The Paris Agreement agreement alone can’t save us. The global response to climate change is not generating transformation at the pace or scale we need to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The Party of January 6
Trumpism, which started out as a simple-minded rejection of the status quo, has become something else: a thorough rejection of democratic procedures and a darkly conspiratorial hatred of federal power. This corrosive ideology is now orthodoxy within the Republican Party, and that party remains just popular enough to win back Congress this year and, potentially, the White House in 2024.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 8, 2022
Free tree recycling at Palm Coast fuel depot on Utility Drive, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Flagler’s January meeting with Dr. Mary Gatta on Generation X women, the morality (or immorality) of watching Squid Game, Isaac Asimov on Letterman.
May a Christian Flag Fly at City Hall? Supreme Court Will Decide
On Jan. 18, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Shurtleff v. Boston. The case addresses whether the city violated the First Amendment by denying a request to temporarily raise the Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall, where Boston has temporarily displayed many secular organizations’ flags.
Be Considerate: Do Not Go to Hospital’s ER for a Covid Test
With the recent spike in new Covid-19 cases, local health officials are doing their best to continue maintaining sufficient capacity at AdventHealth Palm Coast’s emergency room for genuine medical emergencies.
Palm Coast Man Who ‘Tortured’ His Child Draws Character Letter from NFL’s Emmitt Smith, and 20 Years in Prison
Deviaun Toler, the 30-year-old former Palm Coast resident a jury found guilty of burning his infant son’s arm with boiling water, leaving him black and blue with marks from whippings and breaking his skull in brutal beatings over “weeks of abuse,” as the prosecutor described it, was sentenced to 20years in prison today, followed by 10 years on probation.
Jimaya Baker, Ringleader in Armed Robberies and Shooting that Left a Man Paralyzed, Is Sentenced to 15 Years
Jimaya Baker, 20, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the maximum prosecutors asked for, in her role as ringleader of two armed robberies in Palm Coast, in 2018 and 2019, one of them leaving an 18-year-old man half paralyzed and an invalid for the rest of his life. She was one of six co-conspirators in the two robberies. All have pleaded to prison time.
DeSantis and Guthrie Admit to Expiration of Between 800,000 and 1 Million Covid Test Kits
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, acknowledged Thursday that 800,000 to a million Covid tests had expired in a state stockpile, with the omicron variant spreading and residents facing long lines for testing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, January 7, 2022
Deviaun Antriel Toler, whom a jury found guilty of first-degree felony charges of aggravated child abuse and two other charges in October, is scheduled for his sentencing. And W.E.B. DuBois asks: Your country? How came it yours?
See the Truth, America, Biden Urges as he Blasts Trump’s ‘Dagger at the Throat of Democracy’
Biden’s speech of Jan. 6, 2022, is of interest not only because of the circumstances that led to its being necessary, but also because of the visual language it employed. The speech expressed a powerful faith in the plain truth. It asked Americans to believe their own eyes. That reflects a long philosophical tradition in Western culture equating sight or light with the truth.
Flagler County Firefighters Jon Moscowitz and Jimmy Melady Deliver Baby on New Year’s (Not Theirs)
Flagler County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Jon Moscowitz and Firefighter/Paramedic Jimmy Melady started 2022 on a joyous, unplanned note this weekend, when they responded to mom-to-be Traci Kuehn’s call on New Year’s Day.
Native American Festival returns to Princess Place After a Covid Hiatus
The Native American Festival that is fast becoming a February tradition at Princess Place Preserve returns in 2022 after a hiatus last year because of COVID-19. It will be the seventh Pow Wow held since its inception in 2015.
Palm Coast Government Will Propose Shifting July 3 Fireworks Event to Flagler County Airport
Palm Coast is considering shifting its July 3 fireworks show away from Town Center’s Central Park and to the nearby Flagler County airport’s grounds–to accommodate more people, easier parking, smoother traffic, and bigger fireworks.
Flagler Covid Deaths Increase by 8 Since Christmas as Omicron Surges and Health Experts Warn: It’s Not a Cold
The coronavirus’s omicron variant is far more infectious and less virulent than its predecessors, but it is not the common cold. The Flagler Health Department is reporting covid outbreaks in all sectors–schools, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the Flagler County jail, and a significant increase in covid-attributed deaths in Flagler County since Christmas. As of Dec. 24, 277 Flagler County residents had died of Covid-19. As of today, 285 have.
Incumbents a Crowd as Qualifying Soon Closes in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach for March Elections
For an off-year, 2022 will not be short of elections in Flagler County, starting with elections in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach on March 8. A combined seven incumbents in the three municipalities are making a play to keep their seats, and absent additional candidates filing to run, Bunnell and Beverly Beach could end up with uncontested elections.
Abortion, CRT, Elections Police, School Boards: 10 Issues to Watch in 2022 Legislative Session
With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing and fall elections looming, Florida lawmakers will start the annual 60-day legislative session Tuesday, with major issues including potential abortion restrictions, a $100 billion budget, prohibitions on teaching critical race theory, more elections policing, and other ideological issues that may give the session a retro feel.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, January 6, 2022
James McIntire sentencing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, recalling the Jan. 6 insurrection, hunting deer instead of hippies, a seminar on Ritchie Robertson’s “The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness.”
Why Omicron Transmission in Triple-Vaxxed Should Not Alarm You
On the surface, it appeared that the vaccines were not working. But this depends on how vaccine protection is defined. So far, the vaccines have proven to be very good at preventing severe disease. This protection is just as important, if not more so, as they keep the vast majority of infected people out of hospital and from dying.
Sewer Pipe Is Damaged in Palm Coast’s L-Section, Causing Spill
A sewer line failure on Laramie Drive east of Lake Success Drive caused a wastewater spill on Tuesday, resulting from damage to a pipe possibly due to construction in the area. The spill is contained. The damage is expected to be repaired by the end of the day Wednesday.
School Board’s Woolbright Objects to Citing “Hate Groups” in Statement Denouncing Hate, and Blames “All Groups”
Flagler County School Board member on Tuesday objected to including the words “hate group” in a denunciation of hate against students, and in a stunning equivalence, said she witnessed “poor behavior” from “all groups,” in essence equating students protesting book bans in November with a group of adults who turned out to taunt, insult and hurl threats at them.
For 3rd Time in 7 Months, Deputies and Paramedics Talk 17 Year Old Off I-95 Overpass
For the third time in seven months, Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Palm Coast Fire Department late Tuesday night talked a 17-year-old girl down from the I-95 overpass at Palm Coast Parkway.
In Contrast With Last Year, Legislative Session Will Open Next Week Without Covid-Safety Restrictions
During the 2021 session, the Senate sharply restricted public access to try to prevent spread of Covid-19. For example, people who wanted to speak before Senate committees had to go to the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, a few blocks west of the Capitol at Florida State University, and appear through a livestream feed.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Flagler County students return to school for the spring semester amid a surge of omicron and a dearth of safety directives, the Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, Linda Greenhouse on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s big mistake.
Not All Polarization Is Bad, But the US Could Be in Trouble
For the first time, the United States has been classified as a “backsliding democracy” in a global assessment of democratic societies by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an intergovernmental research group. One key reason the report cites is the continuing popularity among Republicans of false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Ex-Lake Helen Police Chief Michael Walker Takes Over a Bunnell Police Department in Turmoil After Rapid Search
Michael Anthony Walker, 57, Lake Helen’s police chief for 11 years, today was named Bunnell police chief, replacing Tom Foster in a department buffeted by low morale and the loss of its top three highest-ranked officers in a matter of weeks. Brannon Snead, the interim chief since Foster’s departure in early December, was not among the five applicants for the top job.
Town of Beverly Beach Makes Unprecedented $10,000 Donation to Flagler County Health Department
Beverly Beach, which brands itself a “small town with a good heart,” donated $10,000, or 5 percent of its American Rescue Plan allocation, to the Flagler Health Department, with Bob Snyder at the commission meeting to accept the donation Monday evening. The money will be spent on diabetes and other public health initiatives.
Military Career Over, Ex-Palm Coast Airman Isaac Becker Is Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison Over Rape of Minor
If he’d gone to trial and been convicted, Isaac Becker faced up to 90 years in prison for raping a girl he had a familial relationship with, starting when she was 13 and ending when she was 15. This afternoon, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Becker, 22, to eight years in prison, followed by 10 years’ probation and a lifetime designation as a sexual predator.
Private Universities Switch to Remote Learning as Covid Surges, But Florida’s Public Universities Will Not
Several private colleges and universities such as Harvard, Howard, Stanford, Syracuse and Northwestern plan to resume classes in a virtual setting for at least part of the spring semester. So far, none of Florida’s public universities are making that transition, despite concerns from faculty union leaders that officials aren’t making the right decisions to protect campus communities throughout Florida.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Happy birthday Jules Kwiatkowski. The Flagler County School Board discusses its own protocols, Bunnell Manager Alvin Jackson talks about changes at the city, the Palm Coast City Council meets this evening.
Sore Loser Effect: Rejecting Election Results Drives Terrorism and Hobbles Democracy
Acceptance of electoral defeat, something political scientists call “loser’s consent,” is essential for stability and order in democracies. It’s fragile. When it is broken–when losing politicians in democracies refuse to accept election results–citizens begin to see terrorism as more acceptable and domestic terrorism increases.
Sheriff Confirms Zaire Roberts, 23, Was Killed in Regent Lane Shootout, and Another Man Wounded
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office today confirmed what it had not for several days after the Dec. 29 shooting that left a man dead and another wounded at 8 Regent Lane in Palm Coast: that the man who was killed was 23-year-old Zaire Roberts, who had been released from prison just weeks earlier.
Flagler’s Omicron-Led Covid Infections Surge Toward Record as DeSantis Sees Schools and Business as Usual
Infection numbers are surging across Florida, but in a 50-minute news conference this morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo not only projected a business-as-usual approach, but said testing protocols will be revised toward less testing, with testing and treatment focused on higher-risk patients, while schools are to remain open and operating under previously relaxed guidelines that de-emphasize quarantines, masking and distancing.
Out on Bond Over One Felony, Justin Anthony, 21, Is Arrested on Statutory Rape Charge Involving 13-Year-Old Girl
Justin J. Anthony, a 21-year-old resident of 5791 Cherry Lane in Bunnell, was already facing a felony charge stemming from what a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy described as his “propensity for continued violence” when he was re-arrested on New Year’s Eve on a statutory rape charge.
Florida’s 1st Time Unemployment Claims Now at Pre-Pandemic Levels
If unchanged, the estimate would be the fewest number of claims for a single week since another holiday-shortened week in late December 2019 and would put the average of new claims over the past four weeks at 5,347.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 3, 2022
The grind returns. Court is back in session with arraignments, and the sentencing of former Seaman Isaac Julio Becker, the social virus of nationalism, remembering Arsenio’s first.
Could Omicron Be the Last Variant of Concern?
Omicron may not be the final variant, but it may be the final variant of concern. If we are lucky, and the course of this pandemic is hard to predict, Covid will probably become an endemic virus that slowly mutates over time. The disease might very likely be mild as some past exposure creates immunity that reduces the likelihood of hospitalisation and death.
At the Flagler County Public Library: Florida History Through the Amazing Illustrations of Harper’s Weekly
The Friends of the Library at the Flagler County Public Library host a history presentations by Zach Zacharias, Senior Curator of Education and History at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28, on Florida seen through the illustrations of Harper’s Illustrated Weekly.
Is the CDC Inflating Vaccination Rates?
The CDC as of Dec. 5 has recorded more seniors at least partly vaccinated — 55.4 million — than there are people in that age group — 54.1 million, according to the latest census data from 2019. The CDC’s vaccination rate for residents 65 and older is also significantly higher than the 89% vaccination rate found in a poll conducted in November.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 2, 2022
The great John Hope Franklin through the ages, LBJ’s “To Fulfill These Rights” address at Howard University, and a remembrance of the miserable Palmer Raids of 1920.
A Disastrous 2021: Half the Country Is Too Dry, Half Is Too Wet
In the U.S. alone, damage from the biggest climate and weather disasters is expected to total well over US$100 billion in 2021. Many of these extreme weather events have been linked to human-caused climate change, and they offer a glimpse of what to expect in a rapidly warming world.
Time to Treat Environmental Crime as a Crime Against Humanity
Environmental crime is still regarded a “white collar crime,” subject mostly to civil charges and accompanied by fines, when the reality on the state of the planet mandates that environmental destruction be conceptualized as a crime against humanity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 1, 2022
This is Be Kind to Food Servers Month, started by Memphis waitress Sybil Presley in 2008. A few words from Sandra Bullock on the subject, and C. Vann Woodward on the strange career of Jim Crow.
How to Make Dry January a Success
Whether this is your first attempt at a Dry January or you are a seasoned participant, there are ways you can maximise your likelihood of getting to the end of January without drinking alcohol. Behavioral science offers some insights.
God’s Plagues: Philip Roth’s Nemesis
Philip Roth’s “Nemesis” is the story of an unsuspecting Everyman who becomes a polio superspreader and turns on his fiancee, God and life. Written in 2010, the novel can be read in the age of the coronavirus as a study in grief and loss and the limits of personal, or divine, responsibility.
Adieu, 2021: Sadness, Anger and Gratitude in a Year of Miscarriages
“I am awash with emotions today–everything from sadness to anger to gratitude at this year end,” writes Chris Goodfellow as he bids farewell to 2021. “We have learned nothing in terms of our choices, behaviors and most critically our capacity for unity in face of a threat.”
A Motorcyclist Is Killed on I-95, Crashing Into Guardrail; 6 of 9 Fatalities This Year Were Motorcyclists or Cyclists
A man was killed in a motorcycle crash on I-95 this morning shortly after sunup, just south of the intersection with Palm Coast Parkway. No other vehicles were involved, based on preliminary indications. The fatality is the ninth on Flagler roads this year–the lowest yearly tally in 27 years.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, December 31, 2021
Government offices and courts are closed, fireworks are still banned in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, Wesley Morris on Black music’s miracle of sound, and Bach on the miracle of Cantata BWV 170, closing out the year on a plea for the delights of the soul.
Ghislaine Maxwell Guilty in Epstein Sex Trafficking Trial: What the Case Revealed About Female Sex Offenders
The majority of sex offenders are believed to be male. Charges lodged against women may include sexual abuse of children but often involve grooming or trafficking girls without engaging in the act of sexually abusing the child.
Trump Troll Chronicles: Bob Woodward’s Peril
Bob Woodward’s and Robert Costa’s “Peril,” third in the trilogy of Woodward’s books on the Trump administration, isn’t history. It’s most revealing in what it does not say. It’s tragicomedy. It’s a chronicle of trash foretold. And it’s prediction. The worst is ahead.
University System Officials Urge Vaccinations and Return to Masking As Spring Semester Nears
Saying it is “clear the pandemic is not over,” top university system officials are asking students and employees to wear masks on campus and get booster shots to protect against Covid-19 as the spring semester prepares to start.