Deep Something

Daniela Simic Has Been Preparing for This Job for Years

September 8, 2026September 8, 2026 B. John 330 Views 0 Comments teacher endorsements, Public Education, District 2, Brittany Lyssy, Campaign Finance, Hillsborough County School Board, community leadership, Daniela Simic, classroom experience

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Daniela Simic’s campaign is built around something school board races could use more of: deep experience with schools themselves. She has spent about 25 years in education, from the classroom to district leadership, with years of PTA and community work layered on top of it.

Her fundraising tells its own story. Simic and Brittany Lyssy have raised roughly the same amount from outside donors, but Simic reached that total through far more contribution transactions, a lower median donation, and broader support from individuals, educators, labor groups, and community organizations.

The race gives District 2 voters a clear factual comparison in background, donor base, and connection to Hillsborough’s schools. The full piece looks at Simic’s record, the people backing her, and the experience she brings to one of the largest school systems in the country.

Featured Stoicism

What the Moment Asks

September 8, 2026September 7, 2026 B. John 247 Views 1 Comment personal growth, Practical Wisdom, Phronesis, judgment, flexibility, discernment, Stoicism, Leadership

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

The right decision is not always the one written in the policy manual. Years ago, I suspended one of my best employees rather than take the next prescribed step: firing him. The suspension worked, the employee corrected the problem, and only afterward did I learn that company policy did not allow what I had done.

The Greeks called the wisdom needed in uncertain situations phronesis. It is a form of practical wisdom that is shaped by experience, judgment, and a willingness to reconsider what is required. It helped me know when to depart from a policy, when to abandon a carefully designed plan, and when maintaining my health was enough during my mother’s final illness.

In “What the Moment Asks,” I explore the wisdom needed when rules and plans can’t provide the whole answer. It’s a kind of wisdom that listens, accepts correction, and turns experience into lessons we carry forward.

Stoicism Business Economy Featured Politics

What We Owe the Worker

September 7, 2026 B. John 232 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, justice, labor rights, common good, unions, Labor Day, dignity of work, Workers

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

People often see Labor Day as just the end of summer, but its history asks us to remember something more. The day began with workers fighting for safer workplaces, better pay, reasonable hours, and the right to organize. Those fights were never only about economics. They were about dignity.

The Stoics didn’t write about labor rights as we know them, but they believed strongly in justice, cooperation, and the common good. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself that people are meant to work together, and that harm to the community eventually harms everyone. This idea matters now, when many workers still have little control over their pay, safety, schedules, or ability to organize.

This Labor Day, let’s consider what Stoicism can still teach us about work, the value of workers, and what we owe each other in a society that says it honors labor.

Society Education Gay Issues County Commission Featured Places Tampa Politics Election

A Polite Version of Josh Wostal Is Still Too Much

September 3, 2026 B. John 256 Views 0 Comments Neil Manimala, developer contributions, Wostal, Ron DeSantis, Hillsborough County Commission, Hillsborough School Board, Campaign Finance, Stacy Hahn

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Stacy Hahn doesn’t sound much like Josh Postal. She’s thoughtful, qualified, and generally pleasant. But votes count the same whether they come with a scowl or a smile, and Hahn’s eight years on the Hillsborough County School Board show a record that’s much more conservative than her polished image suggests.

Hahn opposed letting voters decide on more funding for teacher pay, voted against defending that referendum when Postal and the County Commission tried to block it, rejected a Pride Month proclamation, and publicly aligned herself with Ron DeSantis’s political group. There are some exceptions in her record, but when it comes to taxes, LGBTQ recognition, sexual-health education, and DeSantis-era politics, the pattern is clear.

Now Hahn is running for the County Commission with a campaign mostly funded by construction, development, real estate, and government-relations groups—including businesses that have worked with Hillsborough County. These contributions don’t prove improper influence, but voters have a right to look at who is supporting a candidate and what choices that candidate might make in office. Dr. Hahn may be a more pleasant version of Josh Postal, but the real question is whether Hillsborough County needs another version at all.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Election Society Gay Issues Crack Pots

Ambition, Attendance, and the Race for HCSB District 2

August 31, 2026 B. John 237 Views 0 Comments Hillsborough County, Tampa Politics, Hillsborough School Board, District 2, Brittany Lyssy, Local Governance, Public Education

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

When someone wants to lead a multi-billion-dollar school district, authenticity comes first. Brittany Lyssy’s campaign for Hillsborough School Board District 2 asks voters to believe that a family of five lives in a 680-square-foot, one-bedroom condo while also keeping a homesteaded home in Manatee County. From barely attending advisory board meetings to repeating national talking points, District 2 voters deserve real community representation, not a staged political act.

Fun Stuff Stoicism Deep Thoughts Featured Friends

The Friends Who Walk With Us

August 30, 2026August 30, 2026 B. John 429 Views 2 Comments human connection, Gratitude, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Friendship, sympatheia, lifelong friends, grief and friendship

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Some friendships stretch across decades. Others arrive for a season, bringing exactly what we need at the time. A little wisdom. A little laughter. A place to rest. A reminder of who we are when life gets noisy.

In The Friends Who Walk With Us, I reflect on the people who have shaped my life, from friends who knew me when I was young to newer friendships formed in this latest season of change. Some are still close. Some have drifted. Some are gone. Yet each left something behind.

The Stoics understood friendship as part of a good life. Seneca wrote about loyal friendship; Marcus Aurelius about our deep connection to one another. Over time, I’ve come to see that friendship does more than comfort us. It changes us. We carry forward the patience, courage, humor, kindness, and wisdom others once gave us.

And maybe that’s part of the quiet duty of friendship. To receive what others give us.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature

When Tallahassee Called, Josie Tomkow Answered

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026 B. John 255 Views 0 Comments Senate District 14, Josie Tomkow, Tampa Politics, Home Rule, local control, Hillsborough County, Tallahassee preemption, party leadership

When Josie Tomkow had the chance to support local communities, she chose Tallahassee instead. This pattern appears throughout her House voting record: tenant protections, land use, infill development, vacation rentals, civilian oversight, worker rules, and school-board governance all go the same way.

This matters because Tomkow now wants to represent Senate District 14, which includes Tampa and Hillsborough County. But her record comes from somewhere else, and it raises an important question for voters here: when local needs clash with party leadership, whose side will she choose?

Her votes seem to answer. Even when another Hillsborough Republican voted no on a major preemption bill, Tomkow voted yes. So the question is not whether she can learn Tampa’s concerns. The question is whether she has already shown us who gets her vote when Tallahassee comes calling.

Culture Books Music Southern Entertainment Featured

The World Needed Dolly Parton

August 27, 2026 B. John 238 Views 0 Comments Dolly Parton, Imagination Library, philanthropy, LGBTQ equality, Legacy, Dollywood

Long before Dolly Parton became a superstar, I met her at a little outdoor music park near Kings Mountain. I am not even sure she was the headline act. It was a fleeting childhood encounter, but it connected me, however briefly, to a woman whose generosity would eventually touch millions of lives.

Dolly created jobs, helped students stay in school, supported families devastated by wildfires, funded research behind the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, provided free college education to thousands of workers, and delivered more than 332 million books to children. She also stood firmly with the LGBTQ community, even when doing so cost her support among some fans.

Dolly Parton wrote songs the world will always remember. But the most beautiful thing she created may have been the life she chose to live. Read my tribute to a woman who proved that success means far more when you use it to lift others.

Economy Featured Media Politics Congress Television

Trump Wants the Midterms to Be About Trump

August 26, 2026 B. John 218 Views 0 Comments campaign advertising, voter accountability, Democratic politics, Donald Trump, Cost of Living, 2026 midterms, Republican incumbents, MAGA Inc.

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Donald Trump has looked at a 34 percent approval rating and reached a comforting conclusion: Americans have not seen enough Donald Trump. His super PAC is preparing midterm ads built around his record, his speeches, and clips of Trump praising Trump. Apparently, the nation has suffered from a shortage.

The ads will tout stock-market highs, factory output, falling overdose deaths, and other signs of the “Golden Age.” Families will still see grocery bills that keep climbing, gasoline near $4.09 a gallon, and a job market that lost ground in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has yet to buy anyone’s groceries.

Trump wants voters to treat the midterms as though his name appears on every ballot. They should accept the invitation. Then they should ask every Republican incumbent whether Trump’s record belongs to them too, which votes lowered costs back home, and why the greatest economy in history remains so difficult for most people to find.

Family Featured Fun Stuff Places Kings Mountain Stoicism Deep Thoughts

When Home Changes Hands

August 25, 2026 B. John 286 Views 1 Comment Stoicism, home, Kings Mountain, grief, Family, Memory

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Today, the house I called home for at least 62 years belongs to someone else. The deed has changed hands, yet the rooms still hold holidays, family gatherings, neighborhood friends, and snow days spent sledding down the street. Somewhere in my memory, the treehouse is still waiting in the backyard, and Mom is still inside making space for us.

Grief comes in pieces, and sometimes one of those pieces is a place. Selling the house feels like another small loss, arriving nearly a year after Mom’s death. The house still stands, but I can no longer return to it as home.

Some pieces came with me to Tampa, including Mom’s porch rocker and my grandfather’s mantel clock. The rest must live in memory now. “When Home Changes Hands” is about letting go of a place that helped form me and hoping the next family fills it with the same warmth, safety, and love that Mom gave us.

Business Economy Featured Religion Society Stoicism

What Is the Money For?

August 25, 2026 B. John 201 Views 0 Comments billionaire philanthropy, generosity, economic inequality, Jeff Bezos, Andrew Carnegie, public good, wealth and power, moral responsibility, billionaire wealth

This entry is in the series The Stoics

A single mother stops at a traffic light and hands five dollars to a homeless person. Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to fight climate change. Bezos will accomplish far more with his gift. Yet the mother may have given up something she needed.

That distinction sits at the heart of my latest essay. The world’s richest people possess more money than they could spend across several lifetimes. Their fortunes keep growing while the planet warms, public institutions weaken, and millions struggle to survive. Their philanthropy does useful work, though it rarely costs them any comfort or power.

So what is all the remaining money for? The answer takes us through the Gilded Age, the widow’s offering, other religious traditions, private bunkers, life extension, and the strange belief that enough wealth can free someone from the fate shared by every human being.