Category: Uncategorized

• The future “is electric.”—President Joe Biden, in unveiling plans to strengthen car pollution standards through 2026.
• “I think he (New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo) should resign.”—President Joe Biden.
• Perry Bacon Jr., WaPo: “A movement to both defend America’s democracy and make it more democratic got Joe Biden to the White House. He and his team should never forget that.” Bernie and AOC won’t.
• At some point, predictable partisan pushback notwithstanding, the Biden Administration may have to consider vaccine passports—not unlike those employed in France and Israel.

• Approximately 15 percent of the world population has been vaccinated. In developing countries: less than 2 percent.
• “Wealthy governments shouldn’t be prioritizing giving third doses when much of the developing world hasn’t even yet had the chance to get their first COVID-19 shots.”—Kate Elder, senior vaccines policy adviser at Doctors Without Borders’ Access Campaign.
• The U.S. has donated and shipped more than 110 million doses of COVID vaccine to more than 60 countries.
• According to the CDC, more than 97 percent of people who are hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
• The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 new COVID infections a day.
• Florida, Georgia and Louisiana account for nearly 40 percent of all hospitalizations in the country.
• “It is unvaccinated people who have become petri dishes for the delta variant.”—Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.
• “This meeting could have been an email.” A popular meme that refers to those who travel long distances for a work meeting.
• Super Spreader update: The Sturgis (S.D.) Motorcycle Rally drew some 700,000 people last weekend.
• CNN fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated. Good. Hopefully it sends a signal—community and corporate public health is priority one—to other businesses.
• According to the CDC, from July 24-30, Florida averaged 32 pediatric COVID hospitalizations per day—the highest rate in the country.
• “It’s not something I support.” That was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ response when asked his take on hospitals requiring their staff members to get vaccinated.
• United Airlines will start requiring all of its (67,000) U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated—becoming the first domestic airline to make vaccination a condition of employment.
• Delta surge and Florida epicenter notwithstanding, St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport set an all-time record in July for traffic. Numbers show that more than 260,000 passengers flew to and from Pinellas County—a seven percent increase over June 2019, the previous record-holding month with 246,000 passengers.
• Tampa Bay area public and Catholic schools are making masks optional for students and teachers.
• Those who got vaccinated at the New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church were able to pose with a photo of the Lombardi Trophy won by the Bucs in Super Bowl 55.

• It’s estimated that the average person with internet access spends 2 ½ hours daily on social media. We’ve seen its downside.  
• “Hospital Hell”: a recent Drudge Report headline about Florida.
• Imagine, it’s now been a decade since the paper-challenged Tampa Bay Times was the daily St. Petersburg Times. Time flies in the digital age.

• “(Ron DeSantis) has chosen to be playing Russian Roulette with my fellow Floridians, which is a disaster. We need a governor to say wearing a mask is a smart thing to do, and not signing executive orders banning it.” Charlie Crist, a guest on CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” on DeSantis’ handling of COVID during a pandemic that Florida is now an epicenter for.
• Ron DeSantis to the federal government: “Don’t tell me what to do.” Ron DeSantis to local governments: “I’ll tell you what to do.”
• A recent survey from St. Pete Polls shows that 45 percent of respondents said they’d vote for Crist for governor, and 44 percent said they’d vote for DeSantis—while 11 percent were undecided. That same poll (of some 4,000 respondents via phone), also had DeSantis at 45 percent, Nikki Fried at 42 percent and 13 percent undecided.

• It wasn’t stop-the-presses stuff, but it was encouraging to see that the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority is moving ahead with plans to better connect Tampa Bay—specifically from Wesley Chapel to Tampa and St. Petersburg. It includes a more pragmatic use of the Howard Frankland Bridge. Presses would have stopped, however, had we been talking about light rail—and not a 41-mile bus system that includes express lanes for the Howard Frankland.
• Not surreal: Masks are required for all visitors—including the vaccinated—while indoors at the Dali Museum.

• According to Amnesty International, China tops the world in executions.
• Vietnam–Afghanistan: Will America finally come to grips with the reality that it’s always easier to get into a war than out of one. It’s not just about cautionary tales; it’s about inevitable tragic outcomes.
• An Israeli woman, 50, has donated her kidney to a three-year-old Palestinian boy from the Gaza Strip. So, yes, there is still some hope for Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy to (somehow) get along.

• Congrats to former Buccaneers’ safety John Lynch for becoming the fourth Buc to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lynch was a stalwart on the 2002 Bucs Super Bowl championship. He was known for his hard hitting and classy manner. Next ex-Buc up: Should be Ronde Barber.
• Olympic track:  UF’s Grant Holloway won the silver medal in the 200 meters and Hillsborough High senior Erriyon Knighton, 17, just missed a medal, finishing fourth in the same race.
• Extra medal incentive: A U.S. medalist receives $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Then there’s Singapore, which is not exactly synonymous with Olympic gold. The affluent island city-state offers $1 million (in local currency) for a gold medal. There were no takers in Tokyo.
• Olympic trivia: What city did Berlin beat out to host the 1936 Summer Games? Barcelona.

• “I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel. … It’ll be hard not to hit her with it.”—House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, at a Tennessee GOP fundraiser.
•  “Political prisoners.” That’s how jailed (Capitol) rioters were described by Rep. Matt Gaetz and other Trump loyalists.
• It’s hardly coincidental that the soundtrack for the Capitol insurrectionists was “Macho Man” by the Village People, a Trump-and-fans favorite at his rallies.
• “(Trump) may be a weaker force than he was five years ago, but the Party and the Right are far more receptive to him now than they were back then.”—Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch.
• Former Health and Human Services Secretary (under Trump) Alex Azar has publicly acknowledged that he wished that Trump had gotten his vaccine shot publicly—so that his followers could “see how much trust and confidence he has” in the vaccines.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has labeled House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a “moron” for his mask dissent and outrageous, partisan take on the most violent attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. But he’s actually more calculated and malevolent than moronic. Recall that back on Jan. 6, he angrily demanded that former President Trump stop those rioting in his name and then acknowledged that “the president bears responsibility” for the siege. He called for a fact-finding commission. Now his top priority is self-serving Trump fealty and becoming the next House Speaker in 2022.
• Yes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign. A decade is enough. Creepy, sexual harassment in a workplace turned toxic deserves no less. But as with former Sen. Al Franken, no one has accused Cuomo of assault or rape. Unlike Donald Trump. BTW, if Cuomo quits or is removed from office, he’ll be replaced by his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul. New York has never had a female governor. This is what it took. Ironic.

• “Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a single head of state. That’s the tyranny we rejected on July 4^th of 1776.”—U.S. District Judge Amy Berman, in rejecting claims that detained defendants in the Capitol attack are “political prisoners” or that rioters acted out of patriotism.
• “The American people deserve to have good roads and bridges and infrastructure to drive on, travel on.”—Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the lead Republican negotiator on the $1 trillion, bipartisan infrastructure package.
• “Trust is key, and there is almost none now.”—Tom Daschle, former Democratic Senate leader from South Dakota.
• “I’m tired of hearing … that I need to respect other people’s choices—even when those choices put others’ health and lives at risk. Gross selfishness masked as American individualism is killing our country and traumatizing our children.”—Jessica Valenti, feminist author and publisher of the “All in Her Head” newsletter.
• “It’s reasonable, it’s fair, and its legal to step up the pressure on the reckless (vaccination) non-compliant.”–Ruth Marcus, Washington Post.
• “No one’s being asked to go off to fight radical Islam or fight a foreign enemy. We’re being asked to make responsible medical decisions. Take the vaccine.”—South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
• “A catastrophically monumental waste of resources.”—Environmentalist and author Paul Hawken, in reference to those flying long distances for business meetings.
• “On this (56^th) anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we must say again that it is not right to erect barriers that make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote. And it is time for Congress to act again to protect that fundamental right.”—Attorney General Merrick Garland.
• “Confederate history is family history, history as eulogy, in which loyalty takes precedence over truth.”—Clint Smith, The Atlantic.
• “A Pied Piper leading everybody off a cliff right now.”—Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, in an analogy to Ron DeSantis’ handling of COVID.
• “I wanted to be in an area brimming with innovative energy and stocked with skilled talent, and family friendly.”—Domm Holland, CEO of Fast, a San Francisco financial tech company that chose Tampa as its East Coast home base.
• “The most exciting part is we’re just getting started.”—Rhea Law, USF interim president.
• “Residential real estate has been the shining star during the pandemic.”—Anthony Solomon, owner of the Naples-based Ronto Group that is developing the 23-story Altura Bayshore condominium.
• “Our hope is this infusion of cash will allow some businesses to make improvements or additions that they were forced to pass on because of the economic struggles of the past year and a half.”—Tampa Downtown Partnership president and CEO Lynda Remund, on TDP offering some businesses free $5,000 grants for street-level repairs and renovations.
• “Around Channelside and Water Street, downtown has really been the nexus of a lot of activity… . A lot of the brands have to have pretty high rents to justify the construction costs of the last four or five years.”—Brian Alford, Florida’s director of market research for CoStar Group, a nationwide real estate data firm.
• “Tonight, I advocate that we take the lead of football and huddle up as a people, as a great nation, and find the common ground through our shared values.”—John Lynch, in his Hall of Fame induction speech.

She is America’s uber athletic, charismatic, African-American princess. She is gymnastics’ GOAT, a five-time World Champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist. She is the avatar of talent, class, resilience and seeming perfection. She revolutionized her sport and has been a consummate role model to young women, especially of color. She went from foster care as a child to the top of Mt. Olympus. She is, of course, Simone Biles. 

But what we don’t know matters mightily. The weight–and consequent pressure–she carries as the face of the sport. From family, friends and fans to media, sponsors and NBC execs. The wear and tear on her 4’8” body, including broken toes and a kidney stone. The after effects of surviving sexual assaults at the hands of her own team doctor. In a moment of unmasked candor, when asked her happiest career moment, she responded: “Probably my time off.” That speaks volumes. “At the end of the day, we’re human too,” she has said. “So we have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.” Hence, those Olympic withdrawals.

None of us non-icons can walk in her gym shoes. The mental pressure—as Naomi Osaka and other prominent athletes well know—can be relentless and sometimes blindsiding. In Biles’ case, it also got physical when the “twisties” kicked in, which is a scary loss of orientation. It can be dangerous, even for those who seemingly defy gravity. Whatever her final act as a gymnast– likely the Tokyo balance beam bronze–it will have been on her terms. She has earned it.