Hamilton joined the Washington administration and the secretary of Treasury joining a 3 person cabinet made up of Jefferson, secretary of State and Henry Knox, secretary of War. Hamilton’s department dwarfed State and War departments in size and scope. The largest challenge in our first administration was crushing debt to finance the Revolution and the need to establish revenue generation capability - taxes and commerce. Treasury included a central bank, establishment of currency, customs, immigration and the Coast Guard (for the purpose of regulating and protecting trade). By the end of his term, the US had established a credit rating on par with most of Europe. The work he led was incredible - dealing with a wild economy, tax revolts (Whisky Rebellion) and the rise of political parties. 

It didn’t take long for the new American’s to learn to exploit the economic markets and create deep divisions with political parties. Incredible how people were able to manipulate the first markets, buying and manipulating prices in the US “IPO”. And how divisions among our leaders blossomed during our first years - even within Washington’s administration. the disagreements between Jefferson and Hamilton were deep and foretold the American Civil War where disagreements abounded around State vs Federal control; Agrarian vs Industrial and underlying it all, was slavery. The Federalists looking to establish a central government vs “Republican’s” seeking more state control. Thinking about what could have been if the US hadn’t established the goal to expand and unify. Would we have become like South American, many nations sharing North America? Interesting to see the questions and doubts our leaders had during the formation of the US. 

Alexander Hamilton was a genius who contributed greatly to the establishment of our nation. He was a trusted advisor of George Washington, an enemy of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton (1st governor or NY, his adopted  home). Obviously, his biggest foe was Aaron Burr, who also wasn’t trusted by many. Imaging what it would be like for the Vice President to shoot and kill a prominent figure, have an arrest warrant out for him and then return to the Senate. The enmity among our founders then gives me hope that we can get through the current political opposition. But maybe it only tells me that I should get used to it. 

Our cat wanted out of the house sometimes and we got tired of opening and closing the door for him. We have other cats in the area who know how to use pet doors. So, I wanted to get one that ONLY Corky (our cat) could get in. 

Researching, I found the Sure Flap cat door out of the UK that unlocks when your cat gets near. It reads their chip when he enters the door. It seemed good and its been out for a few years, I thought I’d give it a try. 

The installation was pretty straightforward, most of the time they expect you to install in a door, since I wanted to go through the wall, I needed to purchase the tunnel extension, 3 of them for a 2x6 wall. It all worked as advertised. The locking mechanism was slick and Corky loves being able to come and go when he wants.