Tampa Bay Rants and Raves (TBRR) is a weekly chronicle of politics, sports, lifestyle and historical notes from a politically incorrect viewpoint. Some of this content should not be taken literally.

First thing on our mind:

“Never changing your mind is the mark of a fool.” - credited to Australian theologian Desmond Ford among others.

Leading off: Trump backs off on student loans

A couple weeks ago, the Trump administration announced it was backing off on a plan to attach paychecks of student loan borrowers who were in default on their payments. It begs the question as to when some 5 million scofflaws will be called to a reckoning. As we watch folks struggle with loans, mortgages and the like, we don’t see them being granted favors like we see with student loan debtors. So, the few weapons the public has, withholding tax refunds and garnishing wages don’t seem to apply to student loan deadbeats. Administration officials say the pause is temporary. Fair enough, as long as some plan is put in place that is fair to those who have repaid their student loans and those who never incurred them.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

We send condolences to our fellow CHS grad Ken Smith on the passing of his wife Jan at age 79 – a beautiful lady.

How sweet it is! Plant City’s annual Strawberry Festival kicks off next week (2/26) and runs through March 8.

No, President Trump, you are wrong in your contention that “everybody hates the start-stop feature” in cars. It saves gas, which last time we looked, was still right around three bucks a gallon. Plus there is a disable button on the dash if you wish to burn gasoline while waiting for a stop light.

We tip our hat to the St. Pete City Council for their caution versus ramrodding a development proposal on the Gas Plant property. After all, there will be baseball there for a minimum of three more years.

The Washington Post laid off 300 people last week. That is about one-third of their entire staff. To quote one journalist, “Over the past decade, the Post has been one of the leading culprits in the collapse of public trust in journalism.”

The so-called conservative outlets such as Fox and Newsmax sure give a lot of airtime to far left radicals like New York’s new mayor, AOC and Texas’ repulsive Jasmine Crockett. Let NBC, CNN and The View showcase them while people more in line with conservative views be featured on Fox and Newsmax.

The troubled United Parcel Service plans to cut 30,000 jobs this year. UPS employs just under half a million people worldwide.

Meanwhile, Amazon announces 16,000 job reductions. They were very straightforward in saying the job cuts were due to more reliance on AI.

Weather update from the 5:05 Newsletter: Last summer, when it was so hot in Clearwater, I swore I wouldn’t complain when a cold spell came. Turns out I should’ve read the fine print.

This week in 1930 (2/18), the planet Pluto is discovered. Seventy six years later, it was stripped of its planetary status by well-meaning, but misguided astronomers.

Sports and random notes:

Former Channel 8 reporter Wes Sarginson passed away at age 82 in Pensacola. In addition to Channel 8, Wes also anchored in Washington and Atlanta.

Seahawks dominate Super Bowl - next year’s half time show to be sung in Punjabi.

Karma visits the Winter Olympics.

Every year, the Library of Congress selects 25 films for permanent preservation. This year’s two dozen plus includes classics like High Society, Clueless, White Christmas, and to this music geek’s delight, The Wrecking Crew, the story of the loosely constructed band of musicians behind innumerable hits by dozens of artists like the Beach Boys, Mamas and Poppas, Righteous Brothers and Glen Campbell, himself a member of the group before he went solo.

Related note: jot down March 19 when Turner Classic Movies will air several of this year’s honorees.  

Fifty years ago, the newest product to help you quench your thirst was the Big Gulp at 7-11. Twenty five years later, to put more of a zip in your step, there was the brand new Mountain Dew Code Red.

The great Sonny Jurgensen passed away last week. The Hall of Fame quarterback who played for the Eagles and Redskins was 91.

Blue Jays fan or not, you had to respect the career of Buck Martinez. The long time player and later voice of the Blue Jays retired last week after nearly 60 years in baseball.

As baseball gets underway, the top two draft picks from the 2105 MLB draft will be playing side by side in Chicago – Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson.

One last thing: The Emperors of Chocolate Pt. 1

Over 80% of the candy sold in America is made by two companies, Hershey and Mars. This is just one of the dozens of facts in Joël Glenn Brenner’s opus The Emperors of Chocolate. The two companies make very similar products but are as different as night and day. We’ll take up Hershey this week and deal with Mars next. While Hershey, as opposed to Mars, is publicly owned, its majority stockholder is a trust which funds Hershey Industrial School, set up by Milton Hershey for homeless kids. We had an aunt and uncle who were cottage parents there for several years. Hershey is the biggest candy seller in America, but is dwarfed by Mars on an international basis. You see their three biggest products in every checkout lane – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (originally not a Hershey product) Hershey Bar and Kit Kat (also an acquisition). In addition, they make dozens of non-candy products. Next week: the mysterious “planet” Mars.

UP NEXT: Mars; Imogene Coca; Goodbye to these cars

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