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.

Another year of voter suppression

Before taking the headline seriously, please refer to our disclaimer above. A few weeks ago, our mid-term ballot arrived in the mail. We scanned the directions (haven’t changed much); voted for the candidates we were already sure about and then researched those we did not know and the various amendment issues; marked in a black ballpoint pen and viola, finis! Oh, we did sign the envelope and checked off the keep voting by mail box and finally the difficult process of adding the last four of our Social Security number and our date of birth and mailed it – for free. All through the process, we wondered how could we possibly make this any easier and by what stretch could anyone in their right mind call this voter suppression?

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Verbatim from a Charlie Crist mailer one week before the election: “Paying off your own college debt isn’t fair.” That tells you all you need to know about Charlie Crist.

After endorsing many candidates with very weak resumes, the Tampa Bay Half Truth prints unendorsed candidates responses three days before Election Day – classy.

They are watching – one of the most closely watched Congressional races in the nation was our own 13^th District. In the last polling just before Election Day, the GOP’s Anna Paulina Luna had a razor thin lead over the Democrat Eric Lynn.

Military news from the 5:05 Newsletter: The Pentagon announced it will rename nine military bases that were named for confederate soldiers. The new names will be chosen from a list of celebrated antiwar activists, i.e. Fort Fonda.

We like to give a Rave to Lowes around this time of year (Veteran’s Day) for their up close parking spots for Vets – some of us who don’t get around as well as we used to.

In our life’s journey, we have met few men nicer or kinder than Dillard Nash who passed away last week at age 91. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Nash family.

Five Years Ago in TBR&R (Nov.11, 2017) In the aftermath of the St. Pete Mayoral election: The irony is not lost on us. What passes for a newspaper in our area endorsed a Republican for the first time in a millennium, while the reactionaries here at TBR&R gave a nod, albeit tepid, to Democratic Mayor Kriseman.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Might we want to re-think those college football ratings?

Ray Guy was the first punter to ever be drafted in the NFL’s first round. The Hall of Famer who spent his entire 14-year career with the Raiders died last week at age 72.

The NBA’s spoiled brat, Kyrie Irving, finally apologized for a post linking a film with anti-Semitic themes. The apology came only after he was suspended for a minimum of five games – that’s seven figures - which gets the attention of even a pampered millionaire.  

Now on the clock: The NBA’s Sacramento Kings. With MLB’s Seattle Mariners ending a 20-year-playoff drought, the Kings are next – 16 years and counting.

Correction: the mud used to treat major league baseballs comes from the Delaware not the Mississippi River. We misquoted our friend TL by about half a continent.

McDonalds’ McRib sandwich beginning a “farewell tour” – and not a decade too soon.

Can we all admit we greatly underrated Bruce Arians’ contributions on the Bucs sideline?

Answer: Fighting Camels. The question: what is the name of Campbell University’s athletic teams? Campbell, located in Buies Creek, NC often serves as a tune up for elite Tar Heel state basketball schools like UNC, Duke and North Carolina State.

A Rave goes to Hall of Famer Rod Carew for taking on baseball ayatollah Rob Manfred over the cheapening of the game of baseball i.e. infield shifts, ghost runners and the limitations on relief pitchers. It’s nice to know baseball’s elite agree with the everyday fan.

Dave Berry’s take on golf: “Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it’s open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.”

Bumper sticker seen on the back of an SUV: I Used To Be Cool.

…and another thing: a USF grad’s lament

Our football team is beyond lousy; the university tried to shut down its College of Education which supplies more teachers to the bay area than all other schools combined; now the school’s radio station (WUSF-FM) is trying to kill off Jazz Night which dates back to 1966. Our family takes the last two personally – our Saintly Wife has both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education from USF. And your humble blogger was there for the birth of Jazz Night in ’66 mostly as a hanger-on with George Geiger and Mike Smith, providing news updates throughout the night and weighing in occasionally on the music. The bay area’s only commercial jazz station WSRZ went off the air several years ago, leaving only WUSF for jazz. (WUSF had already dumped all their classical music programming for canned stuff some years back). Please join in online to protest another left turn away from local programming to more Washington-based blather.

Thanks to our vets

NEXT UP: Checker Cab; Pet turns 90; Better playoff coverage

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