Category: Uncategorized

* “(Russia) wants to draw us into a debate about NATO rather than focus on the matter at hand, which is their aggression toward Ukraine. We won’t be diverted from that issue.”–Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

* “There’s no red tornadoes or blue tornadoes. There’s no red states or blue states where this stuff happens.”—President Joe Biden.

* “What happened last Jan. 6 was much bigger and more important than politics. … This is bigger than who wins the midterm elections or who runs for president in 2024. This project of reckoning is about the continuation of the American experiment.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.

* “This is a year in which the crisis of American democracy has become increasingly visible to all.”–Martin Wolf, Financial Times of London.

* “People pledged allegiance to (Trump) rather than to our Constitution, and history will judge them harshly.”–Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor, reflecting on Jan. 6.

* “We must resist the polarization that is reshaping our identities around politics…Americans must set aside differences and work together before it’s too late.”–Former President Jimmy Carter.

* “The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators at any level accountable under law, whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”–U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

* “Without a doubt, we will have Mardi Gras 2022.”–New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

* “I fully expect this to be a red meat year, where a vast majority of the governor’s priorities are focused on securing the base—not the state base, but the national base.”–St. Petersburg Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes.

* “We have to make sure that growth is intentional and inclusive.”–Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

* “Yes, this election is historic. But our goal is simply not to make history—rather we must work together to make a difference, to make an impact for this generation and for generations to come.”–Ken Welch, after being sworn in as St. Petersburg’s first black mayor.

* “We’re bullish on residential demand and people living downtown.”–Lee Schaffler, chief portfolio officer for lead Water Street developer Strategic Property Partners.

* “Let’s be clear. I wouldn’t be doing this if it interfered with my duties.”–Hillsborough County Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez, who is now the head coach of the amateur-adult Tampa Bay Thunder, a new team in the Football Federation Alliance 2.0.

Good move by the Tampa Police Department—led by interim Police Chief Ruben Delgado—to organize a community forum in East Tampa as the city experiences an increase in shootings and homicides. “I’ll do these in every community until we don’t have to,” stressed Police Chief Delgado.

Since communities of color are impacted disproportionately when crime rates rise, the police initiative was critically important on several fronts. It announced plans to form a commission to find ways to reduce gun violence and to add five bicycle-patrol officers to the Department’s East Tampa district to engage more with the community. It was also an in-person reminder that community policing has to be more than a white-board bullet-point or a feel-good cliché. It has to be a collaborative effort between officers who know the area and its residents and have earned a level of trust and the locals—anti-snitch culture notwithstanding—realizing they must be part of the solution. It must be about policing and pro-activity–but not profiling. It’s also about helping the police–not enabling a code of silence that perpetuates stereotypes and enables criminal activity, especially acts of violence. In short, law enforcement and community engagement must be inseparable. Call it enlightened self-interest. Or call it helping those to help themselves and a community-prioritizing police force.

TPD Major Calvin Johnson underscored the existential reality at the East Tampa forum. “How are we going to reduce crime and reduce the prison population? He asked. “You’re the key to it.”

* Unspoken presidential truth: “Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed. And our duty as a Party is not to our Party alone, but to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom. So, let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel among ourselves when our nation’s future is at stake.” This is the end of the speech that President John F. Kennedy was scheduled to give at a Dallas Democratic fundraiser on Nov. 22, 1963. How sobering, prescient and tragic that Kennedy’s undelivered–but not unacknowledged–message remains unheeded 58 years later.

* “Nothing about them without them.”–That’s a guiding principle whenever President Joe Biden talks security issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In short, it underscores that the U.S. is in sync and cooperating with its allies and partners when it talks bilaterally to Russia.

* Lest we forget, President Biden has seen the confirmation of 40 federal judges—the highest number in a first presidential year since Ronald Reagan.

* “On voting rights, the time has come for Joe Manchin to put away his fetish for the filibuster and do what is necessary to ensure that Republicans do not overthrow the will of the voters and create chaos after every election.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.

*Realpolitik.“If, through a retooled Build Back Better Act, Mr. Biden can achieve significant and durable progress on some major priorities that will benefit children and families for generations, Democrats would be wise to celebrate and tout those gains instead of complaining about what wasn’t possible.”–Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod.

* Reminder: “Although omicron is four times more transmissible than delta, it is less virulent.”–Dr. Charles Lockwood, dean of USF’s Morsani College of Medicine.

* The FDA has authorized booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year olds.

* “Our warnings have proved sadly prescient and continuously compelling. Time for the CDC and cruise lines to protect consumers, again pause—docking their ships.”–Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

* “Incidental positives”: Those who were admitted to a hospital for reasons other than COVID symptoms and then tested positive upon admission.

* More than 12,000 U.S. flights have been canceled since December 24.

* 4.2 million: The approximate total of COVID cases in Florida since the first cases were reported on March 1, 2020.

* 6 million: The number of Floridians—ages 5 and up—who remain unvaccinated.

*Florida is now averaging more than 30,000 new COVID cases a day. However, deaths continue to decline in Florida—an average of 18 per day.

* According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida’s population grew by 211,000 from 2020 to 2021 to 21.7 million residents. Only Texas (310,000) grew by more.

* In November, the state collected $398.8 million more in general-revenue taxes than expected.

* “Gov. DeSantis is not imposing any mandates or lockdown policies that have already proven ineffective in other parts of the country.”–DeSantis’ disingenuous spokeswoman Christina Pushaw.

* Reality reminder: Gov. DeSantis raised more than $60 million last year through his campaign and political committee, including $6 million in November. That same month Democratic candidates Nikki Fried, agriculture commissioner; Charlie Crist, U.S. congressman; and Annette Taddeo, state senator, raised a combined $800,000.

* “We do not want our campus to become a super-spreader.”–Paul Ortiz, president of the University of Florida chapter of the United faculty of Florida that has questioned UF’s decision not to teach remotely for the first three weeks of the new semester.

* Tampa joined Hillsborough County in requiring its employees to wear masks inside city facilities—and in city-owned vehicles when traveling with others.

* Tampa anticipates between 3,000 and 5,000 COVID tests will be administered daily at the Al Lopez Park testing site. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

*ZooTampa—with more than 1.2 million visitors in 2021—set a record for attendance.

* As a former teacher, I appreciate various forums to honor the best. Only one problem in choosing a local and then a statewide “Teacher of the Year.” Looking at the Hillsborough County competition as Exhibit A, it’s a mix of elementary and secondary teachers. That is teachers who have different instruction models, skill sets and goals—and should be judged accordingly and fairly against peers. But one bottom line shouldn’t change: If you have been nominated, you’re good. Thank you for staying with a calling that has only grown more challenging these days.

* Twitter has banned the personal account of Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for multiple violations of its COVID misinformation policy.

* “Facebook won’t make as much money if Republicans abandon the platform, creating obvious incentives to appease the right.”–Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post.

* Real Philadelphians don’t like it when columnists call them “the rowhousers.” Yo.

* Last will and testament: Being of sound mind, I spent all my money.

* What kind of doctor fixes broken web sites? A URLologist.

* It was a Faustian deal from day one. Vetting by Tom Brady, ultimately, was not enough. Antonio Brown’s s tenure with the Bucs ended with an abrupt, vainglorious exit in the middle of the Bucs come-from-behind win over the New York Jets. A month earlier he had betrayed his team and his teammates with a fraudulent vaccination card. Prior to that, he owned a backstory that included elite-athlete plays, a problematic temperament and assault charges.

Antonio Brown went out his own inimitable way. He quit on his team after being brought back after lying to them.

* The deal that the SEC signed with ESPN is projected to be worth about $3 billion over a decade.

* “If I were a betting person, I’d say Trump is going to run again. If he’s not held accountable and he gets to do it again, I think that could be the end of our democracy.”–Hillary Clinton.

* The Jan. 6 House select committee is preparing to go public in the coming months—certainly before the mid-terms—with hearings and findings. “The full picture is coming to light, despite Trump’s ongoing efforts to hide the picture,” stated Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House committee. The societal bottom line, preening, prevaricating partisans notwithstanding: Nothing less than accountability for an unconscionable attack on the Capitol and American democracy is demanded. If there’s no accountability, there’s no real democracy.

* A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll finds that nearly 33 percent of Americans say they believe violence against government can at times be justified. Politically, justified violence was supported by 40 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents and 23 percent of Democrats. Remember when America’s “law and order” party wasn’t so picky?

* New York Attorney General Letitia James has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump as part of the civil probe into former President Trump’s business practices.

* “Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. … I’ll show America we don’t need them—and it’s time to defeat our enemies.”–Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, ironically reminding America about its enemies.