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:

As summer and picnics approach, why can’t someone make a decent hot dog bun?

Leading off: a new profit center – shipping

If you’ve noticed what seems to be exorbitant shipping charges on your on-line orders, you’re not alone. On minor items, the shipping charges can be as much as 50% of the item you’re purchasing, which makes a trip to the local store seem like less bother. Most major on-line companies squeeze the last nickel out of carriers on their shipping contracts to help offset other increasing costs. Consumer advocates advise walking away from what you perceive as egregious shipping and “handling” costs. Often, and this happened to us recently, when you walk away, along comes an email saying if you order within the next many hours, they will waive shipping charges altogether. Of course, there are things like Amazon Prime ($139 annually) which may offset the shipping charges for frequent flyers, but many consumers don’t “fly” enough to make it worthwhile.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

Here we go again, our local “newspaper” begging for donations to continue their left wing agenda. They want $175,000. They could far exceed that goal if only they produced a paper you could trust and believe.

Troubled United Healthcare CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down – more like abandoning ship as UHC suffers from one self-inflicted wound after another.

Little known fact – the transfer of a Boeing 747 to the US from Qatar fell through during the Biden administration when the US offered several pieces of Hunter Biden art in exchange for the plane.

Number of the week: Zero – that’s the number of candidates running as Independents who have been elected Governor in Florida. Former Democratic state senator Jason Pizzo faces a long climb.

The head of FEMA is fired and replaced with a take no prisoners successor. Now perhaps that agency can get about finishing the storm relief that is so badly needed in America’s Southern states.

Pro-abortion Supreme Court judge David Souter passed away last week at age 85. He served on the court from 1990 to 2009.

Immigration observation from the 5:05 Newsletter: People who bypassed the legal process upon migrating to the US demand legal process before being kicked out.

This week in 1956 (May 18): Mickey Mantle homers from both sides of the plate for the third time in his career, setting a major league record.

Sports, media and other notes:

After two years of being “catless” following the death of our precious 20-year-old Doodles, we welcome two and a half year-old Celene to our home. She came from the Pinellas Humane Society where she landed when her elderly owner could no longer care for her.

Put us down as “very conflicted” over MLB’s ruling lifting the ineligibly of deceased players. There are strong arguments on both sides.

As we approach high school graduation time, here’s a senior memory hard to forget. Major leaguer Joey Gallo, then a high school senior, threw a no-hitter for his team in the afternoon and then escorted Greg Maddux’ daughter to the prom that evening.

Related: Do you even remember who your date was for the senior prom?

Factoid: The top four spending teams in baseball, the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees and Phillies all have individual payrolls equal to or exceeding the bottom four spending teams combined. Can a salary cap like the NFL and NBA be far away?

And yes, our Rays are one of those bottom four teams along with Miami, the Athletics and White Sox.

A terrific baseball man, Bud Black, loses his job almost entirely due to horrific strategies by a front office. He is followed just days later by the Orioles’ Brandon Hyde.

You’ve lived in the bay area a long time if you remember when Pinellas auto tags began with 4, 4W or 4WW, depending on the weight of the car.

One last thing: How long should a stadium last?

The state of Ohio is in the middle of a big squeeze. Both the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals think they need new stadiums. Both current stadiums are approximately 25 years old. By comparison, Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium is 27 years old. There have been upgrades in its history with no sign of any needed replacement on the horizon. Then, of course, there are Lambeau Field, Soldier’s Field and the LA Coliseum which date back 70 years or more. If Ohio legislators bend, they at the very least need an agreement that says, “build a stadium that will last and don’t come back for 50 years.”

Next week: Tin Lizzie; Tops in pops; Cox-Spectrum merger

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