Category: Uncategorized

* The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is not what it used to be. For now, that’s an upgrade–especially after last year’s cringe-worthy “performance” by comedian Michelle Wolf that should have embarrassed both journalists and Democrats. The scaled-down event is now sans keynote comedian–as well as incumbent president–and is no longer enthralled with red-carpet celebrities. It highlights and prioritizes journalism in a society that has never needed it more. And replacing a comedian with historian-and-author Ron Chernow was a decided plus. “We are all Team USA,” underscored the ‘Alexander Hamilton’ author, “not members of enemy camps.” Amen.

And sometimes, of course, you add by subtracting. Donald Trump doesn’t deign to show up for the WHCD now that he’s president and not merely a pop culture celeb. How ironic for a “tough guy” who doesn’t back down and gives as good as he gets–but not in the interests of egalitarian humor. That’s because narcissists don’t laugh at themselves; they mock others and provide an inviting target.

* According to the Washington Post, Trump has made more than 10,000 false or misleading claims since he took office. For those scoring at home, that’s about 26 claims per day. But then again, you know WaPo; they always round up.

Insolvent in 2035? Two words: means test. It’s as fiscally pragmatic as it is societally fair.

* Mayor Jane Castor has indicated that she would like to see the Rays relocate to Tampa. The issues–including the legal option for the Rays to re-open a Tampa search–are beyond formidable.

And this much still seems obvious. If Tampa ultimately is not a stadium-site choice, then that choice will be outside this regional market. St. Petersburg, for all the hipness around downtown and the bay front and the redevelopment possibilities around the Trop site, is still not a winner for the Rays. Unless the Red Sox or the Yankees are in town, the Rays–with MLB’s best record at this writing–still struggle to draw more than 9,000 per game in St. Pete.

* “The current president (of the United States) doesn’t care about the West. He is a nationalist. He is America alone.”–Gerard Araud, French ambassador to the U.S.

* “We’re digging a hole for ourselves. It’s not like the rest of the world is going to sit by while we get our act together. So rivals take advantage. Allies start to lose faith and hedge.”–William J. Burns, deputy secretary of state during the Obama Administration.

* “Our mission is to champion the American way of life.”–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

* “Pyongyang is growing bolder in its sanctions evasion. … And some sanction specialists worry that mixed signals from the Trump Administration may further undermine global enforcement.”–Jeanne Whalen, Washington Post.

* “You don’t know if this is an aberration or not, if Trump is something outside, and he’s going to lose, and we’ll forget. Or, is he the first of the mad Roman emperors?”–Historian and biographer Robert A. Caro.

* “The founders put the impeachment clause in the Constitution to allow Congress to hold accountable, between elections, a president who’s abusing power. They specified that “high crimes and misdemeanors” are not necessarily crimes on the books but arise from the singular power of the presidency.”–Elizabeth Drew, author of “Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon’s Downfall.”

* “Under this president and this vice president, no one is taking your guns.”–Vice President Mike Pence, in addressing the NRA in Indianapolis.

* “There is no patriotism in Trump’s GOP. Only cowardly opportunism.”–Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

* “If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation–who we are. And I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”–Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

* “Some candidates will run promising transformational change. Biden offers a restoration of the values that bind us as a collective.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “Don’t let the agenda stray from the argument that (Biden) can deliver us from Trump.”–Former Bill Clinton adviser Paul Begala.

* “2020 is shaping up to be an especially competitive election and, particularly in many large states including Florida with significant Latino populations, we have no doubt Hispanic America will play a key role in picking the next president and which party controls Congress.”–Univision CEO Vince Sadusky, in responding to data that show Hispanics are the fastest-growing portion of Florida’s electorate heading into the 2020 election.

* “Hospitals are the biggest employers in many parts of rural America. What do you think will happen to those jobs if Medicaid is hollowed out?”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.

* “We cannot just single-source our politics through one party.”–Tom Wilson, chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors and CEO of Allstate Corp.

* “We have to  think about our privilege. I have to think about my privilege every day.”–Melinda Gates.

* “We all deserve control over our digital lives.”–Apple CEO Tim Cook, 2019.

* “Privacy means that people know what they’re signing up for.”–Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, 1992.

* “(I’m) confident that when all is said and done, the ban on oil drilling off of Florida’s coasts will remain in place.”–Sen. Marco Rubio. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has declined to publicly rule out drilling off any state, including Florida.

* “Our prison system is a mess. It’s understaffed, with little money for training, promotion, inmate programs or facility repair. We incarcerate nearly 100,000 inmates at an annual cost of nearly $2.5 billion.”–Former Republican–now NPA–State legislator Paula Dockery.

* “We cannot regulate our way to clean water, plentiful wildlife and preserved wild spaces. … Conservation land acquisition is the most effective and, over time, least expensive solution to address our state’s most pressing environmental problems.”–Estus Whitfield, founding member of the Florida Conservation Coalition.

* “If you want the best for Tampa, you want Jane Castor to succeed as mayor.”–David Straz.

* “Judge me 20 years from now.”–Former Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* The one place where you really, really don’t want inexperience, incompetence, political pandering and Trumpian chaos is at the Department of Homeland Security. This is everybody’s security.

* Since when is “spy” a synonym for “investigate”?  Since William Barr became attorney general.

* Here’s some context about America’s $20 trillion economy that is easily overlooked when talking about the robust stock market and the low unemployment rate. According to a recent NPR/Marist survey, a full 30 percent of Americans do something else for pay in addition to their fulltime jobs.

* “I know nothing about WikiLeaks.”–President Donald Trump, 2019. “Boy, I love reading WikiLeaks.”–Donald Trump, 2016.

* “TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next.”–What Donald Trump tweeted after holding the Miss Universe pageant in Russia in 2013.

* “If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer.” Another outtake from the Oval Orifice. No, you can’t make this stuff up.

* Amid all the collateral interest and controversy about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, let’s not forget this: Timing is everything. Within an hour of the release of those infamous “Access Hollywood” tapes that could have been so damaging to the Trump candidacy, WikiLeaks had the Russian-hacked Clinton tapes out. And they kept on coming. It was more than enough to divert the news cycle from Trump’s sexual-assault braggadocio to the base-rallying, “Lock her up” chorus.

* Some “design errors” are better than others.

Walter Smith II, who is in a runoff against Joe Citro for a citywide City Council seat, has acknowledged a “design error” in a campaign palm card that referenced the fact that Smith is a “Democrat.” That’s a technical violation of a state statute that prohibits listing a candidate’s party affiliation in an officially nonpartisan election. Oops. A new batch, sans party affiliation, was ordered and distributed.

But maybe there’s an upside to this rookie mistake by a volunteer. It was newsworthy enough to be a prominent, page-one piece in the Tampa Bay Times, which contextually reminded readers that while Citro was also a Democrat, he had been a Republican for his other city council runs in 2007, 2011 and 2015. In effect, the Times’ was reminding readers, including ever-anxious progressives, that Smith is no recent convert in a city where the electorate is more blue than red.

* Here’s one takeaway–besides a surprisingly raucous vibe–from that mayoral debate at Tampa Theatre. No new moderator-questions for the candidates. While transportation, neighborhoods, affordable housing and sustainability deserve to be constants, some others are no less relevant than red light cameras. To wit:

            >The Cuban roots of Tampa are a given. Before there was Miami, there was Tampa. As mayor, would you be proactive–as opposed to the incumbent–in pursuing closer contact with Cuba–such as working to recruit a Cuban consulate here?

            >While this is a nonpartisan race, Tampa is more “D” than “R,” and voters know who’s what. Why are you–both of you–registered Democrats, when you both used to be Republicans? Is this political pragmatism or ideological epiphany?

            >We’re all familiar with the phrase “all politics is local.” But some have made the case that Donald Trump has altered that axiom. Just ask Rick Baker. Is it appropriate to reference Trump in the context of this city’s mayor’s election, including one candidate’s “close ties to Trump-linked lobbying firm” and the other candidate’s “apology” for having voted for him?

            >A couple of years ago Mayor Bob Buckhorn, along with his counterparts from several other major Florida cities, tried making the case in Tallahassee for holding city-only referenda. It was driven by transportation initiatives that cities, such as Tampa and St. Petersburg, wanted, but their county residents didn’t. Thus they were defeated. Call it self-determination denied–as well as gridlock maintained. Would you be in favor of making the case that cities such as Tampa should be able to control their own destinies–and not have them negated by those with different priorities who don’t actually live there?

* In a Democratic presidential-candidate field expected to morph to 20 or more, there’s an acute need for media attention. Having said that, serious candidates ought to at least make their formal announcement in an appropriate forum. Hometowns always work well. Nothing like the optics of roots and an energetic gaggle of family, friends and political supporters.

Eric Swalwell, the 30-something congressman from California, didn’t get that memo. He formally announced his candidacy on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

We get the pragmatic motivation and value–especially for the name-recognition-challenged–of appearing on forums, including televised town halls, that put a candidate in front of large national audiences. It would be unconscionably dumb to do otherwise. And this goes back to John F. Kennedy appearing on “The Tonight Show” with Jack Paar. But that’s not where candidates should be making their formal announcement, unless they’re trying to underscore that politics and show business have become increasingly inseparable.  

* Next month Florida’s Cabinet will meet in Jerusalem, not Tallahassee. Arguably, that can be seen as Florida reaching out to Israel over shared values. And it makes economic and cultural sense. Hosted by Enterprise Florida, the road show is also politically pragmatic for a governor anxious to underscore that he wants to be America’s most pro-Israel governor–in a state with 470,000 Jewish voters. We get that too, even if Bibi Netanyahu has morphed into one of the more ironic, right-wing heads of state. 

But a Cabinet Meeting at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem? This isn’t the same as a relocated Florida Cabinet meeting at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds. This isn’t even lip service to open meetings laws.

* Gunshine Update: It looks, ironically, like the most impactful legislation ultimately resulting from the Parkland massacre will be more guns in schools. Too bad there are no high-profile, well-compensated lobbyists making the Tallahassee case for common sense, public safety and a 21st-century, society-serving interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Gun-free zones? There’s a better chance of bringing back the sales tax on services.

* The U.S. is among the 50 or so countries that recognize Juan Guaidó –and not Nicolás

Maduro–as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Prominent among those who still back Maduro: Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey. One of these is not like the others: Turkey, a fellow NATO ally, so to speak.

Moreover, why is Turkey, which has never been invited into the European Union and is negotiating with Russia on the sale of advanced Russian missiles, still in NATO? Because it’s easier to keep an eye on?

* We know the disturbing impact that the NRA has on this country’s–and this state’s–gun culture and politics. But it’s also a foreign force as it exports its gun-rights agenda and counsel beyond the U.S. This includes–ironically for the uber-“patriot” organization–advising gun activists in Russia. It’s hardly far-fetched to imagine that relationship enabling Russian operatives to use the NRA to influence American politics, which kind of sounds like, well, collusion. The Founding Fathers would not be pleased.

* For the TB Lightning, this has been the year of matching history: No team has ever won more games (62) in a season in NHL history. Wow. Alas, the Bolts also  made history against Columbus. They became the first such history-matching team to lose a first-round playoff series. Moreover, they were swept, 4-0. Ouch. From destiny to despair. Where were you in 62?

Remember how last season ended? Utter disappointment. This year? Utterly embarrassing. To be followed by off-season second-guessing, re-evaluation and speculation.

And, no, don’t look for any ceremony for the Presidents’ Trophy that’s annually awarded to the NHL team with the most regular-season points. And, yes, it’s more than noteworthy that the head coach of Columbus is former Lightning head coach John Tortorella and one of his assistants is Marty St. Louis.

* No, that wasn’t a green-jacketed hologram at Augusta National. Tiger Woods really did win his fifth Master’s Tournament–the first one since George W. Bush was president. A fallen hero resurrected. Good for him; better for golf.