Opinions to go Online

* A presidential candidate who is a criminal defendant. Yes, that’s where we are.

* Post-election reality: If Trump were re-elected, would he order the DOJ to drop the charges against him? Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

* Is Trump a felon? Or just your basic unethical, immoral, unhinged, pathologically lying, narcissistic misogynist with demagogic aspirations?

* The Iowa caucuses provide valuable momentum. Just ask former President Rick Santorum.

* AI vs. AV: Trump claims that Lincoln Project Artificial Intelligence ads have been targeting him. Not true. But there is evidence of Authentic Vanity.

* Trump is largely–and manifestly–unread, and that obviously includes The Constitution—if not Mein Kampf.

* Loyalty Oaf: As it turns out, the man who’s linked forever more to the riotous, Jan. 6 insurrection, did not sign the Illinois loyalty oath—the one that says candidates won’t advocate for overthrowing the government. The pledge, dating back to the McCarthy era, is not mandatory. But it is routinely signed by candidates—including Trump in 2016 and 2020.

* “Donald Trump: He will sell the soul of this country.”–Chris Christie, who now regrets, he says, for having helped Trump get elected in 2016. Begged question: What did he possibly see in 2016 that supported his high-profile enabling and inner-circle support that included debate prep?

* Trump bragging rights: “For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it. And I’m proud to have done it.” Obvious takeaway: Abort this candidacy.

* “(Trump is) the most flawed person I’ve ever met.”–Former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly.

* “Dare to have more democracy.”–Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.

* “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”–Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige.

* “Pathway to a Palestinian state” is the only way for Israel to achieve “genuine security.”–Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Alas, Bibi Netanyahu doesn’t agree.

* “The U.K. will not falter. We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.”–British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in unveiling a military-funding package worth $3.2 billion.

* “The U.S. could be sleepwalking into dictatorship.”–Liz Cheney.

* “A president has to have immunity.”–Donald Trump.

* “Whenever the far-right gains political traction in America, it’s usually at least partly due to an unglamorous, relatively inexpensive tactic: running for school board.”–Liza Featherstone, Jacobin.

* “Shutdown threats and months of obstruction by extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have been a hallmark of a year of chaos in the GOP-led House.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla.

* “Students should be focused on learning the truth about our country instead of being radicalized by woke ideologies in our college classrooms.”–Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz.

* “You don’t just want great physician scientists and nurses and techs and allied health professionals, you want to be in the state-of-the-art facilities with state-of-the-art technology.”–Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris. TGH has announced plans for a $500-million, 13-story, 565,000-square-foot addition to provide a state-of-the-art environment for neuroscience and transplant services.

* “I own it.”–Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Van Ayres, in reference to disappointing county school grades, including 23 D schools and 4 F schools—more than any other state district.

* “The resurgence of downtown has been good for us, and we’ve been an important part of that resurgence.”–Straz Center CEO Gregory Holland.

* “Donald Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Ron DeSantis, trying to out-Trump Trump, shot democracy in the middle of our courthouse—and he’s gotten away with it.”–Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who was suspended and replaced by the governor.

USF received a state-mandate to disband a pro-Palestinian student group. State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues called on schools to disband the local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine. Gov. Ron DiSastrous and Rodrigues think it’s tacit support for terrorism. USF is pushing back, as it should.

It’s also pushing forward.

It plans to host forums for civil discourse with differing viewpoints about the history of the region in the spring. Bottom line: This is about free speech and open dialogue. Disagreement is allowed—indeed, expected. It’s not for everyone’s endorsement—but for anyone’s civil participation.

It’s what universities—even those squirming under the ideological thumb of Tallahassee—do. It’s called disagreement with respect–for others and for the First Amendment. But not a place for antisemiticism, Islamophobia and cherry-picked reality. This is about common sense, common good, codes of conduct and intellectual and ideological exchange. Or what’s a university for?

Gov. DiSastrous is cutting the budget (to $114.4 billion). Priorities matter. “Smaller government” is the disingenuous rationale for an ideological micromanager. Ronald Reagan he isn’t.

But he still wants, unconscionably, to set aside $1 million for “any litigation expenses that may come as a result of this really, really poor decision by the College Football Playoff” to snub the undefeated ACC champion FSU Seminoles. AG Ashley Moody, of course, agrees. So does, for what it’s worth, Sen. Rick Scott.

But what’s the real bottom line? Maybe this governor thinks ‘Noles fans will forget about insurance premiums, abortion autocracy, Medicaid non-expansion and heavy-handed interference in public schools and universities and feel indebted for his “support.”

And maybe, he hopes, they won’t equate football pandering to, say, flying immigrants to Cape Cod. But maybe they will see a self-serving, diversionary tactic for what it is. We were used to grandstanding; now there’s “gridstanding.”

* Biden to donors: “Not sure I’d be running” if Trump were not in the 2024 presidential race. We get it, but don’t say it. It begs the question: why? The honest answer is not helpful.

* Remember November numbers: The unemployment rate drops to 3.7 percent; inflation down to 3.2 percent. The latter had been at 9 percent a little over a year ago. But, no, the pre-pandemic economy hasn’t returned.

* “One thing…that we have in common is: Neither of us will be the nominee of our party in 2024.” A Gavin Newsom debate jab at Ron DiSastrous.

* Vice President Kamala Harris set a new record by casting her 32^nd tie-breaking Senate vote. The previous record was held by John C. Calhoun (vice president from 1825-32). Most of Harris’ votes have involved judicial nominees, but it also notably includes the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act.

* Speaking of, the vice president is not just a rallying force for the pro-choice vote, but was the leader of the U.S. delegation to the UN Climate Summit in Dubai. Her portfolio gets an increasingly higher profile as the 2024 election nears. She has to look ready for whatever might lie ahead.

* The U.S. was the only UN Security Council member to not vote for a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

* “While the Democratic and Republican parties increasingly cater to the extreme, most Americans are moderate, level-headed folks, and they are plain worn out.”–West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who won’t be running for re-election, but will be looking to build a common-ground, middle-of-the-road movement. Yeah.

* With another cult-rally-around-Trump candidacy looming, a fractious Democratic coalition is hardly helpful.

 

* Festivus (for the rest of us) list of annoyances:

^Scooters left anywhere, including the sidewalk in front of your house.

^Noisy leaf relocaters.

^Otherwise nice restaurants that are too LOUD.

^College football coaches who make more–much, much more–than university presidents, scholars and cancer researchers.

^Saying hello to someone without response because he’s affixed to his cell phone.

^Political debates’ rehearsed sucker-punch, gotcha lines.

^Government-shutdown roulette.

^Those prefacing a problematic remark with a disingenuous “With all due respect.”

^ Dialed-out dog owners at dog parks.

^Motorcyclists for whom the rules of the road seemingly don’t apply.

^Having to sit through extra-loud, made-from-action-comics movie trailers, while waiting for the actual movie you’re there to see.

^Did I mention #@%^&*+ scooters?

^And no, just because stuff annoys you, it doesn’t make you a curmudgeon.

* George Washington is the only president who didn’t blame the previous administration for his troubles.

* We are what we keep. Anyone who has ever “downsized” knows that reality.

 

* It’s the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s the regional market. Not the St. Petersburg Rays or the Parochial Rays or the Gas Plant Rays. There’s a reason why the St. Petersburg Times became the Tampa Bay Times after the closing of the Tampa Tribune.

* According to the Tampa Bay Partnership, 20 percent of area residents cross county lines daily.

* After a year-long investigation, the American Association of University Professors assessed that Florida was under an “ideologically-driven assault unparalleled in U.S. history. … What is unfolding in Florida is horrifying.” In short, more “freedom” is not unfolding in higher ed. Unsurprisingly, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DiSastrous called the AAUP investigation a “hoax.”

* According to the Insurance Information Institute, fewer than 20 percent of Florida homeowners have flood insurance.

* The Sunshine State is still one of 10 states that refuse to expand Medicaid as part of the ACA.

* “I have no desire to ‘improve’ or ‘reform’ ObamaCare. I intend to repeal it.”–Ron DiSastrous.

* According to PEN America, Florida “leads” the U.S. in school-book bans.

* Among the many that the charisma-challenged DiSastrous doesn’t get along with: political consultants. Exhibit A: Jeff Roe, a prominent GOP strategist, who recently resigned as the top adviser to the governor’s controversial super PAC, “Never Back Down.” And Iowa’s just days away.

* “Throuple”: New term for a sexual threesome, thanks to the media coverage of Florida “power couple” Christian and Bridget Ziegler. The former has been Florida GOP chairman, the latter a co-founder of “Moms for Liberty.”

* X-rated Musk: There are uncivil rants and crude Trumpian language, but Elon Musk dug a new, rhetorical low with his “F*** yourself” response to advertisers who have stopped spending money on X over concerns that Musk himself was amplifying antisemitism and racism on his social media site, the one formerly known as Twitter.

* AI fake news: The next great misinformation spreader.

* Word of the Year, according to Oxford University Press: Rizz. It’s a Gen Z term that refers to a person’s ability to attract—or even seduce—another person. Reportedly it’s derived from “charisma”–not risible.

* SNL is now is now in its 49^th season. No, it hasn’t gotten better, unless segments—more goofy than satirical–that last too long are not an issue. Is that writers’ strike really over?

* Republican Liz Cheney has been making the high-profile, media rounds to promote a book and appeal to GOP sanity. Too bad her father can’t be as outspoken about saving democracy.

* At least 64 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war,

* The average American checks his or her smartphone 58 times per day.

* Spain, Norway and Belgium have banned smartphones in schools.

* Once again Tampa’s Lou Piniella came close to joining baseball’s Hall of Fame as a manager. Ironically, his 3-year, all-losing tenure with his home-market TB Rays likely cost him HoF status.

* Florida State’s only meaningful response to the College Football Playoff Final Four snub is to beat Georgia in the Orange Bowl. But that’s not likely.

* The ReliaQuest Bowl: At least the Outback Bowl sounded more like a bowl game than a naming-rights ad. But it could be worse: The 1-800-ASK-GARY Bowl.

* Remember when bowls were a sign of a successful season? With 40 bowls–from Famous Toastery to Pop-Tarts–and 80 teams, it no longer even requires a winning record.

* Shout out to FSU Women, who are NCAA soccer champs—for the fourth time.

* Tampa will host the 2025 Women’s Basketball Final Four. Earlier this month Tampa hosted the 2023 Women’s Volleyball Final Four.