Tampa Bay Raves and Rants is a weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and nostalgia items from a very politically incorrect viewpoint. As always, beware - much of what is printed here should not be taken literally. 

It’s Independence Day, not the 4^th of July

First, let’s get the name of this holiday correct. None of us were there to give our efforts, and for many their lives, so this country could be free. Sadly, this day is now viewed as a reason to grill hot dogs, have a picnic and annoy your neighbors with fireworks. Independence Day is one of the original four federal holidays. The other three were closely grouped within just over a month of each other – Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Through our nation’s history, that number has been bloated to eleven – the latest being Juneteenth. And it could be worse, over the last many years, Congress has rejected Susan B. Anthony Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Malcom X Day, along with two that might make some sense – Flag Day and Election Day. But back to Independence Day - take a moment this week to reflect on what this holiday truly means.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

“Borrowed” from a Facebook Friend - On March 17^th, we were all Irish; on May 5^th, we were all Mexican. How about this July 4^th we all act like Americans?

This will be a very busy month for the Clearwater City Council. During July, they select finalists from a second set of candidates for the City Manager job. Do the same for the upcoming City Attorney vacancy. Meet with the finalists for both jobs and make their selections for both posts. Arguably, it’s the busiest (and most important) month ever for a Clearwater City Council.

Ah, small city politics. Madeira Beach, population 4300, is searching for its fourth city manager in just over four years as Clearwater, population 115,000, prepares to bid adieu to City Manager Bill Horne after over 20 years of service.

Predictably, the U.S. Supreme Court supported an Arizona law upholding voting safeguards by prohibiting ballot harvesting and disallowing votes cast in the wrong precinct from being counted. Predictably, the liberal media went berserk at the 6-3 decision.

Despite last Friday’s victory lap by Job Killing Joe, the fact remains that unemployment numbers are still 70 percent higher than the Trump administration’s pre-epidemic rate of 3.5 per cent.

From a special, special edition of the 5:05 Newsletter: Coalition News: There seem to be coalition cults popping up everywhere these days. The latest one is a personality cult formed around President Biden. It's called "Blank Looks Matter."

Sports, media and lighter stuff:

This week marks the 100^th anniversary of the birth of one of America’s outstanding First Ladies – Nancy Davis Reagan.

This was an idle thought from two years ago - why is it your A/C, water heater or fill in the blank always breaks down right before a holiday weekend? Add to that, your pet gets sick and you have to visit an emergency clinic with their sky-high fees.

Notes from last week’s Rays-Angels series: The Angels only come to Tampa Bay once a season and this year, Rays fans missed seeing the best player in baseball with Mike Trout being out with an injury. Wander Franco had a spectacular start, but it took a nanosecond for the league to find the holes in his swing. And former Northeast High star Doug Waechter handled the TV color assignment – what a breath of fresh air.

Date of the Week – July 1, 2035. That’s the last year the New York Mets will have to write an annual $1.19 million dollar check to Bobby Bonilla. The former major leaguer last laced them up in 2001.

We’ve traveled past its remarkable sign for many years, but did not know the same family had owned it all those years. Treasure Island’s Thunderbird Hotel was sold by the King family last week after over fifty years of ownership.

An addendum to last week’s top groups

As we mentioned last week, the Beatles ruled the 1960s, but the other extraordinary Beatle fact is that every one of their members had at least one #1 record on their own. Paul had seven plus an eighth in a duo with Stevie Wonder (Ebony and Ivory). Ringo had two (You’re 16 and Photograph). John Lennon also had two chart toppers (Just like Starting Over and Whatever Gets You Through the Night). George Harrison had three Number #1s (My Sweet Lord, Give Me Love and Got My Mind Set on You). All these, plus 20 number one tunes as a group. Quite a legacy!

UP NEXT: The joke in Denver; Another $818 million tax bill; 7-11

Happy Independence Day!

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