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

Leading off: Trying to understand Democrats

It appears Democrats are A-OK with no substantial party opposition in the 2024 Presidential Primary – or no debates even if there were credible challengers. Condensed down, this means Democrats are comfortable with a mentally-diminished octogenarian being their standard bearer in next year’s election. Further, if the inevitable happens and Biden is not able to perform his duties, they are comfortable with a narcissistic lightweight at the head of our government. If these possibilities don’t run shivers down your spine, it might be time for a check-up.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Do you understand the debt bill? Neither do we. Does anyone in Congress?

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor finally gets her head on straight, and reaches within the department to pick a new police chief. She could have avoided a year’s worth of embarrassments had she done this a year ago.

Joe Biden, speaking at a Memorial Day commemoration, urged people to look for ways to honor servicemen. The first thing that popped into our mind was to elect one.

The DeSantis campaign has kicked off and so has the local counterfactual crusade.

Political commentary from the 5:05 Newsletter: Judging from the things he has done lately, I can’t help but wonder if President Biden’s reelection campaign is being run by the marketing team at Budweiser.

Kohl’s, Target and Anheuser-Busch just don’t seem to get it.

Related: from the Belleair Road sign guy: “Real Men Drink Budweiser.”

One last item from the “beer wars,” as people continue to pull away from Bud Light, their chief competitors, Coors and Miller, are having trouble keeping up with demand as the peak beer season is upon us.

NAACP and LGBTQ activists have issued a “travel advisory” to try to keep visitors from our state. With some of the best beaches in the world, an entertainment mecca in central Florida and the Panhandle’s and Keys’ relaxed lifestyle and great fishing, get back to us with how that works out.

Wendy’s is rolling out AI chat boxes to place your order. In the words of a Great American, “what can possibly go wrong?”

As our friends at the 5:05 Newsletter proclaim: “This stuff writes itself.”

Seen on a T-Shirt: “The best things about the good old days were I was good and I wasn’t old.”

This week in 1941 (June 7), Eddie Arcaro wins the first of his two Triple Crowns guiding Whirlaway to victory in the Belmont Stakes.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Pinellas residents are busting their buttons over Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School student Dev Shah – the winner of the 2023 National Spelling Bee.

The latest shortage – peaches, as an unusually warm winter followed by a devastating spring cold snap played hob with the Georgia peach crop. The Peach State is the third largest producer in the nation and second only to South Carolina in the Southeast.

Bally Sports is circling the drain, but Rays’ fans will not be left out in the cold as MLB has pledged to step in if the ship sinks. That’s already been the case in San Diego and fans didn’t miss a beat.

Top Five records versus winning teams – no surprise, the Rays at 22-14 are best, followed by Texas, Baltimore, Arizona and Atlanta – a couple surprises there.

The SEC will continue with an 8-game schedule, meaning more games against Ball State, UMass – or USF, as opposed to Auburn, Florida or Georgia.

Idle question: Will we ever get a Zaxby’s in Clearwater? And a second query from our Saintly Wife: why did they drop their delicious milkshakes?

You’ve lived in Pinellas County a long time if you ever bowled at Tarpon, Clearwater Ten Pin or Shore Lanes.

…and another thing: The Pinellas library system

Few things work as well as the Pinellas County Library System. Love to comb the shelves for a great mystery or biography? There are 16 library systems in the county (not counting many with numerous branches - Clearwater has five) to browse. But best of all, you can search the thousands and thousands of offerings from your computer screen and order it online to be delivered to your nearest branch – and they will let you know when it’s ready for pick-up. The East Clearwater Library, affiliated with St. Pete College, really takes the cake with a drive up window to get your books – not to mention thousands and thousands of audio books and music CDs. For the reader, it’s an ice cream soda with a cherry on top!

NEXT WEEK: Crazy Legs; Exhausting experience; The Angels

060423/704

Sorry, time does not permit replies to comments.