Opinions to go Online

“I welcome anyone to work with me. I don’t care who you voted for in the last election or who you are going to vote for in the next election.” Obviously, that was not Gov. Ron DisAstrous. It was Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s what should be said by those in authority during times of emergency and stress, regardless of political affiliation or self-interest. It should be a “given.”

Would that this governor’s priorities transcended partisan politics, and he could at least respectfully acknowledge those in power with the wherewithal to help out Floridians, the constituents of any Florida governor. But that’s a reach too far for a governor grasping at post-gubernatorial, 2028 scenarios. A photo with President Joe Biden or VP Harris would not help his self-serving, career-first, partisan, political agenda..

Amid conspiracy and immigrant lies, assassination attempts, better economic numbers, impactful foreign policy scenarios, a one-sided presidential debate and poll snapshots, there is one particularly blunt bottom-line for 2024. Who but sycophantic cult followers, spineless, hypocritical GOPster pols, easily manipulated disinformation targets or KKK descendants could possibly vote for Donald Trump? Seriously. This is not Harris vs. Romney or Harris vs. Kasich or Harris vs. Jeb. This is Harris vs. a deplorable, felonious human being who will Make America Grating Again.

As for those “undecided voters”: What the hell would it take for them to take one for the country, common cause and common sense?

• “History is so clear in reminding us the U.S. cannot and should not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Isolation is not insulation.”—Vice President Kamala Harris.
• Swing state billboards: “Jill Stein Helped Trump Once. Don’t Let Her Do It Again.”
• Inflation (2.4%) has reached the lowest point in three years. Also, gas prices are dropping, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates for the first time in four years, hiring has picked up strongly, the unemployment rate (4.1%) has dipped and wage growth was strong in September. A resilient economy should not be a Republican issue. And, BTW, violent crime is near a 50-year low.
• “Inflation has been quelled, and the economy’s fine—that’s a soft landing.”—Neil Dutta, head of economics at Renaissance Macro Research.
• Future Forward: The biggest super PAC in American politics, which is analytics- and evidence-driven, will spend more money ($700 million) on (Harris-supported) TV ads in the closing weeks of the 2024 race than the campaigns of Harris and Trump combined.
• “Black men and young black men have to think about what they have at stake in the election. Donald Trump tells you that you have nothing to lose. Well, you have health insurance you could lose, you have a job you could lose.”—James Carville.

 

• Thank you, Electoral College, otherwise the candidate with the most votes would always win.
• Thank you, International Olympic Committee, for being so inclusive and up to date. Now we can look forward to darts, shuffleboard and corn hole in future Games.
• Candidates for political office have issue-agendas, would-be constituencies, pragmatic fundraising needs and problematic opponents. That they are ego driven surprises no one. Wonder if they considered political cartoons before making the commitment. They range from blatantly unflattering to bluntly insulting. Whatever your features, nobody looks good in a partisan caricature.
• Remember when guys in suits and ties where not also wearing sneakers?
• Favorite pop-music lyric: “She’s so fine, there’s no tellin’ where the money went” from “Simply Irresistible” by Robert Palmer.

• No recovery partisanship. “In moments like these, we come together to take care of each other, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans.” That was President Joe Biden during a post-hurricane briefing at St. Pete Beach. Too bad this state’s governor doesn’t see it that way.
• Rule of urban thumb: When a scary hurricane is headed your way, construction cranes should not be part of your skyline.
• 43% of Florida’s annual fuel imports pass through Port Tampa Bay.

• DisAstrous update: This state’s health department has threatened TV stations with criminal prosecution if they keep running ads in support of the pro-abortion amendment. Prominent among those in disagreement: U.S. District Judge Mark Walker. He wasn’t nuanced. “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: It’s the First Amendment, stupid,” wrote Walker in granting a request for a temporary restraining order.
• “I appreciate that (President Biden) chose not to make this (Helene-Milton) political.” That was Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who knows a thing or two about politization. Recall that APL nominated Trump for the Congressional Gold Medal.
• Florida is the third largest gasoline consumer in the U.S.
• “Hide from wind, run from water.” A rule-of-thumb, hurricane reminder for Floridians from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

• So much for Elon Musk’s X being a “politically neutral” platform that doesn’t advance election disinformation.
• Bob Woodward’s latest book, “War,” includes a reference to Trump having spoken to Vladimir Putin seven times since leaving office.
• In the age of Trump, Doonesbury has never been more appreciated. But isn’t it time to move it to the editorial—and not comics section? It no longer belongs next to Zits, Rubes and The Family Circus.
• The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame had another induction celebration—but still no HoF membership for Chubby Checker.

 

 

• It’s projected that by 2050, Africa’s population will be approximately 2.5 billion—or an estimated one of every four people on the planet.

• For the first time, the Rays will not be playing under catwalks, and this is not good news.
• The mid-October Associated Press College Football Rankings included both Army and Navy for the first time since 1960.
• Major League Baseball is the only North American professional men’s sports league that has yet to have a player compete while out as gay.

• “We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within, and the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries.”—Donald Trump.
• “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit, if (Harris) is your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands.” The tone-deaf Donald Trump campaigning in, yes, Detroit.
• Lest we forget, former President Trump cut taxes for the rich, while growing the national debt 25%.
• “I was just saying what has been reported. All I do is report.”—That was Trump in response to a town hall question about his belief in Haitian immigrants eating neighbors’ pets. Would that all he did was “report.”
• “Parents don’t realize the Soviet level of indoctrination that their children are receiving in elite high schools and colleges.” That was Elon Musk, who says, in effect, that all those with less money than he has—that’s everybody–can’t possibly know more than he does on any subject.
• Musk is now all in for Trump—and has posted his support more than 100 times since July. He was previously all in for Ron DeSantis.
• As we’ve seen, a lot of those who formerly played important roles in the Trump Administration have openly criticized the former president. One relevant question: The unethical, uninformed, narcissistic character of Trump—from predator to racist to grifter—has been known for a long time. Why did you sign on in the first place? Did you need to be that close to power, even when it was an established reality that he would be an existential threat? Were you that big of an “Apprentice” fan?
• “(Trump) will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest. There’s no question about it.”—Former Attorney General Bill Barr.
• “(Trump’s) understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited.”—Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
• “Now I realize (Trump’s) a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”—Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• “Even though Trump lives in a miasma of self-pity and his businesses often ended up in bankruptcy, somehow his fans mistake his swagger and sneers for machismo. What a joke. Trump is the one who caves, a foreign policy weakling and stooge of Putin.”—Maureen Dowd, NYT.
• “Vote For Me; Otherwise, They May Lock Me Up.” Trump’s implied message to his cult following.
• Politicizing FEMA: After Hurricane Helene, Trump said Washington was intentionally withholding aid from Republicans in need across the Southeast. And, oh yeah, he also claimed FEMA had run out of money—because it was spent on programs to help illegal immigrants.
• The Alabama Supreme Court says that embryos are children. What’s next? Trump voters are adults?
• JD Vance is the first major party nominee with facial hair in 75 years. And Donald Trump is the first major party nominee with an orange face.
• “Sarah Huckabee Sanders once propped up Trump’s presidency for a salary, as the White House press secretary. Now, as the governor of Arkansas, she shills for him for free.”—Frank Bruni, NYT.