* Enough of the Crist-Scott fan fallout–and that includes all the accompanying puns plus the ultimate hyperbolic affix: “-gate.” On this there should be no debate, even by political fanatics.
As for candidate rules, how about this: “No electronic ‘communication’ devices. Fans or bar stools are permissible if they help make a candidate more comfortable with candidly presenting an honest, coherent vision for the state.”
But what won’t be allowed is this: Repetitious, self-serving, non sequitur “answers” to whatever question is asked.
If only.
* As we now know, the air war on ISIS by the U.S. and partner nations finally has a name: “Operation Inherent Resolve.” By all accounts, the response has been underwhelming indifference: another generic war label that sounds like the product of a bored bureaucratic committee. Why even bother branding warfare unless it can inspire–and rally around the truth?
To that end:
How about “Operation Turkey Get Your Ass In Here And Help Out” or “Operation Exorcise and Incinerate ISIS.” But “Operation Inherent Resolve”? Sounds like bureaucracy meets a thesaurus. Might as well be “Operation Petticoat” for all its relevance.
* Plaudits to Steve Bousquet, the Tallahassee bureau chief of the Tampa Bay Times. He called out Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association for arbitrarily banning Adrian Wyllie, the ostensible “mandate killer,” from the gubernatorial debates because the Libertarian fell shy of their (self-imposed)15 percent poll threshold.
Bousquet’s point: Those tempted to vote for neither Charlie Crist or Rick Scott should at least hear first-hand how this alternative candidate would seemingly apply libertarian principles to the real world of governance. In so doing, Bousquet also made a point of noting that his employer, the Times, was a member of the FPA and, as such, became “a party to silencing Wyllie.”
* There are so many lists these days, many of them under-researched and self-promoting, that they’re hardly worth noting. Having said that, I’d rather see Tampa on Travel + Leisure magazine’s short list of America’s “snobbiest” cities (along with the uppity likes of New York, Boston and San Francisco) than see Tampa Bay come in next to last in the Census Bureau’s list of the 25 largest metro areas for the percent of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree.
For the record, the percentage–as of 2012–was 35.6 percent. Tampa Bay beat out Riverside, Calif. (23.9 percent). The top three: Washington (65), San Francisco (60.9) and Boston (60.3).