Over the past few years, Republican state lawmakers have introduced more than 150 bills in 35 states that seek to curb academic freedom on campus. Twenty-one of these bills have been signed into law, several of them in Florida. Taken together, this legislative onslaught has undermined academic freedom and institutional autonomy in five distinct and overlapping ways.
Beverly Beach’s Frank Gromling Is Re-Appointed to Florida Council on Arts and Culture
The Beverly Beach artist and business owner Frank Gromling, who formerly owned an art gallery in Flagler Beach and wrote FlaglerLive’s Coastal View column, was reappointed to a third two-year term on the 15-member Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
In Florida and Elsewhere, New GOP Rules Hostile to Voter Registration Threaten Fines and Criminal Penalties
Republican lawmakers in Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas have enacted a variety of voter registration laws over the past four years. The measures add new requirements around registering and communicating with voters and threaten hefty penalties for violations. The stated goal of the new laws is to prevent fraud, but in the absence of any evidence of more than very rare fraud some voting rights groups contend their real purpose is to dampen participation by likely Democratic voters.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 9, 2024
9th Annual FUN-Raiser Festival at the Florida Agricultural Museum, Donald Duck’s birthday, an FDR Fireside Chat from 1934 on the legitimate object of government.
Germany Lowers Voting Age to 16 for European Election
Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote. Austria, Belgium and Malta have already enfranchised 16 and 17-year-olds, and Greece is to allow anyone turning 17 in 2024 to participate in the June vote.
Florida Supreme Court Refuses to Reinstate Monique Worrell as State Attorney
The Florida Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension of Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell, concluding that his decision was reasonable based on allegations he spelled out when relieving her of her duties. The decision was 6-1, with Justice Jorge Labarga the lone dissenter.
Justice Clarence Thomas Acknowledges He Should Have Disclosed Free Trips From Billionaire Donor
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged for the first time in a new financial disclosure filing that he should have publicly reported two free vacations he received from billionaire Harlan Crow. The trips include vacations in Indonesia and at the exclusive, men’s-only Bohemian Grove retreat, which were first reported by ProPublica last year.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 8, 2024
The third annual Hang 8 Dog Surfing Competition in Flagler Beach, Juneteenth Community Festival at Carver Center, AAUW’s monthly meeting, Mia Bella Academy of Dance Spring Recital, a stroll down the WPA Guides to America.
The Anti-Democratic Tactic Behind Trump’s Post-Conviction Rhetoric
Rhetoric strengthens or erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience to expect or accept violence. Regardless of how someone feels about the legal arguments made during Trump’s trial, Trump’s attempts to prevail in the court of public opinion continue his campaign to discredit democratic institutions and threaten anyone who gets in his way.
Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.
The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.