Attention to organizing is a shift for the Trump campaign. Today, it looks nothing like the scattershot campaign from 2016, the only other time Trump has waged a nomination battle in the state. Trump’s nod to organizing is noteworthy and is at odds with his brand, which is more focused on stirring the pot and agitating, rather than painstakingly building an infrastructure.
Commentary
Proposed Building Moratorium Addressing Flooding Concerns: An Exchange Between Home Builders and Pontieri
Members of the Flagler Home Builders Association have been writing Palm Coast City Council members to urge them to vote No on a construction moratorium City Council member Theresa Pontieri has proposed for 60 to 90 days on so-called “infill” lots in the city’s sections platted by ITT. What follows is an exchange that took place today between a home builder and Pontieri on the proposal. The council meets Tuesday and may take up the issue then, depending on other developments.
The Check MLK Wanted Cashed for the ‘Riches of Freedom and the Security of Justice’ Is Still Bouncing
The African American community is experiencing record low unemployment, record highs in income and educational attainment, and has seen a massive decline in income poverty since the 1960s. Despite all that, the check for racial economic equality is still bouncing. Without intervention, it will take centuries for Black wealth to catch up with white wealth in this country.
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.
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.
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.
Where the Humanities and Medicine Meet
While there is a long history of doctor-poets – one giant of mid-20th-century poetry, William Carlos Williams, was famously also a pediatrician – few people seem to know this or understand the power of combining the humanities and medicine. Literature has had a large role in helping the author define the kind of physician she strives to be – one who is not only empathetic and a good listener but also a fierce advocate for changing the sociopolitical forces that affect patients’ lives.
How Pundits Help, Hurt and Reflect Democracy
Pundits can play a productive role by focusing on issues rather than identities. They contribute to democratic backsliding when they cultivate dystopian views of politics. The best example is the relentless negativity that characterized commentary on presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016.