Sleep Well: Succession Scenarios in Place

It’s something we’re all forced to think about. In the event of a catastrophic attack on Washington, what is the line of succession to the president?

Even civics-challenged Americans know that Vice President Dick Cheney is next in line to President George W. Bush. But beyond that?

Arguably, the next most “presidential” person — in experience, demeanor, national reputation and international renown — is Secretary of State Colin Powell. Only he, not unlike Powell predecessor Alexander “I’m in charge here” Haig, is not next in the line of succession.

Powell’s behind Denny Hastert and Ted Stevens. The former is the Speaker of the House; the latter, the Senate President Pro Tempore.

And if you figured Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was right behind Powell, you figured wrong. It’s John Snow. The Treasury Secretary. Yes, THAT John Snow.

But there is change afoot. There is legislation approved in the Senate and pending in the House, that would elevate the Homeland Security Secretary — Tom Ridge — from 18th to the 8th spot.

He would be right in front of Gayle Norton and Ann Veneman. They are the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, respectively.

Sleep well.

Patriot Act As ACLU Recruiting Tool

Call it “Japanese Internment Policy, The Sequel.” In effect, the American Civil Liberties Union does. To America’s citadel of all things liberal, the post-9/11 period is all about America’s designated “enemy combatant” detainees and all the governmental gumshoeing and snooping entailed in making life miserable for any Mohammed Atta wannabes.

For the ACLU, John Ashcroft is a scary amalgam of Heinrich Himmler, Benito Mussolini, J.Edgar Hoover, Josef Stalin, Bull Connor, Richard Nixon and Pat Buchanan. And maybe Vlad the Impaler, Francisco Franco and G. Gordon Liddy too. To America’s fortress of all things left, the attorney general is the poster pol for intimidation, intolerance, arbitrariness, xenophobia, domestic spying and garden variety strong-arm tactics.

And as for the USA Patriot Act, it’s tantamount to the legalized jackbooting of the U.S. Constitution.

“You don’t need to be a ‘card-carrying’ ACLU member to know that our government’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th has created the greatest crisis for civil liberties in our history,” wrote Howard L. Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. Those words were part of his message to those gathered recently in St. Petersburg for the ACLU of Florida-sponsored (24th annual) Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award dinner.

But there is an upside for the ACLU.

Its Florida membership now stands at 17,600. Two years ago it was 13,000. That’s a hike of 35 percent in just two years.

How’s that for irony? The Patriot Act as recruiting tool.

Strike Up The Ban; Castro Marches On

It’s not been a good fortnight for Fidel Castro.

Apparently the Cuban president was duped recently by a couple of Cuban-American disc jockeys in Miami. The WXDJ-FM radio announcers got through Castro’s gatekeepers to get him on a phone prank — using the guise of an incoming call from his new best buddy, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The “call” was actually snippets of a tape recording of Chavez.

Castro responded for a few minutes before catching on. That’s when the “conversation” turned obscene and Castro was called an “assassin,” which is no joke.

The phony call, however, was merely embarrassing. Earlier, Castro fell victim to his own hubris and Fidelismo, the results of which could be downright disastrous.

That’s when Cuba took control of the Spanish Embassy’s cultural center in downtown Havana. The government said the Iberian showcase had been used to aid anti-Castro dissidents.

The take-over came just two days after Castro had reprised The Music Man by leading hundreds of thousands of Cubans on marches to the Spanish and Italian embassies. The lemming-like conga lines were to protest European alignment with U.S. policies supporting Cuba’s pro-democracy dissidents.

Fidel’s folly was his personal response to the European Union’s announcement that it would be reviewing its relationship with Cuba in the aftermath of the dissident crackdown and the execution of those who tried to hijack a ferry to Florida.

It’s one thing to rally the usual bussed-in extras to demonstrate against the U.S. — Uncle Scapegoat. But this is Europe. Even the appeasement crowd has its limits. Cuba’s fragile, post-Soviet-subsidy economy is now dependent on tourists. A lot of them are European.

Moreover, the lion’s share of tourism-related joint ventures are with Europeans. The Spaniards and the Italians are prominent, especially the former.

But Castro remains Castro. His knee-jerk reaction to affronts is to play Professor Harold Hill and rally the home front with a march. This diverts attention from the real issue; in this case, those with the temerity and courage to question his failed, 40-something regime.

Castro, the ultimate CIA assassination survivor, seemingly never runs out of lives. But he may be running out of feet to shoot.

Cuban Embargo: Bad Policy, Good Debate

Call it bad policy, good debate.

That pretty much sums up the recent debate — hosted by the law firm of Trenam Kemker — on the contentious issue of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba — as in should it be lifted? Prominent, Havana-born, Tampa attorney Ralph Fernandez said, among many other things, “No.” Tampa native Albert Fox, founder of the Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy and point man for ex-Mayor Dick Greco’s controversial trip to Havana last year, disagreed. Big time.

For those keeping score, Fernandez won — even though Fox had the better case.

A lot of folks — and not just pundits and United Nations’ reps — would probably agree that America’s embargo policy is a Cold War relic that is counterproductive on lots of levels, as well as mean-spirited, hypocritical and, well, dumb.

Fernandez, the glib lawyer, was the better advocate. He speaks well — often with acerbic wit and effective passion. He marshals a pretty decent case for a pretty sorry policy.

He cannily played the terrorist card and insisted that Cuba has supported all kinds of terrorism. Thus, trading with Castro is a syllogistic affront to our troops in Iraq. He reminded the audience of some 300 that two weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, Castro was in Tehran saying, “Iran and Cuba will bring America to its knees.”

In answer to the question of what would constitute the “right time” to normalize trade with Cuba, Fernandez said contemplating such a scenario amounted to “putting the cart in front of the horse.”

“Before we trade, we need to establish change in Cuba,” stressed Fernandez. Castro, he underscored, has to “make some progress on the road” to having a free market economy and dealing properly with dissidents. “Otherwise, there’s no dealing with Fidel Castro.” Moreover, added Fernandez, “over the last 44 years there have been multiple overtures to Fidel Castro,” all of which he has managed to resist. “When he’s finally gone,” opined Fernandez, “people will really know — like with Stalin and Hitler — how many he has executed. The level of repression in Cuba is so high — that’s why he doesn’t have to execute as many any more. I say we act righteously.”

But there’s nothing righteous — or right — about embargo-busting, reiterated Fernandez. Besides, Cuba is basically bankrupt and can’t pay for much of anything anyhow.

The more pertinent issue, Fernandez pointedly noted, is the travel ban. Lifting that, he estimated, could be worth as much as “$15-16 billion from the U.S.” per year. Such a staggering figure would dwarf the old Soviet subsidy.

As for defusing the humanitarian issues, he impugned the motives of “carpetbaggers,” “apologists for the regime,” those who would “trade with the devil” and worse. To wit: those “who take an old wheelchair to Cuba in a million-dollar yacht and then party with 15-year-old girls at Marina Hemingway.”

The low-key — and sometimes microphone-challenged — Fox saw the humanitarian side of humanitarian aid and disputed Cuban terrorism links. He said the most ardent anti-Castro motivations derived much more from “former Batista-ites’ greed” than outrage at dissident treatment.

He rhetorically asked who was “impacted most” by the embargo? His answer: “The people of Cuba, the people of Tampa.”

Fox said U.S. policy should be to “engage the Cuban government as it is — not as we wish it to be.” There’s ample precedent, he said, such as Saudi Arabia, which is hardly a beacon of democracy. In fact, were Cuba to immediately announce that it had discovered major oil deposits off its shores, theorized Fox, “the embargo would be over tomorrow.

“It’s for the people of Cuba to decide what their government is,” emphasized Fox. “It shouldn’t be dictated from Miami

Port And Pop: Cuban Imports And Exports

Locally, Cuba remains topical and emotional, but the context — to Tampa’s consummate credit — is typically civil. May veto power over U.S. foreign policy never be exercised from this part of the state.

*The topic of legal trade eventually became too hot for the Port of Tampa to ignore indefinitely, and next month a contingent from the Tampa Port Authority will travel to Cuba on a trade mission. The Feds had previously given the port permission after it had received an invitation from the Cuban government. Short-term opportunities are modest at best, but the relationship game must be played to best position Tampa for post-Castro Cuba.

*Culturally, Los Van Van, Cuba’s most popular musical group, last night played — with only token protest — to an enthusiastic crowd at the West Tampa Convention Center. In Miami, it could only have happened with a cordon of riot police, a moat and a diversionary appearance by Janet Reno.

Everybody Liked Ike

Tampa lost a valuable asset recently with the passing of Ike Tribble.

The 62-year-old black educator and community leader was unique. An intellectual, civil rights activist, role model and nice guy who moved between the white and black communities with equal credibility, good humor and influence. He could personally bridge the powerful and the barely franchised. He fought the good fight — on all the important fronts — to the very end.

Ike Tribble always stood his ground on principle — and always stood with dappered dignity.

He had an African proverb for all occasions — save one. He didn’t play the victim card — only the achievement card.

Ike Tribble will be missed.

Getting The Word Out On Tampa

Call it an idea whose time has been beckoning for a while. That is, an effective, cost-efficient way to get the word out — literally — about what to do in Tampa once you get the visitors here. As in first getting the word out to those — such as hotel desk clerks and museum receptionists — who are often asked what to do in Tampa besides visit Busch Gardens, dine at Bern’s and pivot out of here to Walt Disney World and the gulf beaches.

Thanks to Troy Manthey, chief executive of the StarShip Dining Yacht, Tampa now has the Downtown Attractions Association with an Ambassador Training Program. Its aim: getting the word out on Tampa — in Tampa. It involves taking those clerks and receptionists and others on a tour of their own town — from the Lowry Park Zoo and Florida Aquarium to the Channel District, Ybor City and, well, the StarShip. And more.

But here’s a suggestion, which worked well in Atlanta leading up to the 1996 Olympics. Get the cab drivers involved. They see visitors before clerks, receptionists, doormen and waiters do.

Fidel’s European Folly

It’s not been a good fortnight for Fidel.

Apparently the Cuban president has been duped by a couple of Cuban-American disc jockeys in Miami. The WXDJ-FM radio announcers, Joe Ferrero and Enrique Santos, got through Castro’s gatekeepers to get Castro on a phone prank — using the guise of an incoming call from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The “Chavez call” was actually snippets of a tape recording of Chavez, a friend of Fidel’s.

Castro responds for a few minutes before catching on. That’s when the conversation turned obscene and Castro was called an assassin.

The phony call, however, was merely embarrassing. Earlier, Castro fell victim to his own hubris and Fidelisimo, the result of which could be disastrous.

That’s when Cuba took control of the Spanish Embassy’s cultural center in downtown Havana. Cuba says the Iberian showcase had been used to aid anti-Castro dissidents.

The take-over came just two days after Castro had led hundreds of thousands of Cubans on marches to the Spanish and Italian embassies. The marches were to protest European alignment with U.S. policies supporting Cuba’s pro-democracy dissidents.

The Fidel-led marches were Castro’s personal response to the European Union’s announcement that it would be reviewing its relationship with Cuba in the aftermath of the dissident crackdown and the execution of those who tried to hijack a ferry to Florida.

It’s one thing to rally the usual bussed-in extras to demonstrate against the U.S. — Uncle Scapegoat. But this is Europe. Cuba’s fragile, post-Soviet economy is now dependent on tourists. A lot of them are European.

More to the point, the lion’s share of tourism-related joint ventures are with Europeans. The Spaniards and the Italians are prominent, especially the former.

But Castro is Castro. His knee-jerk reaction to affronts is to rally the home front. This diverts attention from the real issue; in this case, those with the temerity and courage to question his failed, 40-something regime.

Castro, the ultimate CIA survivor, seemingly never runs out of lives. But he may be running out of feet to shoot.

Toughman Woman Dies

That unfortunate, unnecessary death of the “Toughman” woman in Sarasota is now a national story. A key focus is the typically nominal oversight and supervision of such events, where mismatches frequently occur and unskilled fighters are often injured and sometimes killed. In fact, 12 men have died in such events since the “sport’s” inception in 1979 — three in the last nine months, according to the Associated Press. That’s why five states outlaw such “competition.”

The issue arising from the recent death of 30-year-old Stacy Young, an overweight, out-of-shape, untrained wife and mother of two daughters, is that a Toughman boxing-style competition could be held at all in this state. They’re basically illegal — but only where the participants’ payout exceeds $50. The obvious rationale: Who the hell would do it for not much more than gas money?

It’s apparently a loophole that people such as Young — and her husband, Chuck, who also did it and was knocked out in 29 seconds — can’t resist. A macho thing for guys. A what-the-hell lark for women such as Young. And for no more than $50. And the ersatz fighters keep on coming; they’ve been doing these gong-show slugfests in Sarasota for years.

Professional bouts are regulated by the Florida Boxing Commission. There must be two ringside physicians, an ambulance with emergency med techs and a ringside oxygen tank. Fighters must undergo physicals and be pre-approved by the commission.

And no one, of course, has ever accused regulated boxing of being risk free — or even sleaze free.

In Toughman competitions, participants pay an entry fee (waived in Young’s case), sign a waiver of liability, and have their heart rate and blood pressure checked (by a doctor). If they own up to having won five amateur bouts in the past five years, they’re ineligible. Head gear and kidney protectors are required. They punch with 16-ounce gloves.

The unregulated version — given its pool of unskilled, bravado “talent” — is a life-threatening — or ending — outcome waiting to happen. And that’s what happened in the ring at Sarasota’s Robarts Arena.

But while Stacy Young died under a hail of punches to the head, the outcome of that fatal bout — one witnessed by her husband and kids — isn’t over yet.

The Young family has retained a lawyer. Alas, what they really should have retained was some sense.

You can sue for just about anything in this society, but no lawyer is ultimately able to protect you from yourself.

A husband is now without his wife and two young girls are without their mom. Loopholes and poor supervision may have contributed. But stupidity caused it.

Streetcar Museum Named For Harris Mullen

Resolved: This is the last mention of errand-running at the Public Defender’s Office. Ditto for hand-me-down, ensemble sales at the County Attorney’s Office. This is also the lone reference to anyone trying to back out of a prenuptial agreement or someone having a parallel- universe family. In fact, nowhere else will it be noted that some posh athletic club once served coffee to throw. And this is the only time that names such as Johnnie Byrd, David Caton, Michael Pittman, Joe Redner and Ronda Storms will appear.

Not that it isn’t tempting.

But enough of the newsmakers who are too much with us. Sometimes you just need a respite from the usual suspects who are such easy grist for the column mill. Sometimes you just want to say something nice. No bada-bings about it. And not just because it, well, feels good; but because it’s well-warranted.

Case in point: The recent honoring of native son/businessman/activist/pioneer Harris Mullen.

Plans are still afoot for a permanent trolley museum in Ybor City, but it already has a name: the “Harris H. Mullen Streetcar Museum.” Mullen was a key catalyst in bringing streetcars back to Tampa.

When the build-out of Ybor Station, the car barn and maintenance facility, is complete, the museum will be located there. Until then, a modest, start-up version will be housed in a customized warehouse on 6th Avenue across from Ybor Station. Officials hope to have it ready by this fall. Plans call for rides on the restored Birney #163 as a complement to an artifacts’ display.

The 79-year-old Mullen was on hand earlier this month when the announcement was made amid the unveiling of Birney #402, the next vintage streetcar set for restoration. Mullen has been a trolley true believer for some time. In fact, he’s one of the co-founders of the Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway Society in 1984.

That’s not all he founded. He started “Florida Trend” magazine, the first statewide business magazine. He also saw something in the old V.M. Ybor Cigar factory besides desuetude and nostalgia for a bygone era. In 1972 he bought and developed it into the shopping and restaurant complex renamed Ybor Square.

“Harris is a visionary,” says Joan Jennewein, another of the Railway Society co-founders. “He came in and really started the resurrection and anchored the western end of Ybor City. He has such an appreciation for the history of this area. I wish we could have gotten the streetcar going back then.

“Harris is a most deserving choice,” adds Jennewein. “He’s been so involved in this community in so many way. He’s such a neat guy, and he loves Ybor.”

Adds Michael English, president of the board of Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc.: “The word is sometimes inflated, but not in Harris Mullen’s case; he’s a ‘gentleman.’ Charming — through and through.”