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.

New Biden book – meh

Politico correspondent Ben Schreckinger’s much anticipated book The Bidens, is, in a word, dull. But then it could be argued that the subject (Joe) is dull. The book plows a lot of old ground regarding Joe, his first and second wives, their kids and Joe’s siblings, all of whom are not what you would call assets. Hunter’s adventures are well documented. Suffice to say, if you were Hunter and did the things he did and, of course, your Dad was not a Senator or Vice-President at the time, you would be in jail right now and would be staying there a long time. Joe’s brothers, Schreckinger tells us, might well be Hunter’s neighbors in the clink. The other word we could use to describe the book is unfinished as the author as recently as October 12 published a lengthy article in Politico detailing the first son’s latest activities including an exhibit of his art at prices that ethics experts describe, given Hunter’s talent, as absolutely appalling – the art version of quid pro quo – buy my art at inflated prices, get my Dad’s ear. In the conclusion of his book, despite all the family issues, Schreckinger says “He (Joe Biden) had earned the benefit of the doubt from a large swath of voters and the media.” Maybe then, but we’re not so sure about now.

Great Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

If you ask our 10-year-old granddaughter what she wants to be when she grows up, she, like so many others, will say “marine biologist” – influenced by her encounters with Winter the Dolphin over the years. Clearwater’s most famous citizen died this week at age 16. It’s okay for all of us to wipe away a tear or two.

We can’t help but wonder what Jack Eckerd, who founded what has morphed into Eckerd Connects, would think about the abject failures linked to the Clearwater non-profit.

News item: Governor Ron DeSantis makes it official; he’s running for re-election in 2022. Let the attack articles begin.

Democrats fear that Trump will rear his ugly head in 2024 – and they fear he could steal the election through voting irregularities. You’ve got to be kidding.

Our admiration for former UN ambassador Nikki Haley sank a bit when we learned of her demands for $200,000 and the cost of booking a private plane for a speaking engagement. In our brief and checkered political career, we once received a jar of candy for a speech at a Rotary Club. Still have the jar.

Answer: Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. The question: who are the last elected U.S. Presidents who served back-to-back single full terms? We have a strong feeling the answer to that trivia question will change in ’24.

$450,000 for coming into America illegally - who thinks up this stuff?

Like many major dailies, the 5:05 Newsletter now does only sporadic editions. One of their latest: New York City removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson because he owned 143 slaves. It will be replaced with a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence with all the signatures removed.

Sports, media and lighter stuff:

We all should change our phone’s standard “Please leave a message” to “Hello you’ve reached (fill in the blank). Our car is still under its new car warranty and we have already chosen our Medicare Supplement plan for 2022.”

Related idle question: What ever happened to the no call list?

From a little over a month ago (TBR&R 10/3/21): We know it’s a huge longshot, but nothing would make us happier than to see the Atlanta Braves clinch the World Series at Truist Park and watch the All-Star Game thief Rob Manfred have to present the trophy to Braves management – and to hear the warm welcome he would receive from the crowd. Truth be told, it wasn’t that big a long shot, we only missed by a game – and at latest report, Manfred has not yet conceived a plan to take the World Championship trophy from the Braves and the state of Georgia.

They have hardly completed the cleanup from the World Series parade in Atlanta and the 2022 World Series odds are out with the Dodgers as favorites at 5-1 followed by the Astros at 8-1. The Yanks and Braves share 10-1 odds with our local nine and the Pale Hose next at 12-1.

Sports note: The Cleveland Guardians (nee Indians) are being sued by a roller derby team that has been using the name for over five years. Nice job of vetting. Maybe they can change to a catchier name like the Cleveland Baseball Team.

70 years ago this week (1951), the FSU Seminoles lost their season finale to the University of Tampa 14-6. The two programs have gone on different paths over the last 70 years with FSU winning three national championships and UT shutting down their football program in 1974. 

The TBR&R focus group on favorite fiction

Our November assignment for our TBR&R focus group was to name their three favorite pieces of fiction. That’s a big area, but there were some duplications. Two of the original focus group members, friends for over half a century who can often complete each other’s sentences, came up with Clive Cussler’s first novel Raise the Titanic – a terrific thriller, a so-so movie.

The taller of the two old friends added Thomas Harris’ suspenseful Silence of the Lambs and George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm. His tag team partner opted for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third and greatest novel, The Great Gatsby and, from his youth, anything by Clair Bee or John Blaine.

What would a list of favorite fiction be without the outstanding Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell? To that another original focus group member adds Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and one from the 19^th century, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.

Another of our elite group went for more contemporary fiction – Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow along with Paulette Jiles’ 19^th century Texas adventure News of the World and Anthony Doerr’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning All the Light We Cannot See.

Our newest focus group member casts ballots for Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, written over 60 years ago, but eerily familiar today. His other picks are C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters and the popular Left Alone series of books by Christian Fletcher.

From our member from the northern climes comes a vote for Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ms. Lee’s enduring novel gets a second vote from another of our elite group, along with Daphne du Maurier’s novels particularly Rebecca and Frenchman’s Creek plus Lloyd C. Douglas’ Magnificent Obsession. She also mentioned another “favorite” - Goodnight Moon because it rescued many bedtimes. It seems every parent had a go-to book like that during a difficult bedtime.

UP NEXT: Big Mac App; Marina; Giving thanks

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