We are a weekly compilation of local and national notes along with a smattering of sports, history and the oft-borrowed piece of wisdom from the 5:05 Newsletter – all from a politically incorrect slant.

First thing on our mind: 

So, should the 150,000 people in the bay area threatened with loss of medical coverage send a thank you note to United Healthcare?

Leading off: Keeping our roads safe

It’s scary when you weigh all the factors you encounter on the roads these days. A short list is overly aggressive drivers, impaired drivers, distracted drivers and just plain incompetent drivers. The tools to cut down on this list exist, but are somewhat limited. One certain way to lessen on road tragedies is to make sure drivers, particularly commercial drivers, can understand simple English language signs. Some folks, mostly the liberal left, consider this some sort of civil rights violation. Florida now requires commercial driver’s exams be in our native language only – just as France, Spain, Germany and numerous other countries do. We fail to see the harm to our state and its people.

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

It takes a village (of idiots) to find a way to turn a city street used for a century over to a cult.

Virtually every major sports organization in the bay area has their hand out. Hillsborough is feeling it from the Rays and Bucs. In Pinellas, the Phillies are looking for upgrade to their stadium. There is only so much money to go around and someone is going to be disappointed.

Related to our lead article - a big loss for the state at the Supreme Court last week with the court, in effect, telling Florida it had to abide by other state’s issuance of commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The case grew out of a crash in St. Lucie County caused by a California-licensed driver who couldn’t speak English and was not a legal resident of the United States.

A recent report listing Florida’s St. Leo University as “troubled” by Daniel Ye, a lecturer at a northeastern school, is extremely misleading. Like many one trick ponies, he uses one measure, acceptance rates, as his criteria, ignoring student body and geographic growth. The Pasco County university remains one of the highest rated private universities by the acknowledged ranking authority of universities – U.S. News and World Report.

One we missed last month. The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a Baltimore organization, announced it was buying the assets of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette which had been scheduled to cease publication on May 3. It keeps the paper, which dates back to 1786, in business as the only paper in the city of 2.5 million.

Five very misleading words or phrases: “abortion rights,” Greenland (80% of the country is under a massive ice sheet), decimate (literally means reduce by one-tenth,) and probably the most misused two words in the English language affect/effect.

At the end of this month, our Focus Group will weigh in on some things or products that say America. This week, three of America’s not so proud moments, the Ford Edsel (1957), New Coke (1985) and Windows Vista (2007).

This week in 1939 (June 7) One of the darkest days in American history as the ship MS St. Louis, carrying 907 Jewish refugees from Europe, begins sailing back to the continent after it was refused entry into America. Approximately a quarter of those on board would perish in the Holocaust.

Sports and random notes:

Congressional news from the 5:05 Newsletter: As rent costs, gasoline costs, food costs and health insurance costs continue to soar, Congress assured citizens that it will tackle those issue s as soon as it resolves America’s most critical problem—the NCAA transfer portal and NIL money. Gotta luv’m.

Idle thought: the Music Choice channels show striking images from all over the world. It’s cool that one of them is Clearwater Beach (Pier 60).

You have to be as old as us (older than dirt) to remember Elmer Valo, an outfielder with the Philadelphia A’s. Elmer played 21 seasons in the majors hitting a respectable .282 for his career, retiring in 1961 – some 23,605 days before the next player from his native Slovakia, Toronto lefthander Adam Macko crossed the chalk in the majors.

Related: Adam Macko admitted he had never heard of the Philadelphia A’s. No wonder since they have migrated to Kansas City, Oakland, Sacramento and, soon Las Vegas since Elmer Valo broke in with the A’s. He stayed around long enough to also play in KC.

The SEC has voted to do away with games against so-called rummies the weekend before the traditional rivalry games ala UF-FSU. In other words, no more Dry Gulch A&M opponents before the season-ender.

You’ve lived in Clearwater a long time if you remember when instead of “teen takeovers”, the beach was the site of “submarine races”.

One last thing: The Man Who Came to Dinner

This is more about The (armed) Man Who Came to Dinner. One of many enjoyable anecdotes in Bret Baier’s Three Days at the Brink involves a visit to the White House by our World War II ally Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister. Upon unpacking his luggage, the White House valet found a sausage, a loaf of black bread, and a loaded pistol. This prompted Eleanor Roosevelt to comment, “On this occasion nothing was said. Mr. Molotov thought he might have to defend himself and also he might be hungry.” The book visits some already plowed ground but adds some new insights on the meetings of the big three (FDR, Churchill and Stalin) during the Great War.

Next week: Old stuff; Bring a card; Offseason jobs

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