so the border patrol is now basically doing drug searches because they were saying. Ostensibly we have this row block to keep migrants from coming through illegally yeah that was sort of their how they dressed up right right, believe alien that they were looking for. Migrants, according to I think, floor to history, dot org they were looking for. Migrants in the glove compartment occur under the seat of the cars on feelings, ass, a really that was part of this drug crackdown, and I mean those bad enough

that they were masquerading. You know one thing for another, but the fact that it was have was really negative on the keys in general, in key west in particular, Yemen they rely lot on tourism. You couldn't get in her out those seventeen mile traffic jam Q magic, but is it seventeen minutes adverse? Also, listen about that if you like. I just drive right into the ocean seventeen miles you getting me so

hotels or empty restaurants are not doing any business bars are not doing any business right, which is a big deal their sound. You know it sounds silly to talk about restaurants and bars, not operating, but that's a big part of your income. Sure it's a big deal, so they said we ve had enough, they got together and they filed an injunction against the. U S border patrol. This is the people of the keys, the government's yes easier. The community, the people at large said we're doing this. They took in a federal court Miami the court said now you can you keep that roadblock said the mayor of Key Wes Dennis Ward Low, which have looked him up, and I fully expected him to look different. Then he looked a really yeah. I expected a milk Canada

Jimmy Buffet type. I did to any didn't. What does he look like need? Looked sort of square? Did he look like the evil banker from it's a wonderful life, because that kind of opposite demographic, nobody fully pictured like a guy and like a hawaiian shirt and no shoes and long hair, but he he looked square. He looked a little square, that's fine, but as nineteen eighty two he did on short shorts, but at a certain time so that the press is there. He leaves the court house after the defeat. They said you know, what's going on what you gonna do, and he says very, I attention grabbing ear grabbing thing tomorrow at noon, the Florida keys, will secede from the union. So we had a sense of humour he did, but he also allow follow through on a sensitive area. It wasn't just a joke now, because the next day people showed up to see what What happened in at noon? He came out and he said: ok, first things. First,

A key west is no longer a part of the United States, its own independent nation called the conqueror public. Yes, a sovereign nation of the fifth world yeah and there's this really greater ATLAS obscure article about the conqueror public and they they described the fifth world is the section of the first world second world third world. Again everybody we should say this is an outdated, cold war thing. Yet exactly yet, so the United States and its allies were first world. The Soviet Union and its allies were second world on a line countries or developing countries. Third world fourth world, where people who were stateless I'd never heard that before it had. Neither apparently Dennis Ward, though, had because he said that the conqueror public was the first Fifth World Mansion, pretty pre smart, which existed as a state of me, mind. You said we exist as a state of mind and aspire only to bring more warmth, humor and respect to a planet. We find in sore need of all three

that, by the way you guys don't know this was an exceptional Dennis Wardour impression he sounds exactly like bowers, it's crazy, so he officially changes its position from and its title from mayor of Key West to Prime Minister of the conqueror public, and I felt, like I heard the somewhere four, but it might just be thinking of other crackpot we're cuts like sea land in the pineapple called the there's, a history of people. They do things like the really yeah we ve talked about a lot of an embassy land near Not impressed, no, I I had forgotten about them. Did eighty curtains all sound yeah, oh yeah, yeah yeah the ocean. It was like a floating order. Something can you start your own country, I think, was the episode yeah. That was it that was again so prime Minister of the Conqueror public and he had a mock secession. A declaration of war on the United States right off

that's a big one, he declared war and ended with loaves of cuban bread. In broken over the head of a man dressed as a. U S naval, Sir TAT was the war of aggression, the conqueror public inflicted on the United States, yet so they're having fun at this point, because the press is there- and this is the whole point- they're trying to get press. They are there trying to draw attention to the road block their elsewhere and draw attention to their tourism, and then, after after a minute of this war, ward, though, officially surrenders the conqueror public to the United States and he went away base and surrendered right and then requests a billion dollars in aid foreign aid from the? U S to rebuild after the war, pretty great. It is great. Of course, the EU didn't give em a dime. You ever see a movie, the mouse that roared I did. It was clear salaries, the same thing yet so I'm guarantee wordless saw that. Probably so he

They the? U S, didn't give any of this foreign aid. There was an assent given by that roadblock ended almost immediately there very quickly afterward, so it have the effect that he was looking for a tried and they still so read it today, they will issue a passport to you for the conqueror public. I saw- and I couldn't verify this a southern same thing and multiple places, so you know like nature that they'll stamp your passport airily, which I'm like, I am sure they do. But I do you want them to do that, because I could see you s customs being like what is this your passport void? Now you can go,

Stamping a passport with whatever you want, that's what I would think that, of course, I'm not doing it all, there's a pokemon stamp on the next big publishing. I told you that oh I mention that customs has seen a conqueror public stamp. I go about this. If we have any customs agents for the: U S: listen! If you get your passport stamp of the conqueror public or some other Meda Stamp Pokemon, whatever like does it ever, need, invalidate your passport. You know, customs officers are famous for their sense of humour, sure they're just tickled by just about anything so they also fly a flag with a motto: we succeeded where others failed. This is just and then every April they they celebrate. Still there will nutty down there and key west. Well, they are I ll and people here they celebrate the independence of the conqueror publics.

In April gear. For like nine days and I looked, there is a good idea to party down there sure that there is a guy, in Peter Anderson, who was the prime minister. No I'm sorry, he, the Secretary of the conqueror public and he was like a guiding light, keeping things going and he died this still. They still do it. I thought maybe they were discontinued enough. They still keeping an urban other yeah finicky West. I did not realise that have beaches and that's where we want. Therefore, we are kind of surprised as legislator. Rocky island is a rock him buddy. If you like to fish or Scooby dive or drink you're, gonna love it down there. If you go for beaches, you're gonna be unpleasantly surprised like to drink waste, take up scooby diverse, nor cling onto a fisherman. Never as Oda

fishermen's paradise there. It's it's one of the most other worldly, looking places. I've ever been. It's like a rock coming out of like the ocean of beer in ocean. So blue it doesn't it. It doesn't even look real amazing. It's a neat play damned like there's a really crazy awesome like gay community. There, I'm sure you ve seen on CNN on New Year's eve. That's right and it's just a cool place. It's a neat placed, but I like the keys in general. One other thing: if you go down there, there is a see him. I think it's just called the key West Museum, but I am aware no there's Hemingway's houses is different. This is some weird clunky museum that it's almost like somebody who's ever been to a museum. It said I

put a museum together, and this is what they came up with their rooms. Are you like? Is this a storage rumor? Is this like parlor Museum, it's in an old stone fort, but there's one exhibit there's a bunch of them. Others Robert the famous doll whose like haunting curse, they have him, there's really need to see, but there's one exhibit at his just amazing. There is a famous key west resident who engaged in necrophilia for decades with the love of his life. Could not let her go and there's like a whole thing on him. There that's really neat and they like redid this man again, that he basically turned his wife into trying to preserve or how definitely worth going too well for plugging very quickly. Weird museums- and I should like the Museum of Umbrella covers

what and that is on peaks. Island main run off the Portland main. Ok, take the very up to pigs. Island should go to the Museum of Umbrella. Covers not umbrellas umbrella covers relic of asylum, in other words, the term Berlin Little Sleeve yeah he's got a bunch of them so there you have it from Chuck. If you Y know we don't do that on the steering short stuff out, stop you should know is production of I hurt radios, how stuff works for more podcast, my heart radio I hit radio apple. Podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows.