Author: opinionstogo

Russian warships–plus a nuclear sub–participated in military exercises in the Caribbean and came within 30 miles of Florida on their way to Cuba. No, it wasn’t footage from October 1962—but a 21^st century reminder of geopolitical reality in the age of Vladimir Putin.

The Russian autocrat–and former KGB agent–is the embodiment of Soviet humiliation and revenge. The Soviets, under Nikita Khrushchev, were forced to withdraw their Cuba-based missiles—despite Fidel Castro’s disagreement and outrage—in the context of face-saving negotiations. Khrushchev would soon leave office.

Less than a generation later, the Soviet Union imploded. Then NATO and the European Union moved east. Further humiliation and ire—and personified by the authoritarian-for-life Putin, who gives punk a bad name.

Now it’s the war in Ukraine, which used to be part of the USSR, with the U.S. acting as the lead military surrogate.

With a problematic economy and alienation from the West, Putin needs more than oligarch swagger; he has to signal proactive strength–domestically and globally. Defiantly revisiting the missiles of October checks a foreign ego-box for him.

They are what they are: presidential debates. They are not extensions of forensic societies. They are exercises in performance art. Optics and one-liners live on more than mastery of important-issue details. Nixon sweating in 1960. Reagan’s prepared comeback lines in 1984. George Bush Sr. looking at his watch in 1992.

The Biden-Trump debate began with Biden shuffling on to the stage. Then it got worse with a raspy voice, unfinished sentences and a mouth agape in reaction shots. The bar is so low for Trump, the pathological liar, perp-walker and convicted, shameless felon, that he only had to restrain himself enough not to look like a completely unhinged buffoon.

It’s too late for the Dems to think about replacing Biden. Voters wouldn’t be part of the vetting. It would look like what it is: pure panic. Plus, the bench isn’t overly impressive. The focus needs to be on democracy. Which candidate defends it. Which one undermines it. Who represents good governance; who represents odious character. Who wants to unite America; who continues to stoke a culture war. Who leads a party; who leads a cult. A neurologist for Biden; a criminologist for Trump.

And then hope for the best in round two in September. Remember Reagan had a lackluster, age-themed performance against Walter Mondale in their first debate, raising concerns about his competence. Then he bounced back with pitch-perfect, rehearsed lines. But it helped that he was a professional actor.

Biden has always made it through tough times. But those were pre-octogenarian times. He still knows a lot, is a decent person, cares about the Constitution and is surrounded by competence—not sycophancy. He’s a moral democrat—not an immoral autocrat. Stay in the game, Joe—and on the HARRIS-BIDEN ticket.

So, what does this Supreme Court do when it’s in the cross-hairs of public mistrust? It doubles down. Roe v Wade, three Trumpers, Clarence (and Ginni) Thomas, Samuel Alito, Trump immunity, yada yada. The Extreme Court has even struck down a ban on bump stocks, those rapid-fire gun accessories that convert rifles into de facto machine guns. Would the Founders have disapproved of public safety and common sense?

 

• “President Biden and my support for the people of Ukraine is unwavering.”—VP Kamala Harris at the Summit on Peace in Switzerland. For the record, it was the vice president’s 17^th foreign trip.
• “Kamalanomics”: Now finding its way into partisan political parlance.
• An early July Reuters/Ipsos poll looked at a hypothetical Trump-Harris The results: Trump led Harris, 43% to 42%.
• Joe Biden and Barack Obama as part of a successful fundraiser. It’s a given. Only downside: Obama charisma and nostalgia starkly juxtaposed to a president past his prime.
• “Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime. … He is simply being used as a bargaining chip.” That was White House national security spokesman John Kirby, in reference to the Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, who is charged with espionage and remains in jail in Russia.
• “Biden’s policies are better for the economy. They lead to more growth and less inflation.”—Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.
• Inflation context: Let’s not forget that the ultimate arbiter of the money supply is the Federal Reserve Bank—not Congress and not the president. Independent of the federal government, the Fed alone controls the money supply. Its primary function is to control inflation.
• Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared gun violence a public health crisis. His advisory was, no surprise, praised by doctors. The American Academy of Family Physicians has considered gun violence a public health epidemic for more than a decade. Nationwide gun control measures, however, require legislation passed by Congress.

• Diplomacy is thinking twice before saying nothing.
• “The times that tried men’s souls are over.”—Thomas Paine, known more for eloquence than prescience.
• “You look great!” Thanks. “For your age.” Yeah
• Thanks to Gov. DisAstrous and the Indian County School Board, “Floriduh” has been back in the news. That’s what happens when the book, “Ban This Book” is banned. Another gift for late-night comedians. Heavy-handed censorship, partisan self-service and idiocy, obviously, have never been banned.
• “A categorical final warning, forbidding masters of ceremonies to make political wisecracks or to use lewd erotic jokes in their performances.”—No, that wasn’t Gov. DisAstrous who made that warning. It was Joseph Goebbels.

• June 19, 1865 is the day slavery is considered to have ended in America. By then, Tampa had already been emancipated (May, 1864).
• Hillsborough County reported fewer than 155,000 vote-by-mail requests for elections this year. This is in comparison to more than 335,000 requests for the midterms. Changes in state law have everything to do with it. Voter “security” is not a synonym for partisan voter suppression.
• Amid Tampa’s high-profile urban upgrades is a project that is much more than high-rise revitalization. It’s an homage to Tampa’s African-American roots. The Tampa Housing Authority and the Tampa Bay History Museum will be jointly curating the first Black History Museum in Tampa. It will be located at the (restored) former St. James Episcopal Church in the Encore neighborhood. Heritage matters and this project underscores that critically relevant reality.
• According to data from Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage: 6.87%.
• Statistics from the Greater Tampa Realtors show that the median home sales price has increased 2% in the last year—to $423,710.

• “Con man” update: Reich-stuff racist Donald Trump, unsurprisingly, claims that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America. Among prominent, spineless GOPsters who don’t see that as a reason for condemnation: Marco Rubio.

“’Poisoning the blood,’” says Rubio, is simply a “saying that he uses, but it has nothing to do with race, because in the end, he’s talking about the country, not the population.”

In the end, Rubio has shamelessly fallen into line behind the “con man” he once defined and decried.

• In a state that has gone from purple to red to supermajority GOP, Dems have at least found consolation in knowing that the party will field candidates in all 140 legislative seats up for election this year. That hasn’t happened in nearly a generation.
• “I think that the Legislature doesn’t really understand the way things work in academia.”—Sharon Austin, UF political science professor.
• Chaplains are now permitted in public schools. So much for guidance counselors?
• Florida has fewer Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other major state.
• U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the “2024-25 Best Places to Live” in the nation, Naples ranked 1^st and Sarasota 11^th.
• Florida ranks 46^th in SAT scores in America.
• The National Deer Association still gets $200,000 to promote deer hunting.

• The movie “The Apprentice” was well received at Cannes. It chronicles the relationship between Donald Trump and his mob lawyer-mentor Roy Cohn. Interesting–if not disturbing–timing, to be sure. Distributors have bought the rights in Canada, UK, France, Japan, Germany and a number of other countries. But the filmmakers have yet to secure a deal to release it here. Negotiations are ongoing.
• According to Nielsen, Fox News Channel averaged 2.14 million viewers in prime time in June, with MSNBC at 1.22 million and CNN at 525,000.
• During the Trump Administration, TV networks were forced to hire security guards to accompany their White House correspondents.
• CBS is the media partner of the BBC.

• In October, Mexico will have its first female president in Claudia Sheinbaum. A former liberal activist, she has spent academic years (1991-94) in the San Francisco Bay area and speaks English. She has already spoken at length—sans interpreter– with President Biden. That helps.
• “We need to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs: Human dignity itself depends on it.” That was Pope Francis in an address to the G7 summit in Italy.
• Thailand will allow same-sex marriage. It is the third Asian country to do so. The others: Nepal and Taiwan.
• Iran’s crackdown—via its oxymoronic “morality police”—on women not adhering to dress codes. What would Allah say? Hopefully, “Are you kidding me?”

• Danielle Collins of Petersburg is part of the U.S. Olympic tennis team. She will compete in singles and doubles.
• Tampa’s Erriyon Knighton made the U.S. Olympic track & field team in the 200 meters. He’s a Hillsborough High grad.
• The Lightning’s Jon Cooper will coach Canada’s Olympic team for the 2026 Milan Games.
• 21 of the 30 MLB teams now feature sponsorship patches on uniforms. But, no, it doesn’t look like NASCAR.
• Once again, WTMP-FM will be doing its Spanish-language broadcasts of Bucs’ games this season.