Category: Uncategorized

* Play ball: MLB stadiums are open—with capacities varying. Boston and Washington, for example, will limit capacity to 12 percent. Houston is at 50 percent, and Texas is 100 percent. The Rays are a little less than30 percent.

* This summer’s MLB All Star Game, originally scheduled July 13 for suburban Atlanta (Truist Stadium) home of the Braves, has been moved. Corporate sponsors, (such as Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines), the MLB Players Association, the black Players Alliance, individual players and other Atlanta sports teams all weighed in because of opposition to Georgia’s new, more restrictive, voting law. The relo move is not unprecedented. The NFL once move a Super Bowl out of Arizona when the state failed to make MLK Day an official holiday, and the NBA moved an All-Star Game out of Charlotte over a North Carolina law that cut anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people.

Bottom-line takeaway: Doing the right thing for the right reason is often, as we know, not nearly enough. Especially in a uber-polarized political climate. Forums and leverage matter mightily. Such as that wielded by high-profile activists and corporate heavyweights.

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp minced no partisan words in his response. “Major League Baseball caved to fear, political opportunism and liberal lies,” he declared. “Major League Baseball’s knee-jerk decision means cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included.”

* More than 1 in four MLB players were born outside the U.S. The top three: Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba.

* Leaving aside all the problematic details in determining if college athletes (OK, elite football and basketball players) should be paid by their universities, this still makes the most sense: NCAA athletes should be allowed to earn money for the marketing of their names, images and likenesses.

* “It is always possible to begin anew.”–Pope Francis, during an Easter Vigil service.

* “Too many Americans are acting as if this (pandemic) fight is over. It is not.”–President Joe Biden.

* “It is important to remember that from 1965 to 2008, conservative Republicans in Congress supported the Voting Rights Act and its extensions. Today with their increasing dependency on a core base of white voters, they are relying on the filibuster to derail the democratic political process and threaten the rights of marginalized minorities.”--Steven F. Lawson, professor emeritus of history, Rutgers University.

* “Ghost guns (which avoid regulation and serial numbers because they are sold unfinished or as kits) have taken off, and they’re untraceable.”–Dr. Garen Wintemute, gun violence expert at the University of California at Davis, on the threat of white nationalists building secret arsenals through ghost guns.

* “A small minority of sociopaths with outsized power in our politics” stand in the way whenever the rest of us try to do something about “the plague of gun violence.”–“Late Night” host Seth Meyers.

* “There are systemic issues. … We keep using ‘just a few bad apples.’ But, I mean, at some point in time, you have to take a look at the tree.”–Charles Ramsey, former police chief of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

* “Matt Gaetz is everything the Republicans were looking for in Hunter Biden.”–Twitter wise guy.

* “…Beavis to Donald Trump’s Butt-Head.”–How Matt Gaetz was characterized by Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “It’s not comforting to know that for the last 30-something years, there’s still disparity, even at the University of Connecticut, and we’re about as close as you can get to equity as any place in the world.”–University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma on the notably unequal NCAA status still accorded men’s and women’s basketball.

* “The sad fact is that, here in Tampa, we have a public safety funding deficit with a corresponding looming crisis. … We have areas exploding in growth without corresponding public safety investments.”–Tampa City Council member Luis Viera.

* “They have been slow as molasses in coming up with the criteria and process. A lot of these organizations, and especially a lot of these theaters, they’re hanging on by their fingernails.”–Judy Lisi, president and CEO of the Straz Center, on the long wait for the roll-out of the pandemic relief aid—Shuttered Venue Operations Grants—passed in December.

* “Please be advised that the Rays have informed me that they are declining the opportunity to provide their thoughts and insights at this time.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on the Rays’ current non-involvement in the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field site.

After a brief pandemic lull, mass-murder shootings are back. Within a fortnight, 18 people were gunned down in Atlanta and Boulder. We gasp. We cringe. We lament. We rant. We implore. We mourn. And we move on, because gun trauma–from Colombine and Sandy Hook to Parkland and El Paso–is part of the fabric of American society. It’s an unconscionably perverted byproduct of our “freedom”-celebrating, cultural DNA.

It should be shocking that the NRA has more clout than Congress and most state legislatures. But it’s not; it’s just a dark part of American exceptionalism. We have more guns than Americans, and we don’t lack for rationales–starting with the Second Amendment–for packing heat, whether it’s to the movies, to a night club, to a school or to a massage parlor.

Speaking of the Second Amendment, “the right to bear arms” is sacrosanct. It’s not up for debate. It made sense back in the revolutionary day. “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Overlook the stilted phrasing that begged an 18^th century edit. A militia context was totally appropriate in 1791. But it can’t be a rationale for 21^st century gun rights, let alone the private-citizen ownership of firearms that even the prescient founding fathers could not have imagined–such as assault weapons complemented by high-capacity magazines.

Maybe, we should be satisfied that bazookas and flame-throwers are still off limits for non-military use. Maybe that’s as far as public safety and common sense will take us—given that all-inclusive background checks, let alone AK-15 possession, remain politically partisan issues.

As for that Colorado shooter, too bad the “see something, say something” ethic wasn’t applied. Two days before the slaughter, a sister-in-law saw Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who already had displayed violent tendencies, playing with what appeared to be a “machine gun.” She said nothing. Some things you can’t totally blame on pandering politicians.

* President Biden finally gave a press conference, and it was good enough. He’s not JFK, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama—but he’s also not George W. Bush or Donald Trump. He’s qualified for the job; he knows the issues; and he knows the players. But press conferences are unique forums—with overlapping agendas. The multi-tasking president must be well briefed and prioritized and able to pivot—from sending domestic and foreign messages to working the room full of journalists, some of whom preen while trying to max out on international face time. It’s partperformance art.

*Press conference outtakes: “A smart, smart guy” who “doesn’t have a democratic bone in his body.”–Biden on Chinese President Xi Jinping. “That’s my expectation.”–Biden on whether he plans to run again in 2024. “I have no idea whether there will be a Republican Party. Do you?–Biden on what the 2024 opposition could look like. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”–Biden on efforts by Republican State Legislatures to restrict voting rights. “That’s right, 200 million shots in 100 days.”–Biden in announcing that he would double his goal of 100 shots by his 100^th day in office. “The next major initiative … is to rebuild the infrastructure, both physical and technological, so that we can compete and create significant numbers of really good paying jobs. … I (also) want to change the paradigm. We start to reward work, not just wealth.” Biden in underscoring plans to increase the tax burden on wealthy Americans to fund spending programs meant to help people who earn their money via wages. “The Secretary of Defense has just made available Fort Bliss-–5,000 beds be made easily available on the Texas border. We’re building back up the capacity that should have been maintained and built upon that Trump dismantled.”–Biden on providing for unaccompanied children.

* “Republican voters agree with what I’m doing.”–President Joe Biden, underscoring that at a gut level—excluding greed-heads and spineless, self-serving GOPster pols—hurting Republicans, as shown by polls, want to be helped too.

* White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was on “Fox News Sunday” recently to talk about the Administration’s infrastructure–and social-welfare-program spending. Good move; Chris Wallace isn’t Sean Hannity, and you don’t want to just preach to the converted. Plus polls, as noted above, continue to show Republican voters are hardly averse to stimulus help.

* The good news for Vice President Kamala Harris: She now has center stage for something very important. The flip side is that her charge is more than formidable. She will be leading the White House effort to rein in the migration surge at the Southern border and working with Central American nations—the “Northern Triangle” countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras—to address the root causes. Buena suerte, Sra. VP.

* “A Cuba policy shift is not currently among President Biden’s top priorities.”–That was White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Alas, Marco Rubio would agree.

* The Senate (52-48) voted to confirm Rachel Levine as assistant secretary for health. The Biden appointee becomes the highest-ranking transgender official in U.S. history. (The two unsurprising, GOP crossovers: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.)

#AloneTogether

* This week the vaccination age has been lowered to 40. Next week it expands to all Florida residents 18 and older.

* Young adults 25-34 comprise the largest percentage of COVID cases in Florida.

* According to the Verywell Vaccine Sentiment Tracker, social media is the biggest driver of COVID-19 vaccination information—and misinformation—among respondents who said they will not get a shot.

* Before the pandemic, home-schooling rates were about 3.3 percent. Last spring, according to a U.S. Census Report, it was 5.4 percent. In the fall, it was 1l percent.

* In December the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee projected a 4.2 percent increase in GDP. Now the Open Market Committee has hiked that projected increase to 6.5 percent this year.

* “The more I stayed home, the less at home I felt.”–Jessica Bruder, author of “Nomadland.”

* “Has just not worked.” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ assessment of contact tracing.

* For the U.S. liquor industry supplier revenues were up 7.7 percent in 2020.

* Few professions have been more impacted by the pandemic than teaching. A survey by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education found that 19 percent of undergraduate-level and 11 percent of graduate level teaching programs saw a significant drop in enrollment this year.

* Rutgers University will require proof of vaccination for students enrolling in the fall semester.

* St. Petersburg officials had to cancel last week’s City Council meeting because of a coronavirus outbreak inside City Hall.

* Krispy Kreme is now giving a free (Original Glazed) doughnut to customers who present proof of their vaccine shots.

A Florida House bill has passed that would make it legal to take a weapon to church. Even those places of worship located on the same grounds as schools. Makes sense if you’re a gun worshiper.

* Pandemics necessarily prompt a reflection on the normal. In America, that, alas, also includes random gun massacres. “Shootings are part of what normalcy looks like in this country, sadly,” notes “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt. “We almost know how this story is going to go,” says “CBS This Morning” anchor Gayle King. “We’re going to mourn, we’re going to pray, we’re going to repeat.”

* 50 years ago: The ban on cigarette advertising on TV and radio kicked in. The measure was signed by President Richard M. Nixon.

* Another day at the (“stop-the-steal”) orifice: Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Previously, Smartmatic, another voting technology company, filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit over a “disinformation campaign.”

* CSPAN has already begun its “Road to the White House 2024” programming. While Donald Trump plans a new social media site, welcomes the usual fawning, self-serving suspects and contemplates a possible comeback from MAGA-a-Elba, GOPsters with ambition—and Trump-friendly, anti-socialist speeches–are already heading to, yes, Iowa. They include: Mike Pompeo, Rick Scott and Tim Scott, the African-American South Carolina senator.

* The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates Trump’s net worth at $2.3 billion. It had him at $3.7 billion when he took office. What it can’t estimate is what the Trump presidency has cost America.

* “(Biden) wants a massive tax increase and he wants to allocate the tax responsibility in this country on the basis of class.”–Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy. It still seems politically sacrilegious for that senator to have that name.

* Despite polls that show local Japanese residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the Summer Olympics, the Tokyo Games–originally scheduled for last year–will be held this summer, beginning July 23. One major change: Spectators from overseas will not be allowed to attend the world’s largest sporting event.

* And speaking of the Olympics, the Tokyo Games will be the third straight Olympics that a U.S. soccer team has failed to qualify.

* “We need to think through how we want to more aggressively support and promote women’s sports.”–NCAA President Mark Emmert.

* “I predict to you, your children or grandchildren are going to be doing their doctoral thesis on the issue of who succeeded—autocracy or democracy, because that is what is at stake.”–President Joe Biden.

* “This will not be your grandfather’s Cold War. Unlike the Soviet Union, which was an economic basket case with nukes, the competition with China will be determined by economics and technology, and by which system—democracy or authoritarianism—better delivers the goods to its people.”–Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer.

* “I think there is a sense that America is back.”–Joel Hellman, dean of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, on the renewed interest in careers in foreign diplomacy.

* “To get fully back to normal, we’re going to have to–gulp–help vaccinate the rest of the world. … No country can totally seal itself off from the outside world. … The plain truth is that we won’t get back to normal until everybody does.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.

* “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It is what you do know that ain’t so.”–Will Rogers.

* “The scope of the attack on voting is stunning. They amount to a real-time attack on our democracy.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.

* “This (anti-filibuster) legislation isn’t ready for prime time. It’s an invitation to chaos.”–Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

* “The political reality is that Democrats are frustrated with Republicans’ lopsided advantage in the Senate, where the 50 Republicans represent some 40 million fewer people than the 50 Democrats do. D.C. statehood is supposed to fight fire with fire.”–Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman.

* “Bipartisanship—or Bidenpartisanship—ain’t happening now. Washington is not built for unity at the moment. We live in a world where everyone is unappeasable.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “As far as they see it, they (or white people in general) are the injured party.. … This grievance—we are the victims—has become the core notion of the GOP. … The Trump wannabes are doing their best to emulate the scoundrel.”–Alfred McCoy, The Nation.

* “Fifty years ago the typical General Motors worker earned $35 an hour in today’s dollars and had a major say over working conditions. Today’s largest employers are Amazon and Walmart, each paying around $15 an hour and treating their workers like cattle.”–Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

* “These guys in Tallahassee seem to think they know better than the locals.”–North Redington Beach Mayor Bill Queen.

* “Certainly by May, June and July, more of us will be able to spend time with our children, our grandchildren, our friends, our neighbors. As you get vaccinated, you can feel very comfortable and confident spending time with them.”–Dr. Jay Wolfson, professor of public health at USF.