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: GOP – Egos or the White House?

On this most important week in our nation’s history, here’s an open letter to Donald, Ron, Mike, Nikki, Rick, Chris and the rest. In 2024, it is urgently important to put aside your egos and unite to recapture the White House. Sure, we must let the primaries play out, but when you draw two or three percent of the votes in the first couple, it’s time to step aside and get behind someone who can win in November. As a sidebar, we don’t believe that person is Donald Trump, but that’s just us. If the Don prevails, we and others must swallow hard and get behind him and the “we” particularly applies to the names listed above. The bottom line is our nation simply cannot withstand another four years of dithering and incompetence.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Welcome to a real, not made-up, American holiday.

Based on last week’s SCOTUS decisions, it’s not a great week to be a liberal.

On the other hand, with the high court knocking down a $400 billion student loan giveaway, it’s a good week to be a U.S. taxpayer.

Biden quickly announces he will attempt another avenue to subvert the will of the people and the Supreme Court on student loans.

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - Pope John Paul II

It’s Independence Day week and three patriots we’d like to dine with: George Washington, George Patton and Dick Cheney.

Charitable giving was down 3.5 percent last year. Two of the leading factors were inflation and the Biden Administration’s axing of a small tax deduction formerly allowed for charitable giving.

Dumb and dumber – after a tidal wave of backlash this spring, Bud Light goes ahead with sponsorship of a gay pride parade in Toronto featuring naked male paraders.

From the retail news section of the 5:05 Newsletter:  I just saw the new glassed-in shelves at CVS to prevent theft. The toothpaste aisle has more protection than our Southern border.

This week in 1957 (July 6) a guy named John (Lennon) meets a fellow named Paul (McCartney) and eventually joins Paul’s group, the Quarrymen. Further success would follow.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Something to brag about: MSNBC outdrew Fox News – for all of one week. Although as some liberal outlets crowed, MSNBC maintained their lead in ages 25-54 left handed plumbers and Bud Light drinkers for a second straight week.

Another blow to a print giant as National Geographic has laid off its entire writing staff and will depend on contract journalists for its content in the future.

Ryan Seacrest announced as the new host of Wheel of Fortune after next season. The quick announcement avoids the torturous process Jeopardy fans endured in finding a replacement for Alex Trebek.

We noted a well-preserved Olds 442 on the road a while back. Our friend TL, the auto expert, says the 442 stands for 4-speed transmission, 4-barrel carburetor and dual (2) exhaust. Sharp car!

Factoid: In the wake of the Yankees’ Domingo Germán’s perfect game last week, seven of the 24 perfectos have been thrown by Hall of Famers. They are Jim Bunning, Roy Halladay, Catfish Hunter, Randy Johnson, Addie Joss, Sandy Koufax and the man most associated with pitching excellence – Cy Young.

July 7-9 – dates to circle on your calendar when baseball’s best, the Rays and Braves, face off at the Trop.

…and another thing: about those predictions

In our January 1, 2023 edition of TBR&R, we made ten predictions; here’s a midyear recap. We said Ron DeSantis would run for President; that your IRA would be slightly improved and your gym less crowded – 3 correct. We also predicted Democrats would talk Biden out of running in ’24 – wrong; the Rays would miss the playoffs – extremely unlikely – 2 incorrect. Five remain in the we’ll see category – a settlement in the Ukraine (looking unlikely, but still hopeful); the Bucs would not make the playoffs (too soon to tell); that Charlie Crist would announce for something (not yet); Mike Kelly wouldn’t last out the year as USF’s AD (things are so crazy at that school, he could be the president of USF by year’s end); lastly, we predicted a World Series win for the San Diego Padres (could we take a mulligan, and suggest either the Braves or Rays?) So far, we’re batting a shaky .600. That number is likely to tumble when we revisit this at year’s end.

NEXT UP: Harper Lee; Crippling interest rates; Farewell to a friend

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