A comparison of Ground Zero’s neighborhood to Auschwitz or Gettysburg is ridiculous, given the ritzy and lurid neighborhood of Ground Zero. Walk the walk.
“Burn the Koran Day” in Gainesville: When Crude Isn’t the Only Thing Mucking Up Florida
Terry Jones’ “Dove World Outreach Center” in Gainesville slimes Florida, but no more so than Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are sliming American values in the name of the worst of Western civilization.
Where Spin Meets Bull: Florida Hospital’s Lars Houmann on the Dispute With United Healthcare
A three-and-a-half minute video by the Florida Hospital CEO is a window into the company’s deception and disingenuity.
Opposition to the Mosque “At” Ground Zero Desecrates American Values
Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and other reactionaries’ opposition to a mosque near ground zero offends liberty at the expense of the dead of 9/11.
School Board Candidate Peter Peligian’s Impersonation (and Tax and Claims) Problems
It’s not just that allegedly allegedly used his identity: School board candidate Peter Peligian is not living up to his own claims of transparency and accountability.
Questions of Relevance and Relevant Questions Over Shooting at Sheriff’s Capt.’s House
Wagons circled around a sheriff’s captain after we reported on a shooting at his house, revealing a disturbing double-standard when law enforcement isn’t in the best light.
Portrait of a Transcending Mind: J.J. Graham’s Hollingsworth Gallery Genesis
J.J. Graham is remaking Palm Coast’s art world through his Hollingsworth Gallery, which he opened at City Walk in January 2009. He’s remaking more than the art world.
Proudest Moment on a Gray Day:
On Becoming an American
My personal July 4th happens to fall on December 16. That day, 24 years ago, I became an American. The day has become more important to me than any other, including my birthday.
Charter School Failure: Why Imagine and Heritage Weren’t Included in FCAT Tallies
Charter schools are not in the same league as traditional public schools. Their standards are lower. The burden is on charters to prove their worth.
Bill Delbrugge Joins FlaglerLive Board; Here’s Who We Are
An introduction to the seven-member FlaglerLive Board of Directors, and a few words about who we are and what we’re about.
Firing McChrystal Isn’t Enough. Fire the War.
The McChrystal firing is the Obama administration’s grandest distraction from a failing war it still pretends to be winnable.
Barbary Wars, the Sequel: US Moves On for First Time Since ’94
Live commentary of the critical US-Algeria match, along with the simultaneous and deciding England-Slovenia clash.
CNN Confessions: Not Quite Oprah After the Show
What was supposed to be a leisurely interview on Saturday afternoon turned into its own Deepwater Horizon blowout.
Catch FlaglerLive on CNN
I’ll be on CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield during the 3 p.m. hour discussing the oil spill’s impact on local governments, and particular local school districts.
Live Commentary: South Korea 2, Greece 0
Live commentary of Euro 2004 champions Greece taking on South Korea from Port Elizabeth Stadium. First of three matches today.
Live Commentary: Uruguay 0, France 0
Live commentary of the France-Uruguay World Cup match from Cape Town, with Thierry Henry starting on the bench.
World Cup Live: South Africa v. Mexico
Live commentary-coverage of the opening World Cup match between South Africa and Mexico from Johannesburg.
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The cost of the program is borne entirely by federal assistance. But the rising numbers of children on free and reduced meals is a reflection of a rising, local cost on social services–and a rising toll on local families with fewer means. Drop-down: Contribution options Stringer Rate : $1 monthlyContributor Rate : $2 monthlyReporter Rate […]
How the Chamber’s Tax Proposal Undermines Schools, Cities and the County
Ignoring leery voters and a building bust, the Flagler chamber’s tax for commercial construction is jeopardizing local governments’ own urgent tax referendums in 2011 and 2012.
Hanging With Manatees
It’s not just seeing manatees upclose alone that moves you. It’s seeing their injuries, and their utter helplessness.
Graduations from God to America
Graduation speeches are part of the American habit of reinvention. They should be provocative and revealing, even if we don’t all agree with the message.
From Times Square to Jacksonville:
When Terrorism Is a Double-Standard
When the target of terrorism is recognizably American, it’s a national crisis. When the target of terrorism is a mosque in Jacksonville, nobody cares. Why is that?
Florida’s Abortion Follies:
When Lawmakers Are Sexual Predators
Florida’s latest anti-abortion legislation shows that sexual predators aren’t just the monsters who assault and rape. They can also be men who control women and girls by subordinating them their moral assumptions, which usually have immoral results.
Best of the Rest: May 10, 2010
PBS dumbs down, literary theory still doesn’t make sense, Florida sues BP, and more.
Socialism, Capitalism, and Other Fallen Stock
We can rail about socialism’s evil and worship capitalism all we like. It won’t get us out of the hole we spent the last 30 years digging. History and Adam Smith are better guides.
Heather Beaven’s WTF Campaign
Democrat Beaven’s congressional campaign against John Mica so far is shoddy, vague, and lacking transparency.
We Need Drilling. Just Not Where You Think.
The BP rig disaster will spill more oil in the Gulf of Mexico than the Exxon Valdez did in Prince William Sound. Time to cap the follies of cheering for more offshore oil-drilling in Florida.
Obama-Leno: No Correspondence
How even Barack Obama is funnier than Jay Leno. Then again, it’s no contest. Tales from the Correspondents dinner.
In Alabama, They Speak Ass
Alabama Republican candidate Tim James pledge to ban non-English driving tests, in a campaign video, is xenophobic mob appeal.
Brian McMillan’s Stick Figures
The Palm Coast Observer’s managing editor has a new blog full of tiny jewels of witty wisdom from our most precious philosophers.
Arizona Boots Up Brown Immigrants’ Guantanamo
The virus that led to Arizona’s anti-immigration law has crossed Arizona’s borders into the rest of America. Its carrier is as white as a bed sheet and by far the greater threat to America’s character than anything that ever crossed the Rio Grande.
Brett Copeland Star Spangles at School Board
Brett Copeland, a senior at Matanzas High School, switched from violin to voice to sing the national anthem at a school board meeting.
Best of the Rest Disclaimer & FAQ
Discralimer and frequently asked questions on how Best of the Rest is put together, its aims, and so on.
Why Is Flagler Being Mealy-Mouthed Over KKK Fliers?
How easy to pick at an obvious target like the KKK, and easier still to do it in language that commits to nothing more than fortune-cookie bromides. How meaningless too.
Call Me a Tea Party Fan
Maybe not a fan of the tea partiers’ ideas. But definitely a fan of their sincerity and, yes, eloquence. Let’s bust some stereotypes.
Tea Party Circus Is In Town
I’m about to head out to Palm Coast Parkway and Old Kings Road where the tea party folks are holding their latest rally against (fill in the blanks).
Farewell to I-95
This morning’s commute, from home to government complex, was 3.1 miles, most of it unimpeded even by Palm Coast’s reputedly unbearable traffic.
“Pacific” a Sequel To Exalt War Passions
The Pacific war was not a sequel. It is here, with all the hand-me-down fatigues of war sequels.
Jonathan May, Conductor of Youths’ Fugues
To perform with Jonathan was to love him, and to love him was to live the joy that was his musical offering.
Unveiling Stereotypes at Stetson University
Undergraduates not used to wearing their religion on their sleeve, at least not Islam, wore one not even their own around their face–Islam’s most explosive symbol.
Taking Back America–from Tea Party Phonies
If Thomas Jefferson had heard Sarah Palin or Marco Rubio, he’d have had to ask how such a smart country would put up with such an obvious phonies and loons.
What If Tim Tebow Had Been Aborted?
By linking abortion with a life fully lived, Tebow is pretending to tell us something about the mysteries of life’s origins that nobody knows — not Tebow, not Pope Benedict, not Stephen Hawking, not my pet ferret, if I had one.
He Had His Moments, But…
There’s too much reaching for the old magic–which is just the problem: this lunge for “magic,” this desire to make the impossible real, when it should be the other way around.
Best of the Rest: January 22-25, 2010
Crist rediscovers his inner Everglades, a chimp in the middle of a custody battle
Beck Goes Lecter on Palin’s Glass Eyes
Sarah Palin’s round of Fox News foxholes landed her in Glenn Beck’s hole within obsequious distance of the Statue of Liberty (the Lady had no choice). The chat was vaguely lecherous.
Americans Owe More to Haiti Than They Know
Well beyond earthquake relief, an American commitment to independence and democracy in Haiti would not be a favor, a gift or an indulgence. It would be the down payment of an incalculable debt long overdue.
Is This Harry Reid Cartoon Offensive?
The Omaha World Herald’s sanctimony over a skin-tone cartoon is more offensive than Harry Reid’s misjudgment.
Prohibition’s Binge of Sanctimony
On the history and stupidity of Prohibition, the 13-year binge of sanctimony that a minority of eugenics fans and anti-German racists imposed on the majority.
Bomb-Scare Bank Robbery in Bunnell
For the third time in seven years, a bank in Bunnell — the same bank — was robbed at midday on Dec. 31, this time by a man who claimed he was armed with a bomb.
Truck Weigh Station Image Gallery
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