Leading off: Why the economic victory lap?

Ah, not so fast with that economic victory lap Joe. Maybe you only read the Washington Post and the funnies, but the inflation rate is the highest it’s been in four decades and Jerome Powell says don’t expect an end to the stifling interest rates any time soon. Meanwhile, Wall Street observers last week termed the first two-thirds of August “messy.” Simultaneously, the housing market is down, stressed by the high cost of mortgages. Is this an indication of an economy on the right track?

Tampa Bay, politics and stuff:

Related note from the 5:05 Newsletter: White House press secretary Karine Jean- Pierre praised the overwhelming success of "Bidenomics," saying that it has been so successful the average American now has twice as many jobs as they had two years ago.

Clueless defined: comparing the tragedies in Hawaii to a kitchen fire.

$200,000 bail – do the folks in Atlanta view Donald Trump as a flight risk?

Related: We’re more than a little disappointed in our favorite newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for portraying the legal carnival in their home town with World War II type headlines.

There are times when just plain common sense has to prevail. Common sense says putting two massive towers on a narrow strip of land between Prelude 80 and The Oaks of Clearwater is ludicrous.

Another long time Florida staple is going away as German-owned Aldi buys out Winn-Dixie. Aldi says some Winn-Dixies will remain. No word yet from the low-end chain if you’ll need quarters for carts or need to buy or bring your own shopping bags.

Side note: a tip of our cap to Publix for more publicly stating their policy against anything but legitimate service dogs in their stores.

The next significant shortage is sugar. Health experts would say this is not a problem, but tell that to kids and parents who will feel the impact of the shortage at Halloween and Christmas. Import tariffs have a lot to do with the shortfall.

Sometimes it is better to trust the numbers from an unbiased source, such as U-Haul’s report that their largest amount of out of state moves in the country originate in San Francisco.

This week (August 30) one storied baseball career begins as Ty Cobb debuts for the Tigers (1905). Sixty years later celebrated baseball player and manager Casey Stengel announces his retirement.

Sports, media and other stuff:

Jerry Moss, who teamed with Herb Alpert to form A&M Records giving birth to hit singles and albums by Bacharach, the Carpenters, Frampton, Carole King, and, of course Alpert himself died last week at age 88.

It’s hard to imagine that the guy who pitched the third version of the Washington Nationals to their only World Championship just four years ago is retiring. Stephen Strasburg was the MVP of the 2019 series, but the 34-year-old has only appeared in eight games since due to an assortment of injuries.

August Luncheon: As we prepare to head down the stretch in baseball, we would like to dine with Peter Gammons, Tim Kurkjian and Ken Rosenthal, the best three baseball writers on the planet.

Idle thought: isn’t it just a matter of time until FSU joins the SEC?

Sometimes one of our readers mind’s veers sharply off the road such as: “We should level all the condos on the south end of Clearwater Beach and turn it back into the submarine race viewing area it was in the 50s and 60s.”

And a sports note related to our closing item from the mighty 5:05: The dramatic realignment of college football conferences has caused the need for many conferences to change their season schedules. This year’s kickoff game will feature Ohio State versus Columbia School of Broadcasting.

…and another thing: Kickoff!

College football season is underway although most of the early games feature Top Ten teams against very weak programs (see above). Georgia is the AP’s number one, trying to do something that hasn’t been done in almost 90 years – win three national championships in a row. Significantly, Alabama is ranked number four. The last time the Tide was ranked outside the pre-season top three was 14 years ago, and they won the national championship. Michigan and Ohio State are sandwiched between the two SEC powers – not sure why as the Big 10 or, whatever it’s called these days, seldom wins anything of consequence. FSU is the only Florida team in the Top 25 – ranked 8^th, just ahead of Clemson, the only other ACC team in the top ten teams. But we predict Florida will at least visit the Top 25 before the season concludes. Stay tuned.

NEXT UP: CCR; Publix & Eckerd’s; Waiting for Biden

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