Author: opinionstogo

 

Maybe America also needed a Declaration of Dependence. A reminder from the Founders that equality in the context of slavery, for example, is going to be, say, pretty problematic going forward. Perhaps a preamble caveat would have been appropriate to underscore the existential reality of charting a constitutional-democracy concept and ideal across unknown centuries to come. Revolution precedes evolution. The Founders weren’t seers but they were idealistic, savvy and pragmatic sorts.

Unknowns and unknowables would lie ahead. Ben Franklin addressed it in his famous response to a question about whether we had a republic or a monarch. “A republic…if you can keep it.”

As for that caveat: “Going forward, we stress to posterity that the sheer passage of time brings changes unforeseen. King George would agree. That’s life, and that’s the reality we all live in. So, let’s not get too carried away with ‘originalism.’ Democracy will always be in a fight for democracy. Human nature will dictate as much and change is always a constant. Common sense for the common good should be a given going forward.”

 

Kamala Harris has called for lowering the nation’s voting age to 16 in order to bring more people into the political process. Re-think that.

A key objective of any true democracy is for an informed electorate to choose its leaders and then hold them accountable. Most 16-year-olds are informed by their parents, socials studies teachers, a cool uncle and whatever they see on line. It’s never been more problematic to be a voter. It’s a lot easier to drive at 16.

* As Trump trains his ire on blue cities, one of them–Philadelphia--has remained notably restrained. And it’s a city with a black, female Democratic mayor, Cherelle L. Parker. To date, no National Guard deployments to a city where the mayor has stopped referring to Philly as a “sanctuary city.” She now calls it a “welcoming city.” And Trump has yet to follow through on threats to alter exhibits about slavery at Independence National Historical Park. Has yet.

* “What’s obvious to me is that Mike Johnson and John Thune don’t do much without Donald Trump telling them what to do.”—Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

* Kamala Harris’ book tour includes the familiar theme of “Democrats standing up for working people.” There was a (pre-faux populist) time when that didn’t need to be said.

* A third term for Trump? Well, then, how about one for Obama—if Michelle agrees?

* Labeling update: GOPsters called it the “Schumer Shutdown.” Sen. Majority Leader John Thune said it was “a ransom.” Imagine, extending health-care subsidies and limiting layoffs are a “ransom.”

* Fund-rai$ing reality: The GOP of Florida raised more than $6 million last quarter. That’s more than 10 times the Florida Democratic Party’s haul.

* More signs of the times:

^No Faux King Way

^The Turd Reich

^Clean-Up On Aisle 47

* The Law of Holes: When you find yourself in one, stop digging.

* “With all due respect.” When’s the last time that phrase ever preceded anything remotely respectful?

* “Loyal Opposition”: There was a time when that wasn’t an oxymoron.

* Remember when “family values” wasn’t a partisan divide?

* Remember the “Red Scare”? Now it’s the “Orange Scare.”

* Remember when “the peaceful transition of power” was a given—not a hope?

* “I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy.”–Democratic disclaimer for Tesla driver.

* Name dropping: “If you bring up my past, you should know that Jesus dropped the charges.”

 

* If the subsidies that help Americans pay for Affordable Care Act insurance plans expire at the end of 2025—as expected—the biggest hit will be in South Florida, which happens to be the country’s top market for the coverage. And let’s not forget that Florida is one of just a handful of states that have not expanded Medicaid.

* According to the National Association of Realtors, real estate accounts for 24.1% of Florida’s gross domestic product—the largest share of any state.

* Approximately 14% of the (3 million) students enrolled in Florida public schools attend charters.

* WalletHub data show that Orlando is the most-retiree friendly city in the U.S. Senior-friendly (state) tax policies and excellent geriatric hospital services were major factors. Miami was rated 4^th and Tampa 5^th.

* Florida has executed more people this year–15–than any other state. It’s followed by Texas and Alabama with 5 each. Two more are planned in Florida this month.

* A bill that would require teachers to take an oath to God and the U.S. Constitution and be positive role models “in both conduct and character” begs a question. Why not require legislators, especially the DeSantis-MAGA ones, to take an oath to “follow my conscience—not self-serving, partisan politics–and do what’s best for all Floridians” no matter who is governor or president.

* “I think that we need less politics in our education, not more. Education should be about expertise and not about politics.”—House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, in response to a bill that would make the Hillsborough County Public Schools superintendent position a partisan elected one.

* TIA is the 27^th largest airport in the U.S.

* Hurricane season and a 250-foot “observation wheel” in the Channel District seem problematic.

* Heads up: ACA tax credits expire Dec. 31. Sans government action, future health costs are expected to skyrocket for millions of Americans.

* Since the summer, ICE has arrested more than 1,000 people per day. This lags behind Trump’s goal of more than a million by the end of his first year of term two.

* According to Oxford Economics, a government-shutdown reduces economic growth by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points per week. That’s worth $7.6 billion to $15.2 billion a week, based on the hours not worked.

* Here was Trump’s take on the “No Kings” marches. “It’s a joke. I looked at the people. They are not representative of this country.” As if this country’s president were.

* Israel-Hamas: Trump’s plan for Gaza (Trump Gaza Strip Malls?) doesn’t address the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is, Palestinian statehood. No progress on a two-state solution leaves the conflict largely unsettled and unworthy of Nobel Peace Prize conjecture.

* Portland’s mayor, Keith Wilson, is not totally opposed to federal help. As long as the “help” is actually needed. “Imagine, the federal government sent instead 100 teachers or 100 engineers or 100 addiction specialists,” he noted.

* “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the world.”—Donald Trump.

* “The Trump Administration is seeking to destabilize our city and promote chaos.”—Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

* “You can’t get a (Nobel Peace Prize) medal for promoting democracy when you tried to overthrow the democracy you were running.”—Maureen Dowd, NYT.

* Edifice Wrecks: The demolished East Wing is being replaced by a 90,000 sq. ft., $380 million ballroom with bullet-proof windows and a gilded age Mar-a-Lago look. Call it another Trump legacy update beyond due process denial, xenophobia, grift, ICE invasions, health care insanity, Putin bromance, unprecedented buffonery and existential embarrassment.

* “The president wants to do the right thing by the ‘People’s House.’”—WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Speaking of, Sean Spicer is looking better these days.

* Cabinet opening? Trump commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who had been serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison for fraud and identity theft.

* “I think he’s crazy. I think he’s unfit for office. … He’s an opportunist.” That was South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s thinking about Donald Trump in 2016. Chances are, he still feels the same, only can’t say it anymore, especially on the golf course.

* Trump is a (martial) law and order president.

* “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”—Let’s call it what it is: The ultimate existential Trump threat.

* “Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat—I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”—Donald Trump. Calling Jews disloyal? We’ve, hauntingly, heard that before.

* “Mr. Trump and his sons’ enormous accumulation of crypto wealth appears set to continue throughout his term. … It’s an open door to a form of corruption, at the highest level, that Americans have never had to confront.”—Jacob Silverman, author of “Gilded Rage.”

* Statue of Liberty Update: “Welcome, White South Africans yearning to breathe free.”

* Trump reportedly wants the new Washington Commanders, $4-billion stadium named after him. Be careful what you ask for. Commander Bonespurs and Orangeskins could be in the running.

 

* Firing a football coach, even the prominent ones, used to be easier. Not enough wins; you’re out of here; that’s cause enough. Now it’s, “Pick up your 8-figure check on the way out and say hi to the folks at ESPN.”

* “My general feeling is that there’s never too much press attention, because you need a free press to have a free society.”—Former AG Janet Reno.

* “The media in this country should have a bias—in favor of democracy.”—Mehdi Hasan, British-American journalist and founder of the media company, Zeteo.

* Trump went on “60 Minutes” with Norah O’Donnell at Mar-a-Lago. The usual bluster and prevarication—from ICE and the economy to Venezuela and Biden revisionism—but no reference to the Epstein files in the 70-minute interview that was edited to 30 minutes. Surely, O’Donnell would have asked about it. Surely.

* Dem Sen. Adam Schiff has a YouTube channel. He’s well-spoken, stays on message and worth listening to.

* You don’t have to be a big college football fan to celebrate Tampa hosting (2029) another college football championship. The previous one, in 2017, was worth an estimated $300 million in economic impact. Not unlike Super Bowls, which Tampa has hosted five times, these are impactful events–more than just high-profile football games.

BTW, Tampa will also be hosting the 2027 Florida-Georgia game, while Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium undergoes a $1.4 billion renovation.

* The Philadelphia Phillies have high expectations next season for 21-year-old, Triple A standout Justin Crawford. His dad is former Rays left fielder Carl Crawford.

* The only MLB team still without a pennant: the Seattle Mariners.

* The spread of legalized sports betting is out of control. Just ask the NBA and MLB about today’s pro sports ecosystem.

* An ESPN “College GameDay” sign: “My Girlfriend Entered The Transfer Portal.”

* The West underestimates “the growing military cooperation between Iran, China, North Korea and Russia.”—Carlo Masala, German political scientist and author of “If Russia Wins.”

* “The leadership of Russia must understand that its attempt to rebuild Europe’s last empire is doomed to fail. The age of empires is over.”—Radoslaw Sikorski, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Poland.

* “The purpose of Iran is Shiite theocracy, for its own sake and a counterweight to democratic secular, and Sunni governments allied with the United States in the region.”—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic.

* “Mr. Netanyahu’s political survival now appears to depend on Mr. Trump personally.”—Dana Stroul, research director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

* “Violence is baked into American culture and politics going back to the genocide of Native Americans, the importation of slaves and Aaron Burr offing Alexander Hamilton.”—Ted Rall, co-host of the DMZ America podcast.

* “We have the hottest country anywhere in the world, which tells you about leadership.”—Donald Trump.

* The Trump version of the GOP: “It’s a populist party, and whatever populism is, conservatism isn’t. Populism is the belief that the passions of the people should be aroused and transformed into public policy by a strong leader of the sort who might say, ‘Only I can fix it.’ Conservatism, Madisonian conservatism, says passions are the political problem.”—George Will.

* “Charlie Kirk represented politics at its worst. He laced his speeches with racist and bigoted remarks. He created a ‘Professors Watch List,’ demanding that any professor associated with the political left be fired.”—Bill Press, author and host of The BillPressPod.

* “Oklahomans would lose their mind if (Democratic Gov. JB) Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden Administration.”—Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

* “One of the biggest employers in the United States will become a net job destroyer, not a net job creator.”—Daron Acemoglu, of M.I.T., on Amazon’s plans to automate 75% of its operations.

* “An important part of this job is you have to be willing to be disliked.”—SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

* “We should be looking at ways to lean up government—right-size it, if you will.”—Republican Jim Boyd, the new Florida Senate president.

* “The primary aim of the humanities is to train people to make up their own minds.”—David Newheiser, associate professor of religion at FSU.

* “The real art in an art heist isn’t the stealing; it’s the selling.”—Robert Whitman, former FBI art crime inspector.

* “I am confident that something good’s going to happen in Tampa.”—MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, on prospects for a new Rays’ stadium.

* “The transformation underway in Ybor City is bringing new life, businesses, jobs and opportunity back to this historic landmark. Expanding Tampa General’s footprint in Ybor will offer the new residents, professionals and visitors we’re attracting to Ybor convenient access to exceptional health care.”—Developer Darryl Shaw.