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Throughout most of its history, America has loomed large on the international stage. A global economy and super power status did it. Now that idealistic democratic experiment, however cruelly flawed, features Ralph Kramden as president. Pow, right in the due-process kisser.

How did we get here? This arrogant, nativistic, emerging police state is oligarch friendly, ally-alienating, tariff-roiling, legal system-assaulting and free speech-attacking. And let’s not forget the well-soiled machine that is DOGE and its indiscriminate downsizing, which helps nothing but Elon Musk’s ego. This iteration of America has an unread, unethical, autocratic, felonious narcissist in the Oval Orifice. One where constitutional guardrails no longer include checks and balances.

We’ve seen an America First playbook before. Now it’s America Fist First. The bully pulpit shouldn’t include a bloviating, bully pulpiteer with a zero-sum worldview. A United States president shouldn’t be the avatar of unhinged authoritarianism. Nor should he be an insurrectionist. “He’s the kid in the garage with matches standing next to the gasoline tank,” noted Trump biographer Tim O’Brien.

But we did some fast-forwarding in 2008.

So many of the MAGA cult followers didn’t like their lives and needed scapegoats and those to look down on. Nobody was farther down than African-Americans. And now one of them was president. Game on. For the otherwise apathetic, it would be voter incentive.

It also hardly helped that the losing ticket featured Sarah Palin for vice president. She was an embarrassingly uninformed performance pol who was an insult to the electorate, especially women. She would have been a heartbeat away from the presidency had John McCain won. That leadership bar was now at a subterranean depth. Dan Quayle never looked so good.

Too many poorly educated, easily misinformed Americans then found their voice and their candidate in the Kramdenesque Trump. The born-rich, grifting billionaire racist talked like a “deplorable” and sounded like he was delivering punch lines to Norton and Alice. Also joining in: evangelical hypocrites, some addled greed heads and the SCOTUS-vetting Federalist Society.

What would it take to put Trump and Trumpism into the rear-view mirror of history? Democrats obviously can’t play the complacency card, as Cory Booker underscored. Grass roots efforts have helped in some special elections, indicating that hope remains–just like when Dems pushed back and helped defeat Trump’s first-term effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even though GOPsters controlled both the House and the Senate.

This isn’t about right and left; it’s about right and wrong. “The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against these,” said Sen. Booker in his marathon Senate speech.

One other thing. This country needs to take a serious look at education. Americans are notorious for all they don’t know about history and geography, including, most notably, their own. Mandatory civics classes that actually teach about our electoral system, including its obvious flaws, would help. That would include use of the 25^th Amendment, just in case a would-be Mussolini becomes president. And stop playing the racial insult or placation card—and teach racial reality, not theory. Also include real-world economics that would put tariffs, for example, into a relevant taxation and global context, as well as online reality as it relates to misinformation.

What America doesn’t need is a retribution president who considers the US more of a Trump brand than an impactful player for world peace, climate control, human rights and free trade.

• “In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You also must be smart. … The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries. Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless.”—Hillary Clinton.
• “Imagine if I had done any of this.”—Barack Obama, comparing his presidency to the early arrogance and chaos of the Trump Administration.
• Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear has been making the TV rounds. Devastating flooding has brought him back to the national scene, where he can also remind the Dem base that he will be a player in 2028.
• “Social Security is a sacred promise.”—Joe Biden.
• “You (Dems) have to stop acting like this is a normal presidency that will just time out in four years.”—Liz Cheney.

* The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

* It’s probably generational, but some things I’ll just never get:

^Nose rings, especially in otherwise attractive women.

^Backwards baseball caps for non-catchers. No matter how cool, this is still the SUNshine State.

^Those wearing pants below the butt line. Asinine.

^A sports coat, a dress shirt, a tie, sneakers.

^Restaurants that no longer feature intimate dining ambiance, because it’s at odds with ambient loudness and optics that include multiple TVs featuring sports.

* Remember when answering the phone only required “Hello”—not “Hello, Hello? HELLO!!!”

* We used to arrive at a movie at the posted, appointed time. No more. That’s because it means sitting through obnoxiously loud, often comic book-inspired trailers that are the cinematic opposite of the movie we’re actually there to see.

* Forgetfulness is a common, frustrating human condition. But recalling that there’s stuff we can’t remember is just unfair.

* Two things, not typically referenced analogously, can bring out the worst in people: Driving on a busy major highway and attending a Trump rally. They both feature the careless and the clueless and reward the overly aggressive, who are obnoxiously dismissive of normal drivers and voters.

* The odds of winning the big lottery are roughly one in 300 million. In other words, the odds are about the same whether you play or not.

* We’ve all moved, and a lot of us ultimately downsized. Then came a long-deferred, identity realization. We are in the moment, and we are what we keep.

* *“Floridians are already facing barriers to economic self-sufficiency because of the state’s inadequate safety net. Under the cuts being floated right now in Congress, we could see food insecurity among Florida children and adults skyrocket.”–Florida Policy Institute CEO Sadaf Knight.

* According to Visual Approach Analytics, Florida is the destination taking the biggest hit from the reduction in seats on flights from Canada. Airports in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Orlando seeing up to a 30% cut in April. MAGA tariffs and national insults matter.

* Canada is paying for those digital billboards we’re now seeing, such as “TARIFFS ARE A TAX on hardworking Americans.”  It may be ironically helpful in case hardworking, MAGA cult-followers hadn’t figured that one out yet.

*The unpopular Senate Dem leader, Jason Pizzo, has left the party. Among those not missing him: Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “The FDP is more united without him,” said Fried.

* Tariff pushback: A conservative advocacy group, New Civil Liberties Alliance, is representing a Florida company, Emily Ley Paper Inc., that is suing Trump for imposing tariffs—via emergency executive powers–on all imports from China. The New Civil Liberties Alliance is financed by billionaire Republican mega-donor Charles Koch.

* “I’ve always known that (DeSantis) was selfish and sometimes condescending.”—GOP State Rep. Alex Andrade, who endorsed DeSantis for president in 2023. H also has led the House’s investigation of the transparency-challenged, “mistakes were made” Hope Florida Foundation.

* Since 2006, daily trips across the Howard Frankland Bridge have increased by more than half.

* In 2003-04, USF enrolled 4,057 black students—12.6% of the student population. Last year USF enrolled 3,793 black students—8.8% of the student population.

* The Straz Center project has broken ground on its $100 million expansion—one that will range from an outdoor stage and a rooftop bar to a fine-dining restaurant and additional classroom and educational-performance space.

* Red Scare: The Trump Organization’s online store is now selling “Trump 2028” merch.

* Barely two months in, the Trump Administration already had its own “Gate.” No, “SignalGate” won’t be the last.

* “One way or the other.” How Trump expects to get Greenland.

* This is a great time to get rich.”—Donald Trump, adding context to financial chaos.

*If you believe the usual White House enablers, Trump’s 90-day tariff pause was always part of his “Art of the Deal” negotiating strategy. It was about Trump leverage–not a global market meltdown or recession generation or the de facto reality of a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world. This is Trump treating other countries like the sub-contractors he stiffed as he built his born-rich business brand.

* “If you removed white evangelicals in particular from (Trump’s) coalition, he would have lost all three of his presidential races by a landslide.”—David French, New York Times.

* Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene might even be an embarrassment to the legacy of the Cold War-Red-Scare-exploiting Joe McCarthy. Her rationale for calling for the “total” defunding of NPR and PBS: “It’s up to Congress to determine if Americans are going to continue to pursue their progressive, or rather, communist agenda,” she explained.

* The Trump Pentagon has removed images of the atomic bomb-dropping plane that ended World War II. The reason: The plane’s name is Enola GAY. Seriously.

* Recall that AG Pam Bondi, the embarrassing essence of compliant fealty to Trump, was next up after the sleazy Matt Gaetz flamed out. But if Bondi were to have a conscience-ridden epiphany, who would replace her? Rudy Giuliani? At least Roy Cohn is no longer with us.

* Trump had a recent physical. Before the results were released, he gave a spoiler alert. “Overall, I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul.” Yeah.

* Trump has upended the Kennedy Center by ousting its president, its board of directors and its board chairman and replaced them all with MAGA minions. What’s next? A name change that doesn’t harken back to a Democratic icon? The Musk Center? How about granting Kennedy (for now) Center Honors to Kid Rock, Sean Hannity and Clarence Thomas.

* “We are all afraid.”–Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, referring to Trump retribution.

* “The future of CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is under threat, by any measure.”—Yale health policy researcher Jason Schwartz, on the recent departure of five high-level officials in the latest turmoil for America’s top public health agency.

* Tesla sales fell 14% in the first quarter.

* DOGE was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026. No, it won’t last that long. Yes, Elon Musk is becoming a political lightning rod. Sounds ironic for this administration. But we know what Steve Bannon thinks.

* Dollar Don Update: There is now a $5 million, “gold card” visa—with Trump’s likeness on it—that aims to lure wealthy immigrants to the U.S. It offers U.S. residency to individuals who invest $5 million in this country. The president had earlier unveiled $100 silver medallion Trump coins.

* Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem and inserted a message handwritten by Trump. According to unreliable sources, it said: “GOD, you’re terrific!!! You’re why we prey!”

* “Insurrection Hoax,” “Patriots Vindicated”: Titles of fundraisers featuring Jan. 6 rioters.

*  Regardless of politics, there is no finer-spoken person than George Will. From baseball to democratic scenarios. You’d swear he’s brought off-the-cuff cue cards. And it really helps these days to engage in public discourse or personal reflections without any “you knows” or “likes.”

* Annual trade between the EU and the U.S: $1.8 trillion.

* Mexico’s first female president Claudia Sheinbaum, a true populist, was elected last year with 60% of the vote. Today her approval rating is above 80%.

* Mexico, the world’s 11^th most populous country, had more than 30,000 homicides in 2023. The year before, Reporters Without Borders declared Mexico the deadliest in the world for journalists.

* The vast majority of Amazon products are made in China.

* China is the largest producer of antibiotics worldwide.

* More than 15% of people living in the US were born abroad. The previous high: 14.8% in 1890.

• The Rays, as we’re well aware, have long languished in attendance. Too bad they couldn’t have played the Savannah Bananas over the years.

* Here’s a record we’re not likely to see broken: UCLA won 7 straight national basketball championships from 1967-73. Too much parity now.

* March Madness: Given today’s collegiate reality of NILs and de facto free agency, “student athlete” can seem oxymoronic. Maybe this will help a little. Maybe. When listing starting line-ups, include this: eligibility year, transfer background, height, scoring average, major and GPA.

* “Who am I to judge?”—The late Pope Francis.

* “The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.”—English essayist William Hazlitt.

* “Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood.”—President Jimmy Carter.

* “…Trump’s team sees Europe as a parasitic, freeloading ally and its liberal democracies as political and ideological adversaries.”—Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

* “The challenge for Europe is how to deal with a predatory America willing to use the vulnerability of allies to extort them—whether it’s a mineral deal in Ukraine or attempts to annex Greenland.”—Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

* “No court in the U.S. has a right to conduct the foreign policy of the United States.”—Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

* “Tariffs won’t make us safer. They won’t bring back lost jobs. They won’t build stronger supply chains. What they will do is raise prices on American consumers, inject chaos into global markets, and alienate the allies we need to compete with China.”—Jordan Valdes, former international trade adviser to the Small Business Administration during the Obama Administration.

* “The greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s.”—Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, referring to the Administration’s crusade against universities.

* “Mr. Trump puts stock in the Madman Theory—that a leader gains an edge when foes fear he’ll do something insane.”—Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal.

* “The moves of Trump embolden foreign leaders who know the US is now an autocratic ally, and there will be no consequences for repressive behavior.”—NYU history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

* “Immigration enforcement must be lawful and humane, not weaponized for political stunts.”—Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor.

* “We are going to have to keep tightening our belts and watching every penny.”—Hillsborough County School Board member Nadia Combs, in response to expectations of lean state budgets.

* “I see the Tampa Bay region, Tampa-St. Pete, as a major league market.” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

* “(Tampa Bay) is a growing destination for pretty much the whole world.”—Rolando Damas, managing director for Avianca Airlines, Colombia’s largest. It will be making TIA’s first non-stop flight to South America.

* “Sixty-five years later, we really haven’t changed a whole lot. We’re still all about the automobile. We had more lanes, but then we add more cars.”—Tampa Bay History Center historian Rodney Kite-Powell, on the opening of the newly expanded Howard Frankland Bridge.