Category: Uncategorized

* What Tampa Bay doesn’t want: a Super (Spreader) Bowl.

* So Urban Meyer has returned from another retirement to take over as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. He’s certainly got the collegiate resume. But it’s no guarantee of success. Just ask Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz and Nick Saban.

* USF women’s basketball: Nine wins in a row, which ties a school record–and a #14 national ranking. Go, Bulls.

* For now, the Rays plan to open the season with fans limited to approximately 7,000 per game.

* It’s probably the first time that Mexico City and Bradenton have appeared in the same sentence. The context: The World Golf Championship (Feb. 25-28) is moving from Mexico City to Bradenton because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

* “Science has succeeded, but solidarity has failed.”–U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

* “I believe that ethically everyone needs to receive the vaccine.”–Pope Francis.

* “We’ve changed the narrative dramatically.”–David M. Friedman, outgoing U.S. ambassador to Israel.

* “U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to pour $1.9 trillion into a hobbled economy could lay the foundation for a surge in jobs and spending that many economists say is needed to avoid long-term damage from a record-breaking pandemic recession.”–Reuters.

* “The single most depraved betrayal of the U.S. Constitution ever committed by a president.”–Florida Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor.

* “It is shocking that Trump didn’t act when Congress could have faced a mass hostage-taking, or worse. It is not surprising.”–Michelle Goldberg, New York Times.

* “Incitement isn’t a single act; it’s a process.”–Former Richard Nixon attorney John Dean.

* “At his own inauguration, (Trump) pledged to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Two weeks before the (Biden) inauguration, he contributed to a violent attempt to stop the Constitution from working. (His) conduct is about the clearest violation of his constitutional oath one could imagine.”–Stetson law professor Louis J. Virelli III.

* “A clear and present threat to our nation.”–Florida Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist.

* “(Trump) will be judged harshly by history.”–Nikki Haley.

* “(Trump’s) capable of starting a civil war.”–California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

* “Donald Trump had the foresight to not be black.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “Now (Lindsey) Graham calls for unity. I agree. Let’s unite in removing Trump from office and disqualify him from (ever) holding a public trust again.”–California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff.

* “Pelosi and the House Democrats invited busloads of Antifa to riot.”–Facebook post of Hillsborough County Republican Party Chairman Jim Waurishuk.

* “There is no excusing Trump. There is no sympathy that should be wasted on this pathetic parasite.”–Marina Hyde, U.K. Guardian.

* “The rest of us—and this is the key—will still be here. We’ve got nowhere to go.”–Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

* “The First Amendment limits only government actors, and neither social media company nor a book publisher is the government. Indeed, they enjoy their own First Amendment rights not to have the government require them to associate with speech when they prefer not to do so.”–University of Utah law professor RonNell Andersen Jones.

* “We are living Orwell’s ‘1984.’ Free-speech no longer exists in America.”–Donald Trump Jr.

* “Every movement has a lunatic fringe.”–California Republican Congressman Tom McClintock.

* “Throughout this expedited spree of executions, this Court has consistently rejected inmates’ credible claims for relief. This is not justice.”–Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

* “What for more than 200 years (‘e pluribus unum’) has meant ‘out of many, one,’ Trump has transformed into ‘Follow me. I am the one.’”–Darryl Paulson, USF St. Petersburg emeritus professor of government.

* “Our Florida Democratic Party is at a crossroads. While Democrats all over the nation made gains, we continue to lose ground. We continue to lose elections.”–Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, newly chosen chairman of the FDP.

* “I think she’s an emerging star.”–Republican media consultant Adam Goodman, referring to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

* “Learn to endure.”–Recently retired Hillsborough Clerk of the Court Pat Frank, 91.

* “We should be classified as essential workers and put to the (vaccination-priority) top, if they want schools open.”–Joanne McCall, executive director of the Pinellas County Teachers Union.

* We have to do something. I want people to come to Tampa and Hillsborough for the Super Bowl, but if our (rate of positive test) numbers are in the 15 to 20 percent range, there will be people who think twice about coming.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman, who has stressed that the county should beef up enforcement of its existing mandate that face coverings be worn inside businesses—and that serious consideration be given to requiring masks be worn in outside service areas of bars and restaurants.

* “One of the challenges we have is that there is simply not enough space to have people cycling in and out, so this renovation is an opportunity for education in the galleries.”--Michael Tomor, executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art, on the announcement of TMA plans for renovations that will expand the education programs and gallery space—beginning in May.

“A Republic, if you can keep it.”

* A sizable chunk of the American electorate that is informed beyond self-validating social media and no longer in need of a white grievance, charlatan cult leader, plus a truly country-first Congress: Absent that, there is no vaccine for Trumpism.

* It’s a good thing that pitching $2000 checks isn’t a form of socialism advocacy.

* Par for the leadership course: Golfing while a nation struggles with vaccination logistics.

* Narcissistic-exit hit: The result of the GOP-controlled Senate overriding (81-13) Trump’s veto of the defense policy bill.

* “Far exaggerated.” That’s how Donald Trump still characterizes—as of Sunday—the number of U.S. coronavirus deaths, now officially exceeding 350,000.

* “There is no way I lost Georgia. There’s no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes. … The people of Georgia know that this was a scam.” That was a recent White House rant by the de facto former president.

* Not unlike the president he is sycophantically loyal to, Texas GOPster Congressman Louie Gohmert doesn’t do nuance. So no surprise to his Newsmax response to unsuccessful legal redress over a lost election. After a federal judge threw out a lawsuit he was pushing, he said he had gone to court “so that you didn’t have riots and violence in the streets.” Sounds like a wink-and-nod to the Proud Boys.

* New Alabama Republican Senator—and former Auburn football coach—Tommy Tuberville: “Our government wasn’t set up for one group to have all three branches of government—you know, the House, the Senate and the Executive.” Judge, you know, for yourself, Alabama.

* The narcissist-in-chief has often claimed to be a “very stable genius.” It still begs the question of why Trump ordered Michael Cohen to write to Trump’s high schools, colleges and the College Board, threatening them with legal action if they ever released his academic records.

* “Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.” That was President-elect Joe Biden, underscoring what’s at stake during this presidential transition like no other. National security chaos and compromises can’t be a trade-off in de-Trumping America.

* Empathy and unity reset: The Presidential Inaugural Committee will host a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Jan. 19—the day before Biden’s swearing-in ceremony at the capitol. The Commission is also inviting cities and towns across the country to light buildings and ring church bells at the same time.

* The good news: a record number of women will serve in the incoming Congress. The context: This is because Republicans doubled their House ranks from 13. Additional context: Democratic women still (far) outnumber GOPster women in the House.

* 216-209: Margin by which California Rep. Nancy Pelosi was re-elected Speaker of the House. Pelosi is still the only female to be so elected.

* Shortly after the election, pundits were already wondering if any Republicans might be nominated for key Administration positions by a unity-prioritizing, across-the-aisle, moderate Democrat president. We’re talking the likes of John Kasich, former Ohio governor, and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. And if so, how would Dem progressives handle such outreach? Well, the pundits still wonder.

* Much has been made of what Miguel Cardona, if he is confirmed as the next education secretary, will face in theclean-up after charter school divaBetsy DeVos. From prioritizing civil rights protections and pandemic catch-up tutoring to no longer selling out to predatory, for-profit colleges. But even though so much about education is the purview of states, it could help if the White House education agenda included high-profile use of its bully pulpit by Cardona to make the case for educational changes that could help save our democracy from Trump sequels. Our schools need to prioritize meaningful, mandatory middle-and high-school classes in civics, history and media. Inshort, how our constitutional republic is supposed to work; how we got here as a nation; and how to avoid manipulation by contemporary partisan media in its various digital forms.

* Shortly after the Inauguration, President Biden is expected to push for another stimulus package. As in, climate change, health care, infrastructure and more. And soon after such a push, we can expect to see erstwhile Tea Partiers returning to their anti-deficit ideologies.

#AloneTogether

* The very first vaccine—for smallpox—was administered in 1796.

* Louisiana Republican Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, 41, is the highest-ranking politician to die of COVID-19.

* COVID reality: Protocols notwithstanding, how often passengers with COVID-19 board planes is impossible to know. Perhaps enforcing mask mandates with steep fines and/or reckless endangerment arrests would help.

* The Florida weekly case average: approximately 12,700 per day—including the recent recording of 17,000 cases, the largest, single-day increase for Florida.

* Women continue to outpace men in receiving the vaccination.

* December was the deadliest month of the 2020 pandemic in the U.S.: 77,000 died. The second deadliest month was April: 58,000.

* TIA received $81.2 million from the initial Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Act. It spent more than half of that to offset losses and debt. TIA now awaits details of the new $900 million coronavirus relief and stimulus package. Airports nationwide will receive $2 billion in U.S. Department of Treasury grants—to be used for anything from staffing to sanitation to paying down debt.

* COVID-19: Now the leading killer of law enforcement officers in Florida.

Tampa Bay

* No need to check out neighborhood apps to confirm that New Year’s Eve was unnecessarily loud. And if you have a family with a PTSD-scarred veteran or a vulnerable pet that “celebrates” by cowering under couches and beds, you know that noisome noisemaking into the wee hours should no longer get a holiday pass. For context: Aesthetic, colorful, fireworks displays can be cool and a galvanizing community celebration. Thoughtless and inconsiderate noisemaking, however, has nothing to do with that. Our vets and pets—and the rest of us—deserve better.

* Holiday oxymoron: New Year’s Eve and code enforcement.

* “The test for the mainstream media is our ability to turn away from Trump even if he remains a potent audience draw.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.

* That annus horribilis is now behind us. But pandemic memories will live on. But for all those who understandably would like to forget it, this ironic footnote: At 12:01 a.m. on January 1, for the first time ever, hindsight was actually 2020.

* Seven of the 10 top-rated TV programs of 2020 were NFL telecasts. The three non-NFL programs: episodes of “The Masked Singer,” a reality singing-competition series.

* Not that the Bucs need reminding, but nine wild-card teams have won Super Bowls. And having to play on the post-season road has never mattered less with stadiums of socially-distanced home fans. But, yes, Green Bay can still be brutal in January.

* The decision to bring in 43-year-old Tom Brady—40 TD passes and a resultant 11-5 record—was, as we’ve now seen, spot on. The Bucs are back in the playoffs with the highest scoring offense in team history.

* Alabama head coach Nick Saban makes $9.3 million a year. That’s the kind of number that reminds us that network-enriched NCAA football and basketball has morphed into the collegiate sports industrial complex. And it adds credence to the argument of those who advocate compensating players beyond scholarships, room and board.

* Canada, of course, is still the country with the most NHL players. The country with the second most: Sweden.

* Even without Nikita Kucherov, the Bolts should make the NHL playoffs in defense of their Stanley Cup. Without Charlie Morton and Blake Snell, the Rays won’t make the MLB playoffs in defense of their American League pennant.

* “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”–Rays General Manager Erik Neander.

* “The U.S. would not be a society divided into insulated winners and angry losers had it not believed its own rhetoric about the unimpeachable virtues of its liberal capitalist system after the collapse of the Soviet Union.”–Pankaj Mishra, author of “Age of Anger: A History of the Present.”

* “The United States has become a values-free international actor under a president who has led a values-free life.”–Roger Cohen, New York Times.

* “We accept the results of the Electoral College and ask that you bless President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.”–Senate chaplain Barry Black.

* “Further attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election are contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the already determined election results.”–Statement from a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah.

* “(Trump’s) so unspooled—and so unable to come to terms with losing—that he’s willing to try torching democracy to soothe himself.”--Timothy O’Brien, author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald.”

* “The scheme by members of Congress to reject the certification of the presidential election makes a mockery of our system and who we are as Americans.”–Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

* “These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people’s sadness.”–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

* “She is reduced to hollering about socialism. Perhaps with an eye on 2024, Nikki Haley figures nonsensical accusations are the way to gain favor in her intellectually vacant party.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.

* “I think it’s very hard to get back to to the way things were. … But if any president can make headway in this era of gall and grievance, it’s Biden. He was elected to soothe rather than stir, plod rather than strut, and by all appearances so far, he understands that.”–Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney.

* “President-elect Biden is a legislator by avocation, by training, by instinct, by experience in a way that former President Obama was not.”–Republican consultant Michael Steel, former adviser to GOP House Speaker John Boehner.

* “In March, we asked you to stay home to help us save lives. Now we are asking you to get vaccinated. … When you are called, please say yes.”–Dr. Joan Bregstein, attending physician in the department of emergency medicine at Columbia University.

* “COVID-19 restrictions are not like a diet. We can’t skip a day of following the plan and make up for it the next.”–Connie Schultz, Creators.Com.

* “I see promise in the year ahead, and not just on COVID-19. I think we also have a chance to make concrete progress on another major global challenge: climate change. There are a number of reasons—including a United Nations summit hosted by the U.K.–to believe that 2021 can be an important year in the effort to avoid a climate disaster.”–Bill Gates.

* “David Jolly may never be in office because the system is set up to block independent runs. But it’s an indictment of our system if an independent isn’t viable. Florida is exactly the forum where an independent candidate should be viable.”–Former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly, who left the GOP in a public split over allegiance to Donald Trump.

* “Leadership rises to the top when you’re in trouble, and in Florida we’re in trouble. I’ll continue to listen to the people, and I’ll see where it takes me. I’m excited about the future in Florida.”–Florida Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings, who was vetted for vice president and is a target for speculation about a U.S. Senate or gubernatorial run next year.

* “If you are 65 and older, you are going to get access to this (vaccine)). It may not be today for everyone, may not be next week. But over the next many weeks, as long as we continue getting the supply, you’re going to have the opportunity to get this.”–Gov. Ron DeSantis.

* “For the arts, I see a steady return of our audiences as comfort level grows. There will be an appreciation for gathering as a community for live performance that hasn’t been seen since before the digital age.”–Susan Crockett, president and CEO of Ruth Eckerd Hall.

* “In this Tampa Bay market region, it’s going to be a continuation of peak demand. I think you’re going to see home values increase—from what I’m reading, it could be upwards of 20 percent.”–Jennifer Motsinger, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

* “I don’t see any layoffs coming in Tampa, but every local government will have to deal with revenue cuts.”–Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder.

“A Republic, if you can keep it.”

* We’ve all heard the scenarios for Trump’s post-Inauguration agenda. They unsurprisingly center on his “brand.” From a Trump Moscow hotel and media empire to a political monarchy and a 2024 campaign reboot.

His classless, temper-tantrum exit is, in part, a narcissistic knee-jerk response to losing. The other part is orchestration. In whatever manifestation, Trump will be lurking–and looking to undermine the Biden Administration on everything from a COVID-ambushed economy and “socialism” to “exoneration” on Russian election help and the need for environmental deregulation, immigration limits, a completed border wall, as well as law-and-order edicts, racist dog whistles and “America First” unilateralism. Plus, Hunter Biden slander, “fake news” excoriations, more money advocated for stimulus checks, and credit for his pardons—from unscrupulous felons of fealty and the sleazy father of his son in law to murdering mercenaries. It’s the Trump version of: “If you support me and our great country, I’ve got your back. And, BTW, I’m the one who wanted $2,000 stimulus checks for our great Americans—not that disgraceful $600.”

And it hardly hurts that the Trump/GOP blitz of fund-raising raked in serious 9 figures since Election Day. More than $60 million of that has gone to a new PAC that Trump will control after he, finally, leaves office.

* “Fabulous” is how Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin described the bipartisan $900 billion stimulus deal. President Trump called it a “disgrace.” Speaking of disgraces, Mnuchin’s belittlement and blindsiding are nothing new or shocking. Ask Rex Tillerson or Mark Esper or Jeff Sessions or … .

* Imagine, in the tragic and convoluted context of a pandemic, “government shutdown” is still part of the conversation.

* New Year’s resolutions we’ll never see:

^“Country first.”–Republican Party.

^“Let’s put aside partisan politics and help the new administration help all Americans. We’re all in this together.”–Former President Donald Trump.

^“Here’s hoping the new administration does more in the Middle East than make weapons sales to Arab autocrats with under-the-radar ties to Israel. But please remember, I’m still available to help out in actually advancing peace and actually helping the Palestinians; remember them?”–Jared Kushner.

* Historic tandem:Kamala Harris will make history as the first female (and notably of color) vice president. Moreover, by leaving her California senate seat, she opened up an opportunity for her successor, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. A child of Mexican immigrants, Padilla has been appointed Harris’ successor by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He will become California’s first Latino senator—still somewhat surprising in a state with a population that is 40 percent Hispanic.

* Obviously there’s a lot riding on the Georgia senatorial run-off races. It’s encouraging that the two Democratic candidates, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnook, have raised more than $100 million apiece over the last two months, according to the Federal Election Commission. Their GOPster counterparts, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, have raised about a third less. Yes, money and politics is not exactly a democratic ideal. But in this pragmatic, political universe, fund-raising means credibility and support—and often the difference between winning and losing. Go, Jon and Rev. Ralph.

* “If the president is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction.”–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.