Tampa Bay Rants and Raves is a weekly airing of national and local politics, sports, lifestyles and historical notes from a very politically incorrect viewpoint. As always, beware - some of what is printed here should not be taken literally.

First thing on our mind:

From the “must read” sign at Gassman Law Associates on Court Street: “Avoid excessive moderation.”

Leading off: Trump is right on education

Donald Trump, as an agent of change, is being lambasted on many fronts by the radical left. In most cases, they are way off base – if not the planet. The 2024 analysis of reading and math was published recently. It showed a wide gap between federally and privately funded schools. In math, 4^th graders in private schools have their reading level at its highest point in two decades; public schools down from both five and ten years ago and ten points below private schools. In reading levels, the gap is over 15 points. The same holds true at the 8^th grade level with public school deficits at 20 points in both math and reading despite immeasurably more dollars being pumped into our public schools. President Trump is right, a change is needed.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

The coolest image of the past week was the pod of dolphins gathering to welcome our stranded astronauts back to earth.

Ever so slowly federal and local judges are learning if you want to set policy, you need to be elected, not appointed, to office. But we hope that federal judge James Boasberg is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame.

So a trip to the Social Security office might be required in the future to change your direct deposit information. If it prevents fraud, so be it.

Ben and Jerry’s CEO is fired by their parent company Unilever because of his ongoing social and political activism. As a CEO, you are hired to successfully guide a company, not to tell your customers how to think and act.

A move is on to return functions in automobiles back to knobs and dials and away from touch screens which cause too many distractions for drivers. Some models now even have rear window defoggers and mirror adjustments buried in submenus on a screen.

Speaking of autos, while they are still bouncing around a bit, have you noticed the sub $3.00 prices at the corner gas station? Low $2.60s at the wholesale clubs like Sam’s and Costco.

Hard to believe that in the year 2025 (almost like the song), Barbara Rivera Holmes becomes the first ever Latina ever to hold statewide office in our neighboring state just to the north.

From the 5:05 Newsletter: I hate it when I push a pull door and someone says, "You have to pull". Like yeah, my next plan was to start lifting it from the bottom.

This week in 1885 (March 28) one of the world’s great charitable organizations, the Salvation Army, is organized.

Sports, media and other notes:

WEDU’s Florida This Week is getting a new host, Lissette Campos, a former bay area TV reporter. The show, which once featured a lively exchange of diverse ideas, has devolved over the years into a panel of liberals whining about everything and anything.

Breaking entertainment news, the AP devotes 10 paragraphs to the fact that Conan O’Brien will return to host the Oscars next year. We ask you, in what decade did you last watch the Oscars?

While the outcome wasn’t great, Dunedin native Mike White guides his Georgia Bulldogs to their first big dance in a decade.

The best Rays quip of the past week came from The Athletic, “The funniest option, by far, would be to move to Oakland and make the R and Y in their logo very, very small”.

Interesting factoid shared by our friend TL: the San Diego Padres averaged attendance just 1000 fans shy of capacity last year – the best such ratio in baseball.

You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember Clearwater’s premier photographer J. Arlos Ogg, the forerunner of Bob Colmer.

One last thing: American League Winners

Last week, we started out west for our NL predictions, because that’s where the power is. In the American League, it was in the East where we were prepared to crown the Yankees until they lost Cole, Stanton and Gil, making them look like the ’24 Braves. Despite those losses plus Soto, they should be able to limp into the playoffs. The Orioles will only benefit. In the Central, it should be a battle royal between Cleveland and the greatly improved Tigers. And don’t sleep on Kansas City either. Out west, we find it folly to bet against Bruce Bochey two years in a row. So let’s say it’s Baltimore, Detroit and Texas with the Yanks, Cleveland and the Astros grabbing wild cards. It could be a very long season for our local nine, performance and weather wise.

UP NEXT: The 45; The Independent; $80K car

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