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: $39 billion gift to deadbeats

As we feared, Jukin’ Joe, our man in the White House, found a way to circumvent the highest court in the land with a back door $39 billion giveaway to people with student debts. It’s the latest in his continuing strategy to buy votes (see Covid giveaways). Republicans are looking for legal remedies. The only other remedy for this is for people who paid off their student loans as they agreed and those who never took out such a loan to rise up in mass next fall. We need to tell Biden and his fellow Democrats to keep their hands out of our pockets. Biden in announcing the giveaway said, “I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families." What he has done is just the opposite – placing yet more burden on hard working taxpayers, not to mention people on fixed incomes.

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Watching Joe Biden’s machinations to circumvent everybody on the student loan issue and others, one can only surmise that he was absent during the civics lecture on the three branches of government and the part where America is no longer governed by a monarch.

Sheriff Gualtieri, we don’t expect you to run your jail like a country club, but far too many prisoners are dying in your facility.

Number of the week: 500,000 – that’s the number of residents who have fled California in the past two years.

Costco is the latest organization to crack down on so-called membership sharing, saying more and more people are using someone else’s card at the self checkouts. It might have something to do with Costco cheaping out on real checkout people.

Related: The most common message you hear when calling for any kind of help (AC, cleaning, repairs) is “we’re short on help.” Second most: “we don’t have the parts.”

Revisited a breakfast-lunch restaurant in Tarpon for the first time in a while last week. At checkout was one of those tip options which now start at 22 percent on top of a rather heavy tab to begin with. But not as bad as an LA restaurant that adds a 4 percent surcharge to cover servers’ health insurance.

This week (July 17) in 1954, construction begins on Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Sometimes our readers’ minds go into a very different gear, such as this thought, “I’d like to have been the woman on the moon, who said ‘welcome’ to Neil and Buzz when they landed this week back in ’69.

And from the 5:05 Newsletter: 50 years and people still don’t know who Neil Armstrong is, or the type of trumpet he played.

Idle thought: is there anything more disgusting than the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest?

The timing couldn’t have been worse for Northwestern to have to fire their head football coach. Most experts say to look for an interim to get a tryout this season and then the academics first school will look for a guy at a similar institution.

Even after a century and a quarter of baseball, there is always something new, such as the Chicago Cubs’ first ever win at Yankee Stadium last week.

A writer for the Tampa Bay Times seemed to wonder why Atlanta Braves fans packed the Trop last week. Here’s her answer: for thirty years before the birth of the Rays, the Braves were the only team in the South and they have a massive amount of fans in central Florida.

More Rays: The schedule maker wasn’t particularly kind to the Rays for 2024, opening at home against the tough Blue Jays and Rangers as opposed to this year’s openers with Detroit, Oakland and Washington. Their road trips include NL powers Atlanta, LA and Philadelphia.

…and another thing: All Star omissions

The All-Star game has come and gone. As always, there are contentious arguments about players who are left off the team. But virtually every year, two positions are totally ignored – a middle reliever and a utility player. This year’s poster children would be the Brave’s Jesse Chavez whose ERA is a miniscule 1.55 and pitches in every situation including “opener.” He’s a 39-year-old 42^nd rounder who is a consummate pro and should have been in Seattle, injury or not. You can say the same for the Boston Red Sox’ Kiki Hernandez. Depending on the day, you’ll see him at second base, shortstop or the corner outfield. His offensive numbers aren’t Aaron Judge-like, but his versatility makes him invaluable to a ball club and those skills like Chavez’ should be recognized annually at the All-Star game.

NEXT WEEK: First jetliner; Yogi & Phil; Alternate location

071623/710

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