Opinions to go Online

* Leaf blowers? A lot of neighbors would call them leaf relocaters.

* “I’m a stranger in a strange land.”–Carson McCullers. It still resonates.

* Could Dr. Oz be elected U.S. senator from Pennsylvania? Only if he gets through the Republican primary against the Tin Man.

* If God dropped acid, would He see people?

* “Irish Americans think they’re more Irish than the Irish.” That was Irish-American President Joe Biden speaking Irish-humored truth to how American Micks, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, look at their identity. BTW, if your wedding anniversary is St. Patrick’s Day (and it is), you stay home that night—when all the amateur Irish are out, uh, celebrating.

* Used car lot: “Second-hand cars in first-crash condition.”

* Garbage truck: “We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got.”

* Under New York City’s current (private employer) vaccination mandate, unvaccinated New York Yankees’ and New York Mets’ players will not be able to play in home games at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field. Reportedly, two Yankees remain unvaxxed. Reportedly, one is Aaron Judge, who has avoided answering direct questions directly.

*USF’s softball pitcher extraordinaire Georgina Corrick has already earned a B.A. in marine biology and is now pursuing a master’s in global sustainability. So, no, “student-athlete” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron—and that should include revenue sports too.

* The University of Minnesota’s Gable Stevenson won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling last year and has now won his third straight NCAA (heavyweight) title. The next step? Accomplished counterparts in football, basketball or baseball would be gearing up for the NFL, NBA or MLB. An uber-successful wrestler? The cartoonish sideshow known as WWE.

* The Bucs will undoubtedly be a better team with the return of GOAT-quarterback Tom Brady. We’re already seeing the ripple effects with personnel. But at some level, wouldn’t it be refreshingly classy to go out on top? Joe Namath and Willie Mays would likely agree.

* Tom Brady’s “final” TD pass (to Mike Evans) football sold on auction for more than half a million dollars. But now, oops, Brady has unretired. So it better not be his final TD pass.

* This just in: Donald Trump says that if (wink and nod) he runs in 2024, his running mate will definitely not be former VP Mike Pence. Something about Pence being of no help in overturning the 2020 presidential election results. But Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are likely still in the running.

* The GOP is always looking for an “anti-woke” hero. The top three: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Vlad Putin.

* “Trump is stuck on the fringe of his party, sharing the wrong side of a moral divide with Tucker Carlson, J.D. Vance, Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene.”–Maureen Dowd, NYT.

* “Truth is hard, but QAnon is easy.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “(Putin) perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose. But what he might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time given the significant costs he is incurring.”–Avril Haines, director of national intelligence.

* “Moscow’s multiple brutal stabs into Urkraine are revitalizing the NATO military alliance as nothing else ever has. EU nations are openly discussing increasing military budgets. … Popular opinion in Europe, and around the world, is squarely in the Ukrainian camp.”–Robert Bruce Adolph, former U.N. security chief.

* “Just as the West is rightfully opening its arms to Ukrainian refugees, it must also accept Russians who are against Mr. Putin’s rule and support them in continuing their opposition from abroad.”–Sophie Pinkham, author of “Black Square: Adventures in Post-Soviet Ukraine.”

* “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video address to the U.S. Congress.

* “A nuclear super power but an economic piker.”–Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch, referring to Russia.

* “China has to make a (Russia-Ukraine) decision for themselves, about where they want to stand and how they want the history books to look at them and view their actions.”–White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

* “The actions of armed criminal groups have had a catastrophic impact on the economy of Haiti and threaten the fundamental rights of all Haitian citizens, especially to their rights to life, freedom of movement, work, health care and education.”–U.N. Security Council report.

* “The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”–Will Rodgers.

* “In the U.S., teachers are facing a well-orchestrated political campaign by the far-right to limit the teaching of certain subjects and perspectives in public schools, all in the name of a ‘patriotism’ that is manifestly hostile to a multi-ethnic and multi-racial democracy and a well-educated citizenry.”–Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

* “I think Republicans should tread very lightly here. Judge Jackson went to Harvard for undergrad, Harvard for law, clerked on the Supreme Court, and she’s been a federal judge for almost a decade and before that she was a serious lawyer.”–Mike Davis, who heads the Article III Project, a conservative judicial advocacy group, in reference to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.

* “I think that our strength and unity is because we are a metropolitan university, and we have greater opportunities than many of our brothers and sister universities across the state.”–Interim USF President Rhea Law.

*Goldman Sachs became the first major Wall Street bank to close its operations in Russia.

* According to Bloomberg Economics, Russia’s GDP will drop about 9 percent this year.

* “Western policymakers must consider the circumstances that Russia needs in order to confidently deescalate this situation. This is an exquisitely delicate moment. Among Ukraine’s Western supporters, the temptation toward triumphalism will be difficult to reject, but cooler heads must prevail.”–Brad Slager, RedState.

* Timing always matters: The only Western leader who Vladimir Putin respected and took seriously was Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor who speaks Russian.

* “Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine spells bad news for his regime. … As the war drags on, the danger to Putin’s reign will come chiefly from three quarters: the oligarchs, the military and those whom we call ‘ordinary Russians.’”–Leon Aron, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of “Yeltsin.”

* The Progressive Caucus has made it clear that executive orders should be a major, strategic part of the calibration for Democratic policies and pragmatism. Not just to punish Russia over Ukraine—but for gut domestic issues such as voting rights, police reform and immigration. “There are a lot of areas where if we don’t get legislation, the Administration can take action to help move us more quickly towards the goals that we’re working on,” underscored Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus.

* The W.H.O. said it “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to booster doses of vaccine amid the global spread of omicron.

* The TSA is extending the requirement for masks on planes and public transportation for another month.

* According to the CDC, COVID-19 is one of the top 10 causes of death for children aged 5 to 11.

* “Children are at a lower risk than adults, but they’re certainly not at no risk. We have a safe and effective vaccine with a very low risk of adverse outcomes.”–Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, University of Florida pediatrician and epidemiologist.

* Florida positivity rate: 2.4 percent. Hillsborough positivity rate: 2.9 percent.

* Florida hospitalizations: 1,444, a 31 percent decrease from the previous week. Tampa Bay hospitalizations: 216, a 33 percent decrease from the previous week.

* An ironic upshot of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that it has been enabling a moreunited Europe against the Putin playbook. One notable sign: Switzerland, the avatar of neutrality, is freezing Russian financial assets.

* As the world—not just NATO—watches the wanton destruction and tragedy in Ukraine, there is more than a hint, thanks to Vladimir Putin, that there could be a nuclear subplot. Would he really—out of innate belligerence or unhinged panic—push a button that would more than reset Europe? Is he just the ultimate autocratic, land-grabbing punk—or could this get existential?

It reminds me of a Cold War-era cartoon that focused on a dare-devil, “chicken” auto confrontation of two macho types. While headed directly at each other at high speeds, it became a matter of who would turn off first to avoid a fatal collision. One way for a driver to sow uncertainty and fear and possibly gain an edge on a rival: being seen by witnesses and the opponent quaffing some pre-“chicken” liquor and keeping the bottle in the front seat.

The principals then were an American president (John F. Kennedy) and a Soviet general secretary (Nikita Khrushchev). That could also have relevance for President Biden and NATO, as they try to sanely end an unconscionably cruel invasion by what amounts to a vodka-swilling Putin.

* Disney has announced a Florida political donation pause while it increases its support for various advocacy groups. The pivot was prompted by the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney CEO Bob Chapek labeled it “a challenge to basic human rights.” Previously, Disney or its subsidiaries had been making campaign contributions to all of the sponsors and co-sponsors of the bill.

* Florida lawmakers have agreed that those (12) school districts (including Hillsborough) that imposed mask mandates during the pandemic last year will not be eligible to receive “school recognition” grants that reward schools that perform well. The (55) school districts that never required masks will divide up $200 million set aside for the Florida School Recognition Program. Recipient schools can use the grant for teacher bonuses, school supplies and other education expenses to improve student performance. “This is just an opportunity for us to reward those school districts that followed the law,” explained House Appropriations chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City.

It was also, alas, another opportunity for Ron DeSantis-fawning legislators to hold students and teachers in certain districts hostage to a heavy-handed, faux-freedom, partisan agenda.

* “You can’t do one without the other. … It kind of negates the impact.”–Jonathan Webber, deputy director of (the environmental advocacy group) Florida Conservation Voters, on how Florida’s plan to address climate change by adapting to rising seas does not include cutting the emissions that cause them.

* Amazon U: Amazon has announced partnerships with 140 colleges and universities—including nine in Florida—to fully fund tuition and fees for employees. It will, in effect, underwrite professional development and career advancement. Call it enlightened self-interest on the part of Amazon. It helps recruiting and retention, especially in a protean labor market blindsided by the pandemic.

* According to a (2018) Florida Sports Foundation Study, MLB spring training in Florida generates a statewide economic impact of $687 million.

* Publix is the only Florida company to make Fortune Magazine’s top 50 list of the world’s most admirable companies. Publix ranked 42^nd. Maybe it would have been ranked even higher were it not for corporate campaign donations to Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott. BTW, Fortune’s Top 5: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Pfizer and Disney.

* Major League Baseball announced it’s creating a $1 million fund to support Florida (and Arizona) spring training workers in financial need. The MLB Players Association also has announced a ($1 million) relief fund. That’s the right–and smart–thing to do. It diverts attention from a business that pays a $700,000 minimum wage in a pandemic-blindsided economy.