Opinions to go Online

 

* Chad Chronister has announced that he will seek another term as Hillsborough County sheriff. No surprise. What would have been a surprise would be an announcement that he would no longer serve as a photo-op prop for Florida’s self-serving, “anti-woke” governor.

* Curfew reality: Clueless and/or absentee, enabling parents are the societal problem. Juvenile Lives—and those they impact—Matter.

* According to Zillow, Tampa Bay is the nation’s 10^th hottest real estate market for 2024. For context, “hot” includes home value appreciation, how long houses are on the market and job growth per new homes. Buffalo was #1. The only other Florida market was Orlando at #10.

*Tripadvisor has ranked St. Petersburg as the #2 Trending Destination in the country for 2024. Tripadvisor noted Fort De Soto Park, the Pinellas Trail, Sunken Gardens and access to Major League Baseball. Napa, Calif., was ranked #1.

* Florida remains just one of two states that allow a less-than-unanimous (8-4) jury verdict for the death penalty. The other state is Alabama, where the jury threshold is 10-2. For further context, Florida—with six executions—was second to Texas (eight) in the nation in 2023. That’s more than half of the country’s total executions this past year. Even more ignobly, Florida “leads” the U.S. in death row exonerees (30).

* “(Florida is) a refuge for freedom and sanity.”–Ron DiSastrous. Yeah, this is what freedom and sanity now look like.

* If we’re banning more books for schools, shouldn’t the governor’s politically self-serving (“The Courage To Be Free”) memoir—seemingly done with the aid of a Chatbot—be included?

* We know about Trump’s so-called Muslim ban. But there was an earlier GOP version—thanks to then-Rep. Ron DeSantis. In 2015, he introduced the Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act, which would have blocked entry of refugees from certain countries “if the alien is a national of, has habitually resided in, or is claiming refugee status due to events in any country containing terrorist-controlled territory.”

* The “Flee State of Florida”? So, Sean Hannity has relocated from New York to “the free state of Florida.” Too bad Gov. DiSastrous won’t fly him to Martha’s Vineyard.

* This state’s controversial Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo disagrees unsurprisingly again with the FDA, and has come out against COVID vaccine—specifically, those of Pfizer and Moderna for mRNA. Maybe it’s part of his “freedumb” DNA.

* NaPalm Beach update: Trump’s Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party featured Vanilla Ice. Ted Nugent must have already been booked. Also in attendance: lucky lackeys Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani. Not in attendance: Stormy and E. Jean.

* According to the Florida Department of Education, more than 20% of students in public schools, including adult education, missed 21 or more school days during the 2021-22 academic year.

* China is Florida’s biggest trading partner—for IMPORTED goods.

* “Symbols matter. They tell the world what we stand for and what we aspire to be.”–Jacksonville (Democratic) Mayor Donna Deegan, who ordered the removal of a prominent Confederate monument.

* As of 2022, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Florida still had 77 Confederate memorials.

* “To suppose that (newspapers) only serve to protect freedom would be to diminish their importance: they maintain civilization.”–Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835.

* Recent Economist magazine cover headline: “Donald Trump poses the biggest danger to the world in 2024.”

* If local media had an epiphany, it would spend a lot less time covering a Tarpon Springs cross toss.

 

* Israel: Denies genocide allegations at the UN’s International Court of Justice. Beyond ironic–including Germany coming to Israel’s defense.

Hamas: Not nearly enough blame for a horrific, terrorist attack.

Reality: A two-state solution—or no solution.

* Quiz: Who’s the president of Israel? It’s Isaac Herzog.

* The Buccaneers had their obvious shortcomings, but played into the final eight in the playoffs. The Bucs were in their fourth straight playoff appearance, the longest such streak among NFC teams. Also worthy of note: Making the playoffs can be a marketing coup—especially when an ABC/ESPN Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia home game is juxtaposed to those played in snowstorms.

* Alabama’s Nick Saban has retired. He went out on top with another College Football Playoff appearance. Bill Belichick didn’t get the post-Tom Brady memo soon enough.

* A presidential candidate who is a criminal defendant. Yes, that’s where we are.

* Post-election reality: If Trump were re-elected, would he order the DOJ to drop the charges against him? Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

* Is Trump a felon? Or just your basic unethical, immoral, unhinged, pathologically lying, narcissistic misogynist with demagogic aspirations?

* The Iowa caucuses provide valuable momentum. Just ask former President Rick Santorum.

* AI vs. AV: Trump claims that Lincoln Project Artificial Intelligence ads have been targeting him. Not true. But there is evidence of Authentic Vanity.

* Trump is largely–and manifestly–unread, and that obviously includes The Constitution—if not Mein Kampf.

* Loyalty Oaf: As it turns out, the man who’s linked forever more to the riotous, Jan. 6 insurrection, did not sign the Illinois loyalty oath—the one that says candidates won’t advocate for overthrowing the government. The pledge, dating back to the McCarthy era, is not mandatory. But it is routinely signed by candidates—including Trump in 2016 and 2020.

* “Donald Trump: He will sell the soul of this country.”–Chris Christie, who now regrets, he says, for having helped Trump get elected in 2016. Begged question: What did he possibly see in 2016 that supported his high-profile enabling and inner-circle support that included debate prep?

* Trump bragging rights: “For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it. And I’m proud to have done it.” Obvious takeaway: Abort this candidacy.

* “(Trump is) the most flawed person I’ve ever met.”–Former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly.

* “Dare to have more democracy.”–Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

* “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”–Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige.

* “Pathway to a Palestinian state” is the only way for Israel to achieve “genuine security.”–Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Alas, Bibi Netanyahu doesn’t agree.

* “The U.K. will not falter. We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.”–British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in unveiling a military-funding package worth $3.2 billion.

* “The U.S. could be sleepwalking into dictatorship.”–Liz Cheney.

* “A president has to have immunity.”–Donald Trump.

* “Whenever the far-right gains political traction in America, it’s usually at least partly due to an unglamorous, relatively inexpensive tactic: running for school board.”–Liza Featherstone, Jacobin.

* “Shutdown threats and months of obstruction by extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have been a hallmark of a year of chaos in the GOP-led House.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla.

* “Students should be focused on learning the truth about our country instead of being radicalized by woke ideologies in our college classrooms.”–Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz.

* “You don’t just want great physician scientists and nurses and techs and allied health professionals, you want to be in the state-of-the-art facilities with state-of-the-art technology.”–Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris. TGH has announced plans for a $500-million, 13-story, 565,000-square-foot addition to provide a state-of-the-art environment for neuroscience and transplant services.

* “I own it.”–Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Van Ayres, in reference to disappointing county school grades, including 23 D schools and 4 F schools—more than any other state district.

* “The resurgence of downtown has been good for us, and we’ve been an important part of that resurgence.”–Straz Center CEO Gregory Holland.

* “Donald Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Ron DeSantis, trying to out-Trump Trump, shot democracy in the middle of our courthouse—and he’s gotten away with it.”–Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who was suspended and replaced by the governor.

USF received a state-mandate to disband a pro-Palestinian student group. State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues called on schools to disband the local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine. Gov. Ron DiSastrous and Rodrigues think it’s tacit support for terrorism. USF is pushing back, as it should.

It’s also pushing forward.

It plans to host forums for civil discourse with differing viewpoints about the history of the region in the spring. Bottom line: This is about free speech and open dialogue. Disagreement is allowed—indeed, expected. It’s not for everyone’s endorsement—but for anyone’s civil participation.

It’s what universities—even those squirming under the ideological thumb of Tallahassee—do. It’s called disagreement with respect–for others and for the First Amendment. But not a place for antisemiticism, Islamophobia and cherry-picked reality. This is about common sense, common good, codes of conduct and intellectual and ideological exchange. Or what’s a university for?

Gov. DiSastrous is cutting the budget (to $114.4 billion). Priorities matter. “Smaller government” is the disingenuous rationale for an ideological micromanager. Ronald Reagan he isn’t.

But he still wants, unconscionably, to set aside $1 million for “any litigation expenses that may come as a result of this really, really poor decision by the College Football Playoff” to snub the undefeated ACC champion FSU Seminoles. AG Ashley Moody, of course, agrees. So does, for what it’s worth, Sen. Rick Scott.

But what’s the real bottom line? Maybe this governor thinks ‘Noles fans will forget about insurance premiums, abortion autocracy, Medicaid non-expansion and heavy-handed interference in public schools and universities and feel indebted for his “support.”

And maybe, he hopes, they won’t equate football pandering to, say, flying immigrants to Cape Cod. But maybe they will see a self-serving, diversionary tactic for what it is. We were used to grandstanding; now there’s “gridstanding.”

* Biden to donors: “Not sure I’d be running” if Trump were not in the 2024 presidential race. We get it, but don’t say it. It begs the question: why? The honest answer is not helpful.

* Remember November numbers: The unemployment rate drops to 3.7 percent; inflation down to 3.2 percent. The latter had been at 9 percent a little over a year ago. But, no, the pre-pandemic economy hasn’t returned.

* “One thing…that we have in common is: Neither of us will be the nominee of our party in 2024.” A Gavin Newsom debate jab at Ron DiSastrous.

* Vice President Kamala Harris set a new record by casting her 32^nd tie-breaking Senate vote. The previous record was held by John C. Calhoun (vice president from 1825-32). Most of Harris’ votes have involved judicial nominees, but it also notably includes the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act.

* Speaking of, the vice president is not just a rallying force for the pro-choice vote, but was the leader of the U.S. delegation to the UN Climate Summit in Dubai. Her portfolio gets an increasingly higher profile as the 2024 election nears. She has to look ready for whatever might lie ahead.

* The U.S. was the only UN Security Council member to not vote for a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

* “While the Democratic and Republican parties increasingly cater to the extreme, most Americans are moderate, level-headed folks, and they are plain worn out.”–West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who won’t be running for re-election, but will be looking to build a common-ground, middle-of-the-road movement. Yeah.

* With another cult-rally-around-Trump candidacy looming, a fractious Democratic coalition is hardly helpful.