Former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton revealed that she survived a rare pneumonia but was uninsured, blaming that lack of coverage on 30 orthopedic surgeries that count as “preexisting conditions,” a divorce, and her poor finances. The reasons she cited for not buying coverage — preexisting conditions and cost — are among the things the Affordable Care Act directly addresses, making her claim difficult to believe.
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The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, January 15, 2024
Courts, schools and most government offices are closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day, a few thoughts about the American sermon, and Octavius Brooks Frothingham’s idea of hell.
Was Going to Space a Good Idea?
Nations are competing to exploit lunar and asteroid mineral resources. Private corporations and space billionaires are increasingly being touted as the way forward. After the Moon, Mars is the next world in line for “conquest”. The contemporary movement known as longtermism promotes living on other planets as insurance against existential risk, in a far future where humans (or some form of them) spread to fill the galaxies.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, January 14, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, the 37th Annual Manatee Festival in Crystal River (it’s just a drive across the state), Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and those album covers.
Welcome to the Old South, The Myth that Refuses to Die
In Florida, we prefer not to discuss ‘slavery’ unless we are enlightening the ignorant about how it was Not That Bad. You have only to read Miss Margaret Mitchell’s brilliant and perfectly accurate novel to see the Truth of this.
How Coca-Cola Took Africa
A new book called Bottled: How Coca-Cola Became African tells the story of how the world’s most famous carbonated drink conquered the continent. It’s a tale of marketing gumption and high politics and is the product of years of research by critical writing lecturer Sara Byala, who researches histories of heritage, sustainability and the ways in which capitalist systems intersect with social and cultural forces in Africa.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, January 13, 2024
Keep Palm Coast Clean: a Litter-all, all-volunteer effort to clean up the city, Gamble Jam, the American Association of University Women’s monthly meeting, Malamud’s “Angel Levine” in the Briefing’s periodic Storytime.
NRA Scandal and The Importance of ‘Designated Contrarians’ on Boards
Nonprofit boards should require their members to take turns serving as “designated contrarians.” When it’s their turn for this role, board members would be responsible for asking critical questions and pushing for deeper debate about organizational decisions.
Elise Stefanik’s Immoral Compass, and Ours
When Rep. Elise Stefanik grilled then-Harvard President Claudine Gay about her “moral clarity” about genocide and bullying on campus, Israel was in its eighth week of the most genocidal assault on Palestinians in the history of Arab-Jewish wars predating even the creation of Israel in 1948. None of it was relevant to Stefanik, because when Israel is the subject matter, there are no two sides to the story. There are no interpretations. There is no discussion. None permissible, anyway. There is only dogma. Anything else is heresy.
New Company Cleared to Take Over Ocean Palm Golf Course, Ending Tortuous Years with City
Almost nine years into what’s left of its rollercoaster relationship with Flagler Golf Management, the company that’s run the city’s 34-acre, nine-hole Ocean Palm golf course, the Flagler Beach City Commission is nearing assigning that lease to a new company, entirely severing its ties with FGM and starting relatively fresh.