Category: Uncategorized

• “This (Afghan government collapse) did unfold more quickly than we anticipated.”—President Joe Biden, acknowledging the obvious. There’s a reason his ratings recently dipped into the 40s: his less-than-deft handling of the chaos along with those horrific optics that conjured Vietnam were front and center—even during an ongoing pandemic. Joe Biden, who was never a proponent of staying in Afghanistan, let alone a surge, is no Lyndon Johnson. But as with Johnson, it could hinder, if not undermine, his ambitious domestic agenda. It won’t matter that he inherited a mess, that he’s carrying out, in effect, an agreement signed by his predecessor, and that a majority of Americans don’t back a U.S. occupational presence in Afghanistan. It’s not fair, but right now Biden owns it. It comes with being the last commander-in-chief of a lost war.
• Remember that mysterious “Havana syndrome,” dating back to 2016, which impacted scores of U.S. officials and family members? Well, the Biden Administration hasn’t forgotten. It’s still looking into the possibility they were microwave attacks launched by Russian agents. The National Security Council is officially on the case, and two separate task forces are now in operation. In short, this has gone from a medical mystery to a serious national security matter.
• “Memo to both Democrats and Republicans: The party that forms a durable, long-term governing coalition in this country will be the party that most fully embraces, understands and speaks to the needs of Hispanic voters.”—Eugene Robinson, WaPo.

• According to the CDC, nearly 200 million people—approximately 60 percent of the U.S. population—have received at least one vaccine dose. Just over half the population was fully vaccinated.
• In the U.S., more children are being hospitalized with COVID—an average of 276 each day—than at any other point in the pandemic.
• “Comirnaty”: The FDA’s fully-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
• North Carolina has seen vaccination interest surge since it upped the financial incentive from $25 to $100 for unvaccinated residents who come in for their first shot this month.
• In Florida, 34 percent of patients in hospital beds are being treated for COVID. That’s the highest percentage in the nation.
• One out of every four COVID infections recorded by the state in the most recent seven-day period were of people age 19 or younger.
• Florida: 38 percent of the total population is unvaccinated.
• Orlando is asking residents to stop watering lawns and washing cars because of the recent surge in COVID hospitalizations. Supplies, such as liquid nitrogen, which ordinarily go toward water treatment, have been diverted to hospitals.
• For the seventh consecutive week, Florida’s positivity rate increased—most recently from 19.1 percent to 19.8 percent. In Hillsborough County it was 22.2 percent.
• Since schools reopened on Aug. 10-11, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando school districts have reported approximately 5,000 COVID cases. Last year’s total for the entire school year was fewer than 18,000.

• Compared to the second quarter of 2020, Florida visitors in the 2021 second quarter were up 223 percent.
• “I can tell you, if my school district requires masks, I will make sure they get hurt next year.”—State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who just happens to be the chairman of the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.
• “(DeSantis) is trying to win a presidential primary that’s three years away. So, instead of taking his cues and leading with facts, science and example, he’s taking direction from his personal saviors at Fox News Channel. It’s heartbreaking and repugnant.”—Agriculture Commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried. Can only imagine what the dynamics of a Florida Cabinet meeting are like.

• Amid a baseball season that has the Rays in first place and headed to the post-season again, there is still the undercurrent of awful attendance and Tampa-relocation speculation. And that includes the Tampa-Montreal ExRays scenario. But one bottom line hasn’t changed: The Rays can’t—and ultimately won’t—stay in poorly-positioned St. Petersburg. Not in this hybrid market that is asymmetrical, mass-transit challenged, yada, yada. If Tampa, the business hub of the area and where the Bucs and Bolts thrive, doesn’t ultimately happen, then Charlotte, Nashville or Las Vegas will.
• Tampa Bay’s rent is rising faster than any other metro area in the country this year.
• GreenWisdom: GreenWise in Channelside. A well-timed, perfect complement to new urbanism that embraces live, work, play, stay and eat.

• We lost a really good one the other day when George Meyer passed. It’s also personal. When he was an impactful journalism instructor at USF, I was one of his students. He was as entertaining as he was instructive. When you saw your words—whether from an assigned movie review or an editorial “think piece”–projected on a screen for all to scrutinize, it could be revealing, humbling, funny—and motivating.

Outside the classroom and his varied real estate interests, George was gregariously funny in a group–whether a party, a poker game, the Press Box or his cherished Hyde Park Men’s Club–and witty with his individual asides, notably on politics and sports. George was a friend. That makes me one of many. His presence rendered “bigger than life” much more than a cliché. He will be missed—but what a legacy. Thanks, big guy.

• A softer, more “moderate” image for the Taliban? In response to the chaotic retreat in Kabul, we’ve witnessed civil press conferences and seen a major upgrade in social media platforms. We’ve heard from the non-confrontational spokesmen Zabihullah Mujahid, who recently told reporters that “Animosities have come to an end and we would like to live peacefully, without internal or external enemies.” And there’s been talk of “amnesty,” “women’s rights” and no revenge for those who helped the U.S. and NATO. A skeptic would say it’s a rhetorical effort to achieve international legitimacy and encourage foreign powers to send aid and lift sanctions.

But there’s that track record. It’s a lot more than banning music. To wit: women confined to homes plus public amputations, stonings and beheadings. It’s what you get with a corrupt, Sharia-driven, feudal, tribal-militia state that has always fallen shy of statehood and resisted nation-building. But we, as well as the Brits and the Soviets, knew that 20 years ago.

• In the era of ubiquitous media, CNN is far removed fromits pioneer status. Itwas founded in 1980 as the first 24-hour, all-news TV network. But it floundered early on and was labeled “Chicken Noodle News” by its competitors.
• “I was cable before cable was cool.”—Ted Turner.

• Unkindest cut: “I forgot to take my Prevagen.”
• Tesla autopilot: No thanks, but at least they don’t text.
• Boomer trivia: What British group had the most appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show? The Dave Clark 5: 18.

• Major NCAA events that the Tampa Bay area will be hosting over the next five years: 2023—Men’s Frozen Four and Women’s Volleyball Championship; 2025—Women’s Final Four; 2026—Men’s Basketball, 1^st and 2^nd rounds.
• “It’s novel, it’s unusual. If we can build a less expensive stadium that’s not covered and then ship the (Rays) up to Montreal for the rainy season, why not?’’—Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder.
• “We want Tampa.” Imagine, that was the chant from New York fans during a recent Yankees’ win over the Boston Red Sox. Humbling for the Bosox. Too bad.
• The NFL is making it clear that “taunting” will not be tolerated. Referees are being directed to strictly enforce the mandate, which includes automatic ejection for a second violation, plus fines and possible suspensions. Not everyone is in agreement. A lot of players and fans consider “taunting” an extension of “trash talk,” which is feisty showmanship that is part of psychological warfare. Teams have long tried to intimidate their opponents.

But here’s what the NFL doesn’t get. In the name of showing “enthusiasm,” players—often with pre-planned orchestration—are allowed to turn a game involving elite athletes into a cheap lounge act—with Network enablers.

• Too bad that during an ongoing pandemic, the most recent former president can’t help rally America, including, ironically, many vulnerable Alabama Trump supporters, and use his, uh, bully pulpit to encourage more vaccinations. Instead, unsurprisingly, he seems more like a disgruntled, twice-impeached, narcissistic Florida retiree.
• Bannon fire: “Literally, I’ve got Archie Bunker.” That was Steve Bannon’s spot-on take on Donald Trump upon meeting him for the first time in 2010. “I realized, I’m the director, he’s the actor.” Bannon on Archie Trump six years later.
• For some reason Mike Pence, who dodged a lynching on Jan. 6, is still out fundraising. Maybe he’s never forgotten the speculation that had him and Condoleezza Rice as the replacement ticket after the Access Hollywood tape was released.
• “This is like the Republican Party splinter equivalent of a ‘Star Trek’ Klingons-only convention.” That was Republican consultant Michael Murphy’s take on what a Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene “America First” rally looks like.
• Speaking of Trump surrogate Taylor Greene, she has updated the “Axis of evil” that’s now comprised, she declares, of Democrats, the news media and big tech companies.
• Gaetz and Taylor Greene, who have minimal legislative power and very few allies in the GOP caucus, are doubling down on the Trump base, such that Ron DeSantis seems almost part of the GOP establishment. Almost.

• “Feigning ignorance about Israeli nuclear weapons makes a mockery of America’s efforts at nonproliferation.”—City University of New York professor of journalism and political science Peter Beinart.
• “Foreign aid is superfluous if you’re running the world’s largest narco-state. That is what Afghanistan under the Taliban threatens to become.”—Elaine Shannon, author of “Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire.”
• “We know Afghanistan, we know it well. We saw how this country is built and how counterproductive it is to try to force unnatural forms of government and public life upon it.”—Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• “Employers must confront the broadening disconnect between how they and their employees see the future. At best, the rosy messaging of a grand return to the office is falling flat.”—From a McKinsey & Co. survey.
• “Chance favors only the prepared mind.”—Louis Pasteur.
• “According to the (Census Bureau) 2020 count, the number of white people in this country has fallen for the first time since the first census of 1790. … We already know what that leads to. Indeed, hysteria over the pending loss of straight, white, Christian primacy has driven the tumult of the last decade and a half.”—Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
• “Looming large in vaccination hesitancy among blacks is distrust in American health care rooted in medical racism and experimentation.”—Clyde W. Ford, Los Angeles Times.
• “We cannot have government officials pick and choose what laws they want to follow.”—Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.
• “There is no doubt in my mind that the Piney Point spill has contributed in a major way to the Red Tide inside Tampa Bay.”—State Rep. William Robinson, R-Bradenton.
• “We anticipate that we will begin to see regular sailings from Port Tampa Bay starting again in mid-October, so we’re excited about that.”—Wade Elliot, Port Tampa Bay’s vice president of business development.
• “Take it on. We sometimes have to go against unjust acts of authority for the sake of our children.”—Former Tampa City Council member Scott Paine, in addressing the Hillsborough County School Board on mask requirements in schools.

“In Tampa we’re getting more younger buyers, which we don’t see as much of in Naples or Sarasota.”—Anthony Solomon, owner of Ronto Group, which is building the 23-story  Altura Bayshore condo tower.