* A dozen years in the making and three years in the writing. That’s what will have preceded Michael Cohen’s tell–more or less–all book. You know it’s coming. It’s also a good use of government-imposed down time. But, no, Cohen won’t morph from whore-out to hero. More like a huckster doing what everyone soiled by Trump fealty winds up doing.
* “Christchurch Call“: That’s the pledge that a number of governmental and tech-industry leaders took this week at a Paris summit aimed at curbing the dissemination of violent ideologies on the internet. The summit was led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron. Participating countries ranged from the UK, Ireland and Canada to Norway, Senegal and Jordan. Not among the participants: President Donald Trump and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
* The Tampa Bay Times, as part of its “Florida Wonders” coverage, recently referenced the elegant-back-in-the-day Princess Martha hotel in St. Pete. It was where Babe Ruth signed a Yankees contract for $80,000 in 1930. That was $5,000 more than President Herbert Hoover made, it was noted. Not mentioned was Ruth’s response to the media’s inevitable question about a baseball player making more than the president of the United States. “I had a better year than he did,” deadpanned Ruth. Still a classic.