By the time Trump was spitting sedition and inciting violence Wednesday he’d had five years of encouragement from the same Republican charlatans who would later stand on the floors of the Senate and the House to declare themselves shocked, shocked that the rioters they’d courted had desecrated and bloodied their little sanctum.
Commentary
On WNZF, Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins Calls for Beheading Liberals
A few minutes into his latest weekly infomercial on WNZF radio Saturday morning, Joe Mullins, the Flagler County commissioner, called for the beheading of liberals while decrying responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Is the Hobbled Distribution of Vaccines the Biggest Trump Screw Up Yet?
Some 7.7 million first doses of vaccines have been shipped to date (two million shots have been given), with a target of 16 million by the end of the year. This is warp speed?
Ending Trump’s Lies About Immigrants
“Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes,” a study finds.
Stimulus Bill Is a Welcome Stopgap, But Not Nearly Enough
The Covid-19 relief bill will help, but much more needs to be done to combat the pandemic and make the country stronger in the face of future crises.
Court’s Conservatives Are Right: Pandemic Limits on Houses of Worship Are Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court’s ruling overturning its own recent precedent to forbid attendance limits at houses of worship because of Covid was not an ideological decision so much as a victory for the First Amendment that liberals should be thankful for.
Why Was Flagler’s County Administrator Allowed to Illegally Start a Public Meeting With a Christian Prayer?
A county commissioner read out a long and explicitly Christian prayer prepared by County Administrator Jerry Cameron at Monday’s commission meeting, breaking decades of precedent without prior legal review, public discussion or commissioners’ prior knowledge.
Talk of Stimulus: Cancel All Student Debt
Research by the Federal Reserve and the Levy Economics Institute shows that debt cancellation would boost the national economy. Freed up from these financial burdens, former debt holders would have more buying power just when we and they need it most.
Enough with ‘Patently False and Fabricated Conspiracy Theories’ on 2020 Vote, a GOP Elections Supervisor Says
Pasco County Elections Supervisor Brian Corley, a Republican, condemns continuing attacks on the integrity of the presidential election– the most secure, transparent election in history, he says, now undermined by “destructive rhetoric” that is “prioritizing politics at the expense of our country’s founding principles.”
We Need a Crisis-Proof Safety Net for Parents
The collapse of child care and traditional schooling is having a devastating effect on women in particular. Part of the problem is just plain sexism. But another part is more complicated.
Trump’s Suicide Bomber Act
Liberals would be fools to think the election was a turning point. The next four years will be as much a trial of democracy as the last four, just more diffuse, the cancer cells of Trumpism poisoning states and localities, as we’ve already seen locally in the last couple of years. Not the America we know? If you’ve been paying attention since 1980, it’s exactly the America we know.
Black Voters Saved Our Democracy
Joe Biden may have won the presidency. But so too did white supremacy, xenophobia, and corruption. And as the violent pro-Trump protests that broke out in the capital recently show, we are indeed a nation divided.
It’s Not Trump’s Country — Even in ‘Trump Country’
Many of Trump’s rank-and-file voters aren’t such right-wingers at all: look at the multitude of overtly progressive ballot issues that won majority support on Election Day. Many were in blue states, but others came in purple states, and others deep in so-called “Trump Country.”
Federal District Court in Jacksonville Honors 2 Flagler Palm Coast High Students in 19th Amendment Essay Contest
Sean Gilliam, a junior and International Baccalaureate candidate at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the second-place winner Friday in the 2020 high school essay contest sponsored by the federal court for the Middle District in Jacksonville, taking home a $1,000 check, and junior Kenny Logan won honorable mention and $50. Both are students of FPC history teacher Allison Elledge.
One Undisputed Winner on Election Night: Marijuana
Majorities of Americans decided in favor of every marijuana-related proposition placed before them — a clean sweep — and they did so by record margins, whether to cultivate pot, use it recreationally or use it medicinally.
To My Trump Neighbors
Can Biden and Trump neighbors drink with each other? Come Nov. 3, there’s room for a toast–not to either candidate necessarily, but to the election, to democracy, and to what endures. Presidents don’t. Neighbors do.
ACLU Condemns Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron Over ‘Disdain Toward Voters’
Cynthia Fisher, President of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the ACLU of Florida, called Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron’s refusal to suspend a construction project around the Government Services Building for the two weeks of early voting a voter-suppression tactic, and his attitude toward voters “condescending.”
The Polls Aren’t Wrong. But Trump Can Still Win More Easily Than in 2016.
Biden’s lead in none of the key battleground states is outside the margin of error and national polling is only reflecting the concentration of Biden votes in already-blue states, and the migration of some Trump votes in still-red states. The polls have it right, but Trump’s road to re-election is actually less daunting than presumed.
Trump To Seniors: Drop Dead
“As President Trump’s bungled response to the pandemic has become more evident, our cohort, even including the conservatives among us, has seen that the price of Trump’s failure of leadership is death,” writes the World War II-generation author.
The Bigotry Behind Judge Barrett’s Judicial Hijab
We don’t have to imagine what Amy Barrett’s jurisprudence will look like regarding gay rights, abortion, women’s rights, sex discrimination, even human rights and the separation of church and state. Reactionaries can party like it’s Deuteronomy again.
Trump—Gun in His Hand and a Bloody Shirt—Standing on Fifth Avenue
The most egregious test of Trump’s 5th Avenue principle is still to come, when he tries to kill off American democracy. He’s counting on his supporters to keep him in power even after he loses the popular vote.
I Endorse Jacinda Ardern
What country of 5 million has 300 fewer overall coronavirus cases than Flagler County, seven fewer covid-related deaths and zero mendacious elected officials who pat themselves on the back in the face of infections, suffering and cavalier attitudes?
You Paid More Taxes Than Donald Trump
It’s not that Trump wasn’t paying taxes at all. In 2017, Trump paid $156,824 in taxes in the Philippines and $145,500 in India. He just wasn’t paying them to support veterans, build roads, or protect seniors in this country.
‘Don’t Be Afraid of Covid’? Not Buying It, Unless Businesses Do Their Job Right
As stores, restaurants, airlines and offices try to lure clients back, this is what they need to do to earn my business: Make me feel safe — no, make me be as safe as possible. As I’ve begun to explore old haunts, some are doing a fabulous job. Others are not.
Our Toothless Mask Mandates
Americans have gotten used to all sorts of mandates, from cleaning up after dogs to stopping at intersections. There’s no reason it should be this hard to enforce ones around the coronavirus.
Trump’s 90-Minute Insult to America
Trump at Tuesday’s debate was the proverbial bull in the china shop of democracy, and when he was done there was barely a piece of porcelain left intact. He acted as if this was one of his rallies, playing to our lowest animal instincts and insulting our intelligence, argues Michael Winship.
Joe Mullins’s Cowering Enablers
By refusing to censure Joe Mullins for insulting Greg Hansen and Charlie Ericksen, Commissioners Donald O’Brien and Dave Sullivan are cowering enablers of Mullins’s bigotry, his bullying, his indecency. They all demeaned the County Commission and the constituents they represent.
No, Republicans Aren’t Hypocrites: RBG’s Death and The Wages of Power
Charges of hypocrisy are insufficient to change the course of the RBG’s replacement or, in fact, in other Republican attempt to race-bait, disenfranchise voters, or increase the wealth of the affluent.
America Is About to Lose Its 200,000th Life to Coronavirus. How Many More Have to Die?
As a nation, we became inured to a national death toll that has only recently dropped below a thousand people a day. Think about that. Every week, we lose far more of our fellow citizens than died 19 years ago in the most devastating terrorist strike in American history.
Save Lives. Fill Out Your Census.
Certain communities — such as rural, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and LGBTQ folks — are especially likely to be undercounted. Some experts warn this year’s census could be the worst undercount of Black and Latinx people in 30 years.
Heroes
If Flagler County had a Nobel Prize, Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder and Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director there, would have won it this year for their management of the coronavirus pandemic, absurd claims against them notwithstanding.
Jerry Cameron, Chief of Sham
Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron put on a show behind closed doors of interviewing what may be his successor. Though 121 people applied, Cameron knew who he was going to pick from the start, skirting public record and open meeting laws along the way.
Wear a Mask If You Can. But Don’t Bully Those Who Can’t.
“I know when I go out now that people are looking at me and judging me. They assume I don’t believe in science or I don’t care about their health, and neither is true,” the author writes.
Flagler Schools’ Sophie’s Choice
Flagler County and Florida schools are reopening not because it’s safe, but because ideological debauchery or anti-science vigilantism are forcing them to, even though alternatives are in place for safe and effective education.
In Good Shape? If Flagler Were Its Own Country, We’d Have the 10th Worst Covid Rate in The World
Flagler County officials often speak triumphantly of the county’s lower covid numbers compared to the rest of the state. It’s a deceptive and reckless comparison that denies the severity of the local pandemic when placed in its proper context.
Denouncing the McCarthyist Smear Campaign Against Palm Coast’s Mayor and Manager
Falsely accusing a competitor, or anyone, of corruption and being a criminal is vile. That type of McCarthyist behavior shouldn’t be applauded. It should be denounced. And it speaks volumes of the character and integrity of the ones flinging those accusations around, argues Brad West.
Trump’s Dangerous Lies About the Covid Economy
Because of this resurgence, many states are pausing plans to reopen and some are reimposing restrictions. But these restrictions are not the reason the economy is slowing. They are the necessary consequence of allowing the pandemic to get out of control.
Beirut’s Object Lesson of Weaponized Incompetence
The blast that leveled huge swaths of Beirut Tuesday was the result of years of criminal negligence and serves as an object lesson in government incompetence and indifference to public safety–not just in Lebanon.
When Is a Coronavirus Test Not a Coronavirus Test?
Coronavirus testing in the United States has been bungled in every way imaginable. Tests are now widely available in many places, but results are often taking so long to come back that it is more or less pointless to get tested.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: On Misogyny, Impunity and Decency
“In using that language in front of the press,” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Rep. Ted Yoho’s misogynistic insult, “he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable.
My Son Is the Student-Athlete at Matanzas Who Tested Positive. Here’s My Advice to the District.
The mother of the Matanzas High School student-athlete who tested positive for Covid-19 describes the experience and provides suggestions to the school district, and the community, on how to handle school athletics this coming year. In short, don’t cancel them.
Bernie Sanders Is Right. Free College. Now.
Youth unemployment is sky-high, reaching over 20 percent for people aged 16 to 24 this June. Student loans are at historic highs. It’s even more important now to eliminate the financial barriers to continuing education.
Cut Pentagon’s $740 Billion Budget by 10% and Invest in Public Health
At more than $740 billion this year, the Pentagon budget is more than 100 times the budget of the CDC — and more than 1,800 times the U.S. contribution to the World Health Organization that the president has promised to cut.
Schools, Do Not Play Russian Roulette with Our Lives
We should not reopen schools until the county where the district is located reports zero new Coronavirus cases for two weeks. That would be taking safety seriously, argues teacher and author Steven Singer. It shouldn’t be too much to ask because other countries have been able to do such things.
Trump and the GOP’s Handling of Covid-19 Is Sheer Lunacy
Just over half of working-age Americans have jobs now, the lowest ratio in over 70 years. What’s roaring back is Covid-19. Until it’s tamed, the economy doesn’t stand a chance, argues Robert Reich.
Make Masks Mandatory Anywhere Public
As Covid-19 infections continue to surge, Palm Coast, Flagler County and all other local governments should do what Orange and Osceola counties have already done: make masks mandatory anywhere public, including shops and restaurants.
Palm Coast Investigates Itself. The Result Is Not Impressive.
Palm Coast City Manager Matt Morton brought in an investigator to investigate the city’s own internal investigations process and its handling of public records, some of them involving Milissa Holland and Coastal Cloud. The result excused several misjudgments.
Supreme Court’s Endorsement of Taxpayer-Funded Vouchers for Parochial Schools Undermines Rights
Public dollars should fund public schools, which educate 90 percent of our nation’s students, argues Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State in response to the Supreme Court’s decision clearing the way for taxpayer vouchers for private, parochial schools.
The Fight for LGBTQ Equality Just Won a Huge Victory
This historic decision achieved by an astonishing 6-3 vote in a conservative court, written and delivered by Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch, codifies that LGBTQ individuals deserve human and civil rights.
Protesting for Black Lives in Trump Country
“It was surreal following a police cruiser to our destination, considering my drive to attend came from anger about the police brutality black people face. This was a recurring theme in the other protests I attended in nearby DeLand, Ormond, and Daytona.”