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.

Thoughts on Roe v Wade

Before you read this, if you’re looking for objectivity on Roe v Wade, you’re in the wrong place. We have been a card carrying pro-lifer all of our adult life – a contributor to local and nation pro-life causes, a former board member of The Kimberly Home Pregnancy Center and a cheerleader for Trump’s Supreme Court appointments that made the June 24 decision a reality. Pro-lifers realize the battles with the radical left are far from over. But for now, whether you voted for him or not, we can thank President Trump for making Supreme Court choices that brought an end to murders of many unborn. And we need to put our money where our mouths are and support causes like The Kimberly Home, who, more than ever, will be tasked with helping women with troubled pregnancies.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Sidebar to our lead article: The irony was not lost on us when Biden trashed the SCOTUS decision and then headed off to Germany – a country that has shared his outlook on the sanctity of life for nearly a century.

Congratulations to football coach Joe Kennedy whose right to pray alone on a football field was upheld by a 6-3 Supreme Court decision – stopping another effort by the far left to turn America into a secular desert.

$2.45 a gallon – sounds like a bargain price for gas doesn’t it? Actually the $2.45 a gallon represents the increase in the price of gas during the year and a half of the Biden administration. This is due to Vladimir Putin, Exxon and Steve who owns the corner gas station on Island Estates – just ask Joe. Well, he really didn’t mention Steve nor did he mention the Keystone Pipeline, which he shut down the first day in office that would yield 800,000 barrels of oil per day and provide 11,000 jobs.

Idle thought: It’s not a very good thing for Pinellas County when three of our seven commissioners are elected unopposed.

How do you define boondoggle? You could start with a $2million hydro turbine project on the Hillsborough River being advocated by Tampa Mayor Castor and Biden Energy whiz Jennifer Granholm.

Six months out from those New Year’s resolutions, the 5:05 Newsletter reports: Not only did I fall off the diet wagon, I dragged it into the woods, set it on fire and used the insurance money to buy cupcakes.

This week in 1889 (July 8) the first edition of The Wall Street Journal rolls off the press.

Sports, media and other stuff:

From the Belleair Road sign guy and Lightning fan: Two outta three ain’t bad.

A Rave to Paramount CEO Bob Bakish who declared last week that his company will not censor its old films inventory for material that may offend modern audiences.

Krispy Kreme is getting into the ice cream business. If the ice cream is half as good as the doughnuts, the next pandemic will be diabetes.

28000 and 29000 – the tail numbers of the two special Boeing 747s assigned to the President of the United States (Air Force One). This from a fascinating book Air Force One: a history of the presidents and their planes by Kenneth Walsh.

Factoid: the iconic Wilson’s Sports Lounge in St. Pete has closed after fifty years of operation. It was started by Clearwater’s John Wilson who also owned the large Pick Kwik convenience store chain in Pinellas – “Pick it up at Pick Kwik.” The chain sold out to Hess in 1986.

Answer: They were brothers-in-law. Question: how did industrial giants William Proctor and James Gamble meet? They were both immigrants whose fates lead them to Cincinnati where they married sisters.

MLB Item: Pitcher Mark Appel is finally called up to the majors nine years after being the overall #1 draft pick in 2013. The year was not loaded with talent but three picks stand out - #2 – Kris Bryant, the NL MVP three years after being drafted; Cody Bellinger, #124 the NL’s 2019 MVP along with #249, the courageous Trey Mancini, 2021’s Comeback Player of the Year and a likely All-Star this year.

Independence Day MLB Update

Break up the Yankees - and while you’re at it, break up the Braves. The two teams had monster Junes and pleasant surprises. For the Yanks, it’s been their pitching; everybody knew they would hit. For the Braves, it’s three names only baseball geeks knew – Spencer Strider, William (not Willson) Contreras and Michael Harris II. Meanwhile in the AL, it’s possible that three or maybe even four teams from the East could make the playoffs. The Central is going to be a three-team race and nobody is catching Houston out west. The NL could have three postseason teams out west, although San Fran is starting to fade. The Milwaukee-St. Louis summer battle is going to be great to watch. Right now, it’s the Mets and Braves in the east, but don’t count out the Phils even with Bryce Harper’s devastating injury. And is Justin Verlander ever going to start showing his age?

UP NEXT: Clearwater’s Bluff; America’s ship; Pix with Kamala

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