Category: Uncategorized

* “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.

* “The Chinese official health statistics are insanely implausible. … It’s simply not plausible that a virus that has proven wildly contagious in every other country suddenly became shy and socially awkward once it entered the jurisdiction of the Chinese Communist Party.”–Jim Geraghty, National Review.

* “(President) Eisenhower was fascinated by covert action … he turned the CIA into a private presidential army.”–Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

* “It’s just so heart-breaking. It was hard enough last year, but now you know that you have a way to prevent this.”—Dr. Paul Offit, infectious disease expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

* “Many experts have recommended testing negative to end isolation after you have COVID, but it’s really hard to find tests right now.”–Kaiser Family Foundation public health expert Larry Levitt.

* “I think that the challenge that we face is that the (Jan. 6) attacks on our democracy are continuing—they didn’t come to an end on Jan. 6.”—Select House committee member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who also chairs the House Intelligence Committee.

* “Serious men and women need to lead the two great parties. Let’s hope our political battling never ends—it’s a central mark of our freedom. But it needs perspective. Now.”–Hugh Hewitt, Salem Network radio-show host and president of the Nixon Foundation.

* “The Senate must evolve, like it has many times before.”–Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on the need to change the Senate’s filibuster rules.

* “Broadband should be treated as an essential utility with universal public access. … Market competition won’t give us the broadband infrastructure we need; state and federal governments need to step in to make high-speed internet truly universal.”–Paul Prescod, Jacobin.

* “One think tank’s study found that canceling up to $50,000 in student debt per person would immediately increase black wealth by 40 percent.”–Katrina vanden Heuval, The Nation.

* “This is a once-in-a-generation market that we’re in.”–Casey Babb, executive managing director at the Tampa office of Colliers International, on the 24 percent increase in Tampa Bay rents.

* “The eyeballs of the country are going to start looking at St. Petersburg and the whole Bay Area and say, ‘This is where I need to be because the smart people are there.’”–Chris Steinocher, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce.

* “I’m hoping that my legacy will be that when people look back, they’ll say that I shifted the culture of the city to one that was focused more on equity and trying to lift everyone up.”–Outgoing St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.

* “(Rick Kriseman) and I are brothers in arms. The results … speak volumes about how cooperation trumps parochialism.”–Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Four years of Trumpian America First duplicity, an optically-awful Capitol insurrection and the demeaning of an electorate and media with an ongoing “Stop the Steal” campaign has put the U.S. in an awkward geopolitical position as the pre-eminent avatar of democracy. American “exceptionalism” shouldn’t look like this. Some things you can’t comb over.

Vice President Kamala Harris nailed it, starting with a sacrosanct right–that of voting–that looks increasingly vulnerable to zero-sum, dysfunctional, partisan politics. It also looks increasingly hypocritical when we deign to lecture others who suppress voting and diminish or deny democracy. “Right now, we’re about to take ourselves off the map as a role model,” warned Harris. “If we let people destroy one of the most important pillars of a democracy, which is free and fair elections.”

Voting suppression and gerrymandering are now givens, as is the pushback from voting-rights activists. But voting reform faces long odds in the Senate without a change in Senate rules—as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema well know.

Harris—a 50-something black, female vice president—has to be the key catalyst, not a white, male president who means well but is past his rhetorical peak. Voting is not just a sacred rite, but a necessary right. Harris has already made history, now she needs to leverage that high-profile by doing everything to buttress the legacy of John Lewis and help reset American democracy.

* “Patriotic duty.” How President Joe Biden characterized the need to get vaccinated. “It’s the only responsible thing to do. Omicron is serious and potentially deadly business for unvaccinated people.”

* President Biden announced that the government would provide 500 million free rapid COVID tests starting in January.

* One way of addressing the inflationary surge is to take the federal anti-trust route, which the Biden Administration is now pursuing. It involves prodding the Department of Agriculture to monitor meatpackers, the Federal Trade Commission to investigate large oil companies and the Federal Marine Commission to search for price gouging by large shipping companies at the heart of the supply chain. One expected partisan caveat from the usual suspects: No more socialism!

* So far, 23 House Dems have said they won’t seek re-election in next year’s mid-terms.

* “Let’s call it a five-alarm fire.” That was G.K. Butterfield, a black congressman from North Carolina, lamenting the current round of congressional redistricting. The former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus is retiring next year.

* “What we want is to see ideally the president use the bully pulpit to talk about abortion in a strong and effective way. It matters for the stigma that surrounds abortion, and it matters to show that it’s a priority for him and his administration.”–Gretchen Borchelt, vice president for reproductive rights and health at the National Women’s Law Center, less-than-subtly reminding the administration that women who rallied to Biden’s presidential campaign to help protect Roe v. Wade, are still there—and still waiting for signs of more presidential conviction.

* “If he were to join us, he’d be joining a lot of folks who have similar views on a whole range of issues.”–That was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, referring to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin—and sounding like a Republican Party recruiter. McConnell, of course, knows what “moderate” means in a state Trump won by nearly 40 points.

* It was a reminder that the White House is not all sturm und drang and blatant, political calculus. First Lady Jill Biden taped a children’s tour of the WH with characters from PBS KIDS.

* “(Intensive care units) are filled for the most part with unvaccinated people.”–French Prime Minister Jean Castex. So, no, it’s not just the U.S. that needs a vaccine against right-wing stupidity and defiance.

* Paxlovid: Pfizer’s anti-COVID pill that was recently approved by the FDA. Molnupiravir: the pill created by Merck & Co., which is not recommended for pregnant women.

* U.S. health officials cut isolation restrictions for Americans with COVID from 10 to 5 days.

* Early research suggests omicron may cause milder symptoms than earlier versions.

* FEMA has spent nearly $1.5 billion to reimburse families up to $9,000 for funeral costs for loved ones who died of COVID. Many families who are eligible for reimbursement, however, have yet to take advantage of the benefit.

* Currently, the U.S. can conduct about 600 million tests per month—with home tests accounting for about half.

* “We are seeing unprecedented demand for testing services.”–Walgreens statement.

* “Help.” What full-page, hospital-staff-underwritten newspaper ads in Ohio said in pleading with the unvaccinated to finally get a shot and help packed hospitals that are low on beds.

* Roughly 15 percent of the adult population remains unvaccinated.

* Florida reported 125,000 cases from Dec. 17-23, or a daily average of about 18,000. That’s more than a 300 percent increase from the week before. For context, that’s still lower than the weekly average (25,000) during the summer wave.

* President Biden is prepared to deploy an additional 1,000 troops with medical skills to assist hospitals impacted by the COVID surge.

* Approximately one third of the Sunshine State’s total population remains unvaccinated, including children 4 and under who are not yet eligible.

* Hospitality: The sector with the biggest expected job growth in Florida over the next three years.

* A February date has been scheduled for the trial of movie theater shooter Curtis Reeves. He is charged in the slaying of Chad Olson at a Wesley Chapel theater in 2014. However this turns out—after countless hearings and witness depositions–it’s obvious that America’s gun culture is also on trial. You’re packin’ for a movie (“Lone Survivor”)? A MOVIE! Imagine that checklist before heading to the theater: Keys—check; wallet—check; glasses—check; gun—check.

* Downtown Clearwater redevelopment/revitalization and Scientology: Isn’t that an oxymoron?

* In Hillsborough County, 66 percent of eligible residents 5 and up have been vaccinated.

* Rent prices in Tampa Bay increased by a record 24 percent in 2021, according to CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data firm.

* For the third year in a row, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, China is the world’s top jailer of journalists—with 50 currently locked up. The rest of the top five: Myanmar, Egypt, Vietnam and Belarus.

* A Moscow court hit Google and Facebook with fines of $100 million and $27 million, respectively, for failure to delete content banned by local law.

* According to the Pew Research Center, only one third of U.S. adults under 30 get TV through cable or satellite—half that of 2015.

* “Book-wrapt”: Describes the comfort of a well-stocked library.

* This Christmas I resurrected a persona—a one-time holiday staple—known among some O’Neill cronies and a few politicians as “Sardonic Santa.” This time it was to entertain special holiday visitors, including a certain smart-ass buddy from the Philadelphia days. I’ll spare most of the details about the material—from pop culture to back-in-the-day silliness to contemporary politics. There were more guffaws than mirthquakes.

But I will share something that Santa, who’s been around for ages, noted about getting older. It’s the “three stages of life.” First, you believe in Santa Claus. Second, you no longer believe in Santa Claus. Third, you are Santa Claus.

* “The Rowdies are … a kick in the grass.”–Still the best sports motto. It is a real grass-kicker.

* Signs of the times.

^Maternity clothes shop: “We are open on Labor Day.”

^Podiatrist’s window: “Time wounds all heels.”

^Veterinarian’s waiting room: “Be back in five minutes. Sit! Stay!”

* According to MLB data from the commissioner’s office, the Tampa Bay Rays ranked 26^th (out of 30 teams) in 2021 payrolls at $76.8 million. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees topped the list with payrolls of $262.1 million and $203.6 million, respectively. The four teams below the Rays in 2021 payrolls: Miami, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

* “The Tampa Bay Find-A-Ways.”–How the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos characterized the Bolts’ resilience despite major injuries.

* No surprise that with the Omicron-driven pandemic surge the NHL has withdrawn from the winter Beijing Olympics. But even if a hockey player has a Stanley Cup ring or two, there remains something uniquely prideful in representing one’s country at the Olympics. Just ask Steven Stamkos.

* The Sports Business Journal has named Tampa its “Best Sports City of 2021.”