Category: Uncategorized

* “America was always strong on self-interest, but it has been very generous. That generosity seems to be gone, and that’s bad news for the world.”–Jan Techau, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

* “This crisis has exposed the deep fissures and failures in our culture and the incompetence of so many of our federal leaders. And a reckoning must be had; we are already seeing calls for an inquiry akin to the 9/11 commission into why we were so unprepared. … Many Americans are likely to die who could have been protected had the nation been better prepared and better led. Top-down direction is critical.”–Anne-Marie Slaughter, chief executive of New America.

* “There is broad general agreement that small businesses in this country will not be able to survive unless there is extraordinary assistance.”–Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

* “When the government shut down the economy, it assumed the responsibility of bringing it back.”–Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, in the aftermath of the government stepping in with $2 trillion rescue legislation.

* “We are actively monitoring the situation and the possible impact of the crisis on consumer demand. When we can safely resume production, we will.”–General Motors spokesman David Barnass, while announcing that GM would be suspending production at its North American factories indefinitely, laying off 6,500 salaried employees and cutting executive pay.

* “Really, the message is this: that this is a unique situation, it’s not like a typical downturn. The Federal Reserve is working hard to support you now, and our policies will be very important when the recovery does come.”–Fed Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell.

* “Philanthropy can’t replace the efforts of national governments on a challenge as massive as the coronavirus pandemic. But it can support and augment those efforts, and help fill in gaps, and that’s what we’re doing.”–Michael Bloomberg.

* “There is hope in the fact that the impressive containment achieved so far in East Asia has been accomplished with a variety of different policies, different degrees of lockdown and distancing, but one major commonality: the wide-spread use of masks.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.

* “It doesn’t matter that at least half of what (Trump’s) saying is at best wrong and at worst encourages people to do the wrong things. He’s the leader. And the media is basically doing what it did in 2016 and giving the reality-TV star what he wants.”–Bob Kerrey, former Democratic senator and governor of Nebraska.

* “Right now, for the life of me, I don’t know who speaks for Department of Homeland Security.”–Janet Napolitano, former secretary of homeland security under Barack Obama.

* “Polls say Trump’s popularity had edged up a little since the virus struck. The fact remains that, for a wartime commander in chief, he’s unpopular. He is beatable. So is the virus, because America is smarter and better than Trump’s hunches.”–Roger Cohen, New York Times.

* “In this hour of crisis, state officials should do all they can to hold their elections as soon as possible. The legitimacy of the eventual Democratic nominee could depend on it.”–Historian Jon Meacham.

* “Only fools would expect the government to protect them from the spread of this powerful and deadly disease. Isolation is critical.”–Jay Wolfson, a professor at USF’s College of Public Health and an expert on health care policy.

* “(President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis) have both shown strong leadership, and Floridians are better off because of their response to this virus. … The media will never give President Trump or Gov. DeSantis a fair shake. But to my eye, they have been working together tirelessly to protect us from this threat.”–Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

* “After all the hard work, we don’t want it to now get seeded as people flee the hot zone.”–Gov. Ron DeSantis, in issuing executive orders that require a 14-day quarantine for travelers newly arriving from the New York area, currently the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.

* “We need to modernize our voting systems to protect voters, and our partnership  with the DNC to enroll Floridians in vote-by-mail does just that. If Trump and DeSantis won’t act to protect the vote from a global pandemic, we will.”–Juan Penalosa, the Florida Democratic Party’s executive director, in reference to the FDP and the DNC partnering to launch a massive texting campaign to encourage Floridians to register to vote by mail.

* “As a company that started as a small business 90 years ago, Publix wants to help businesses renting from us survive the economic impact of these unexpected closures.”–Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous, in announcing that Publix was waiving rent for two months to businesses that operate in any of the 282 shopping centers that Publix owns.

* “To alleviate some of your stress during this time of uncertainty, USF is giving you the option to take your spring 2020 semester classes with a satisfactory or unsatisfactory (pass-fail) grade,”–Paul Dosal, USF’s vice president for student success. USF, FSU and UCF are expanding pass-fail grading due to the coronavirus.

* “The reality is this is going to be a long haul.”–Mayor Jane Castor.

 “A republic, if you can keep it.”

“Little Rocket Man” or “the perfect call” now seem almost innocuous.

What’s really worrisome is how this vain, rogue president’s bullsh*t pulpit is currently being utilized. Impulsive, deceitful, misleadingly narcissist responses to reporters during a national and global crisis–after having ineptly presided over a manifestly negligent coronavirus preparation–should be an impeachable offense. It’s costing lives. It’s hardly coincidental that the White House pandemic office was disbanded in 2018, and that Trump cut funding for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and shut down the global-health-security unit of the National Security Council. It was all unnecessary “overhead” to a “stable genius” businessman with other base-promised, budget priorities.

I watched the press-conference interaction between NBC’s Peter Alexander and the Fabulist-in-chief. Alexander was channeling most Americans when he asked what the president would say to all those Americans marooned at home and frightened by the unknown. In response, Trump wasn’t the avatar of calm and information; he didn’t exactly channel FDR or Barack Obama. More like Neville Chamberlain meets Richard Nixon. That’s because Trump doesn’t do “reassurance,” except when self-servingly misrepresenting what Dr. Anthony Fauci really thinks, which should be a pandemic high crime.

He doesn’t do “fireside chats”–more like flamethrower clamor. He doesn’t use the mass media to inform and reassure, he abuses it to demonize, scapegoat and elude responsibility, which should qualify as no less than an unconscionable misdemeanor of unpatriotic self service.

Back to the press conference. Trump’s message to anxious Americans yearning for factual information, compassion and trust: “I say that you’re a terrible reporter,” responded Trump to Alexander. “I think it’s a very bad signal that you’re putting out. The American people are looking for answers and they’re looking for hope. And you’re doing sensationalism.”

Granted, Alexander’s question wasn’t without a trace of “gotcha.” It comes with the medium. But it also comes with presidential accountability. It should be POTUS 101; presidents, of all people, ought to know how to handle incoming–especially when they’re speaking directly to the American people during a national, let alone global, emergency. No matter who asked the question; no matter how it was asked. But as we’ve been continuously reminded: You can’t fake class, competence and trustworthiness.

Here’s a suggestion: Mainstream media should stop covering live this Trump exercise in state propaganda. It’s a forum for misinformation that enables avoidable death. Recall how the media helped elect Trump, who was perversely “great copy,” by covering his wise-guy rallies and interrupting regular programming so the network could go live for more “Enemy of the people,” “Lock her up” rhetoric. Now, this unhinged charlatan is actually president, and what he says matters so much more than during his Rev. Jim Jones-as-presidential-candidate rallies. In short, mainstream media should stop live coverage because the truth matters. Now more than ever.

* Alas, thanks to technology and the 24-7 news cycle, we really can’t distance ourselves from Trump.

* “Heckuva job, Brownie” never seemed so nostalgic.

* Another day at the Oval Orifice. Needing good, if inaccurate, news to maintain his “stable genius” self-image, Trump announced that “Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They’ve made tremendous progress.” That was also news to Google, whose Verily subsidiary was in the start-up phase of a website that would let people evaluate their symptoms and direct them to drive-through locations for testing. A pilot program is being planned, but the website hasn’t been launched yet. Other than that, Trump’s calculatingly optimistic update was spot on.

* “The Deep State Department”: How Trump disparagingly referenced America’s diplomats at a recent press briefing.

* “@realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.” That was sycophantic Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Parallel Universe.

* “I didn’t say the end would be signaled by trumpets, I said Trump/Pence.”–God.

* Not all countries are equally vulnerable to the coronavirus. Exhibit A: Estonia. The tech-savvy, Baltic nation of 1.3 million has a dynamic economy, a good chunk of which, fortunately, is digital. That includes companies that can deliver services digitally and where employees can work from home.

* We’ve seen effective, draconian lockdowns in China–as only an authoritarian government can enforce. Too bad an authoritarian approach to transparency can’t work.

* The Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin on July 24, are now postponed. Finally. For a time, it seemed that denial had become an Olympic sport.   

* “The federal government’s not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we’re not a shipping clerk.”–That was the Unifier-in-chief, inimitably explaining that it was largely up to governors to deal with a dire shortage of masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to protect medical workers from the coronavirus.

* “At this point in the emergency, there’s little merit in spending time on what we should have done or who’s at fault.” That was Adm. Tim Ziemer, whose perspective is well grounded. He led the pandemic response unit on the National Security Council–before it was disbanded under Trump.

* “The best case is that the virus mutates and actually dies out. Only in movies do viruses seem to become worse.” That was Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who was actually a consultant for the movie “Contagion,” now streaming back into popularity.

* For self-isolation perspective, Anne Frank and seven others hid in a 450 square-foot attic for 761 days–quietly trying to remain undiscovered to stay alive.

* “Touch elbows and smile. That works, as long as the warmth is there.”–Tampa City Council member Charlie Miranda on how Latin culture–where showing affection through touch is a given–can be altered for the common good.

* Smart, activist move by the Biden campaign to get the candidate a higher profile and cede less media coverage to Trump. Biden will be more of a presence on the airwaves, and to that end, his Delaware home now has a makeshift TV studio. The juxtaposition will be worth it. The more Trump opens his mouth and dissembles about the latest COVID update, the more presidential Biden can look.

* Mike Bloomberg’s $18 million contribution to the DNC far exceeds individual limits, but is legal because it comes in the form of a campaign transfer.  

* Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the last woman out in the primary, has now endorsed Joe Biden. Back in 2016, she had endorsed Bernie Sanders. She could also be back in the news cycle if Hawaii activates the National Guard. Gabbard, 38, is a major in the Army National Guard.

* “The core values of this nation, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America–America–is at stake.”–Joe Biden.

* That was quite the classy, full-page ad in Sunday’s Tampa Bay Times from the Kraft Family and the New England Patriots. They thanked Tom Brady for “20 amazing years” and encouraged “Buccaneers fans and Tampa Bay community (to) take care of him. You got a great one.”

Plus, the Times got a great, most welcome, full-page ad.

* “Artivists.”  A hybrid of artist and activist. It’s a way to engage the masses–who wouldn’t necessarily patronize a museum–in street art.

* “Telehealth.” The practice of letting doctors consult with patients on line, including from one state to another.

Tom Brady has joined the Bucs. Good.

Maybe an iconic 42-year-old QB can still be the vote-of-confidence difference-maker the Bucs, a playoff-potential team with lagging attendance, need. And maybe this will be what Brady really wants: Out from under Bill Billichek, distance from a relatively frustrating season, a new challenge, super star money and the ultimate affirmation of legendary status. That would happen if he can succeed with the Bucs, who haven’t qualified for the postseason since 2007 and have had only one winning season in the past decade. By all accounts, Brady has sent the right signals by familiarizing himself with Bruce Arians’ system and requesting phone numbers of future Bucs teammates.

But already there is a confirmed winner. We really needed this diversion.

* The experience of other countries shows that softness and liberality are allies of the coronavirus.”–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

* “The low number of confirmed cases in published reports does not show the true number of people who have been infected by the virus in Miami, or anywhere else in the USA, for that matter. It only reflects where we should be testing.” Excerpt from a letter issued by 75 emergency room doctors, nurses and physicians’ assistants in Miami, the epicenter of Florida’s outbreak.

* “Today nearly all adults are eligible to vote, and yet because of the Electoral College, their votes do not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most can, and does, lose. … If candidates knew that they needed the most votes in the country, rather than the most votes in a few key districts in a few battleground states, they would base their appeals on what voters wanted rather than on where they happened to live.”–Jesse Wegman, author of “Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College.”

* “Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress, but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.”–Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.

* “We’re talking about a president who is basically doing what Herbert Hoover did at the beginning of the Depression and minimizing the danger and refusing to use available federal action. And people are going to die, and they shouldn’t, they don’t have to, if we could get the support that we’re asking for.”–New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

* “The typical modus operandi from (Trump) is to bluff, is to fake, is to deny. He always was more focused on who he could blame versus fixing the problem.”–Jack O’Donnell, former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

* “The only industry that hasn’t been slowed down by the virus is the lobbying industry.”–Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on the frantic efforts by lobbyists to get a piece of a proposed $2 trillion relief package.

* “When a scourge is upon us, immunization starts looking pretty good.”–Los Angeles Times.

* “Those three-word sentences can make all the difference: ‘I miss you.’ ‘I love you.'”–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

* “For us to stay open right now was just not the right thing. The social responsibility that we possess is much greater than the need for group dining right now.”–Ferrell Alvarez, co-owner of  Proper, a Tampa restaurant.

* “Social distancing is essential to defeat this pandemic, however, we should be very mindful of the consequences of social isolation. … For many (abuse) victims and survivors, staying at home is not the safest option.”–Dr. Abraham Salinas-Miranda, director of the Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence at USF.

* “There is no precedent. Whatever we have experienced, it’s not this.”–Visit St. Pete/Clearwater CEO Steven Hayes.

* “I do know one thing for certain: When this has passed, people will need the beautiful, historic Tampa Theatre more than ever as a place to gather, embrace each other, and celebrate our collective humanity once again.”–John Bell, president and CEO of Tampa Theatre, in announcing that the theatre was extending its COVID closure until at least April 30.

* “We’re very much planning in the dark. … The good news is because we have worked so hard to build Tampa Bay’s platform, we have got a shot of more rapid recovery than most.”–Bob Morrison, head of the Hillsborough County Hotel and Motel Association.

 “A republic, if you can keep it.”

* “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” That was Founding Father James Madison waxing all too prescient.

* Now more than ever, we could use a “very stable genius” in the White House, one who could pivot to Empathizer-in-chief in a national emergency. Not one who politicizes and pathologically misinforms on everything important, from climate change to “alien” immigration to post-hurricane Puerto Rico to the coronavirus to–whatever’s next up before Trump is voted out before it’s too late.

* Too bad Alec Baldwin wasn’t available for that coronavirus address to the nation by President Trump. He would have been more credible. Trump is out of his league with a TelePrompTer if it doesn’t reflect his favorite last-call, barroom language fit for a “Lock it Up” Trump rally.

* “Leadership: Whatever happens, you’re responsible. If it doesn’t happen, you’re responsible.” That was Trump targeting and trolling Barack Obama in 2013.

* “No, I don’t take responsibility at all.” That was Trump in a March 2020 press conference, responding to a question about this country’s flagrant delay in coronavirus testing. Presumably,his disbanding of the White House pandemic office in 2018 was just an ironic coincidence.

* “The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation far beyond what the facts would warrant.” Yes, that was the Inflamer-in-chief doing what he does–undoing confidence in government wherewithal in a time of crisis.

* The European Union was insulted, angered and worse over America’s unilateral decision on a travel ban from Europe. This is not how the world confronts a common enemy. Not that Americans or Europeans should be shocked, even by something that is so globally counterproductive. We saw it coming with Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, renouncing the Iran nuclear deal and pleasing Vladimir Putin by periodically demeaning and threatening to withdraw from NATO. 

Speaking of NATO, recall that after 9/11, the NATO alliance stepped up and invoked Article V of its charter that an attack on one–such as the U.S.–was an attack on all. That was then; this is not.

* Here’s an ironic quote: “I believe that together we can make America great again.” That was Bill Clinton, courtesy of the four-part Hulu documentary “Hillary,” announcing his 1992 candidacy for president of an America that didn’t look like this version.

* I miss Ronald Reagan. He was a nice guy and could credibly read a speech.

“March Madness,” indeed. This is the one we didn’t see coming. SARS and Ebola didn’t have this impact. Neither did storm-porn, Hurricane spaghetti models. Neither did the Great Recession. Nor 9/11. Nor the 2016 election.

It’s because–tension and fear notwithstanding–we still had diversions and escapes. That’s been the model. A night–however sobering the context–out. A movie, a play, a concert, a museum, a game, a festival, an Airfest, a Grand Prix, a river greening, a happy hour. We need our diversions and escapes. Physically and psychologically. Self isolation, however prudent, can be a depressant if you let it.

Ironically, the last movie-theater experience of my wife, Laraine, and I was the CineBistro showing of “The Invisible Man.” Too bad it wasn’t “The Invisible Movie.” Alas, a manipulative movie about an invisible, stalking menace was not an ideal choice, even though it was discount Tuesday with enough accumulated points to split a veggie burger.

When I think of the WHO, I want it to be about “Pinball Wizard” not “COVID-19.”

I miss being able to escape into the Lightning’s countdown to the playoffs, a new season of promise for the Rays and the upsets and buzzer-beaters that always define the NCAA’s “March Madness.” I miss a viable sports section to counteract apocalyptic updates.

An old SCOTUS Chief Justice Earl Warren quote now resonates more than ever. “I always turn to the sports pages first,” said Warren, “which records people’s accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.”

There’s always binge watching–such as “The Windsors” or “Chernobyl” or “Hillary”–but eventually the bar gets lowered for those who used to wonder what house arrest was like. But going out amid renegades means invoking the “six-foot rule.” I preferred its application to the Mons Venus. And not everybody who’s a fan of ESPN Classic is a follower of “Project Runway” or “Top Chef.” At-home compromise can be an issue.

But kicking back with a “quarantini” can help. As does a new Amazoned book or an old backgammon board. And whoever would have thought a presidential debate would qualify as a diversion? But we’re definitely passing on watching the 9-year old Warner Bros. movie “Contagion,” now one of the most popular rentals for video streaming services in 2020. I’d rather watch Matt Damon in “Ford vs. Ferrari,” which we did. Good flick. 

So, we’ve become avatars of social distancing and are self isolating, and by so doing–taking one for the team. With apologies to John F. Kennedy and Ted Sorensen: “Ask not what staying home on the couch can do for you, but what staying home on the couch can do for your country.”