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Commentary

Flagler School Board Lets a Pastor Insult a Transgender Student at a Meeting, In His Presence

December 19, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 67 Comments

Rev. Charlene Cothran of Palm Coast’s Zion Baptist Church, and a Realtor in town, appeared before the school board Tuesday

Rev. Charlene Cothran of Palm Coast called a transgender student “mentally ill” and his father “confused” and “intimidated” in both their presence during a Flagler County School Board meeting this week, with pushback only from Colleen Conklin.

Trump’s Judaism Order Has Nothing To Do With Fighting Anti-Semitism

December 18, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

trump anti-semitism order

The meat of this action is aimed at Israeli boycott movements on college campuses across the U.S. It threatens to withhold federal funding from schools where students organize events linked to the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights.

Save the Minor Leagues

December 17, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

daytona tortugas minor league

These teams have provided a way for folks in rural and underserved areas to see baseball and future major leaguers for a fraction of the price of traveling to an MLB city. And they’re a way to boost the communities they play in.

Amicus Curiae: The 16-Year-Old FPC Girl Was Racist. She Was Stupid. She Was Not Criminal.

December 11, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 18 Comments

Assistant State Prosecutor Jason Lewis, left, shows FPC School Resource Deputy Jason Williams the computer the 16-year-old girl (now 17) used to write her side of the chat at the heart of the case, with another student, last December. Circuit Judge Chris France heard the case in a non-jury trial last week. A decision is expected in the next few days. (© FlaglerLive)

In the case of an FPC girl who wrote bigoted threats about her teacher last December, the prosecution is making outlandish claims that it was act of terrorism, stretching the meaning of a 2018 law passed after the Parkland massacre. The law does not apply, as even the prosecution acknowledged the case’s weaknesses.

Lunatic Conspiracy Theories Are Corroding Today’s GOP

December 9, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

Devin Nunes, the California House Republican, interpreted by DonkeyHotey. Caricature

How do the horrific events of Charlottesville, the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and a similar hate crime in California directly relate to the eye-rolling pronouncements by Devin Nunes, Rudy Giuliani, and other Republicans in defense of President Donald Trump?

Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug?

December 4, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

marijuana gateway jill richardson

Like nearly all Americans of a certain age, we were told in school that tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana are gateway drugs — and that is why marijuana should remain illegal. The myth bears closer examination.

Belle Terre Elementary PTO President Jennifer Paterno Addresses Ongoing Investigations

December 4, 2019 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Looking past the Terence Culver era at Belle Terre Elementary. (© FlaglerLive)

Belle Terre Elementary School President Jennifer Paterno discusses her role in bringing to light issues that led to an internal school district and criminal investigation of alleged financial improprieties in the organization previously.

Who is Worse, Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell?

December 3, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

mitch mcconnell donald trump

Even if Trump is gone, if the Senate remains in Republican hands and McConnell is reelected, America loses because McConnell will still have a chokehold on the democracy, argues Robert Reich.

What Would It Cost to Buy the 2020 Election?

November 26, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Khalil Bendib / OtherWords.org bloomberg

At $100 a vote, a victory in November 2020 would run Michael Bloomberg $6.3 billion. He is currently sitting on a personal fortune worth $52 billion. He could easily afford it.

Why I Filed the Complaint Against Belle Terre Principal Terence Culver

November 26, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Terence Culver remains the principal at Belle Terre Elementary until early next year. (© FlaglerLive)

Stephen Furnari, author of the complaint against Belle Terre Principal Terence Culver, cites misappropriation of funds, sexual harassment and hostile workplace, discrimination and nepotism and retaliatory practices, among other issues.

Daytona Tortugas Respond to Major League Baseball’s Plan to Eliminate The Team

November 24, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

daytona tortugas

The owners and staff of the Daytona Tortugas minor league team in Daytona Beach respond to Major League Baseball’s plan to eliminate 42 minor league teams, including the Tortugas.

Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare For All: Unfair and Irresponsible

November 23, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 45 Comments

elizabeth warren medicare for all

Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare for all proposal is right in principle but is not realistic, fair or honest and it ensures that Warren’s candidacy will not succeed at a time when a door knob should have the capabilities of defeating Donald Trump.

Whose News Literacy? What’s ‘Fake News’? Resources for Teachers and Students Raise Questions.

November 19, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The Center for News Literacy’s depiction of the world of journalism—who’s missing?

Inappropriately named “fake news” is real, pernicious and dangerous, but the tools developed to detect it and teach students savvy media literacy can be problematic, with an over-reliance on the status quo.

Happy Birthday to Sen. Inhofe, Undisputed Champion Climate Denier in U.S. Politics

November 18, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Sen. Jim Inhofe, right, celebrating a different birthday in 2008--the Army's 233rd. (US Army)

Jim Inhofe, the Senate’s unwavering climate denier, turns 85 on Sunday. Peter Dysktra requested a Q&A with him when he turns 100 to see how the “hoax” has turned out.

Should Commissioner Joe Mullins Be Chained and Muzzled?

November 14, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 69 Comments

Clounty Commissioner Joe Mullins

In what he said was sarcasm, Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins wrote a woman that “We did decide to chain and muzzle all radical liberals in the county” at Tuesday’s town hall on dog-chaining, which he hosted. It’s an inadmissible offense on many levels.

Sunshine State News and Nancy Smith Say Goodbye After 10 Years

November 13, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

nancy smith sunshine state news

Nancy Smith has been the editor of Sunshine State News, the conservative online news site, for all its 10 years. Smith describes those years and why the time has come to say goodbye.

How Republicans, Not Russians, Threaten Fair Elections

November 6, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Republicans are less likely to win elections when voter turnout is high. So GOP lawmakers have been doing all they can to restrict or roll back voting rights.

Water Less With Seasonal Focus on Conservation To Sustain Water Supply

November 1, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

water conditions drought ann shoretell

The St. Johns River Water Management District has launched a new year-long “Water Less” campaign to help raise awareness about water conservation and to communicate easy ways to integrate outdoor water conservation into our daily lives without sacrificing curb appeal.

Don’t Leave Gender Equality or Definition to the Supreme Court

October 31, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The Supreme Court’s ruling will have a drastic material impact on the millions of transgender people living in the United States. Allowing this discrimination to continue will threaten many more with unemployment and economic hardship.

Sexual Misconduct and the Plague of Himpathy

October 28, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The alleged perpetrator gets to share his story, to humanize himself, to present himself as relatable, reflective, and truthful to a nation of viewers. The women who accused him don’t.

Flagler County’s Economic Development Farce Is Wasting Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Beat Its Own Drum

October 28, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

The eight years of Flagler County's economic development council have produced almost more meetings of the council than jobs that could be attributed to its involvement. (© FlaglerLive)

Since Flagler County government created the $450,000-a-year economic development department, the county has added 10,000 jobs, but only a few dozen as a result of the department’s involvement.

Florida’s Parental Consent Abortion Bill Is Intended to Shame and Scare Pregnant Girls

October 27, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

parental consent rights

“We’re stridently noisily pro-choice creatures,” conservative writer Nancy Smith says. “You know why? Because we remember what it was like to grow up in towns and cities without Roe V. Wade. We were there, eyes wide open.”

China Plays the NBA

October 23, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The obvious prioritization of commercial ties with a government that’s attacking demonstrators in Hong Kong and putting millions of ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps is a damning statement about what the league — and the economic system it operates in — truly values.

Where Is Line Worker Barbie?

October 21, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Mattel rolled out an extensive line of “Career Dolls,” including Barbie pilots, firefighters, and robotic engineers, to inspire its young patrons. But there’s one career you won’t find in this line: the typical working woman on the Mattel payroll.

What Life On the Margin Feels Like

October 14, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

An image from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Homecoming Committee.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, is in an uproar over a video to promote the school’s homecoming that features no students of color. Here’s how young people of color feel at being treated like “others.”

Gender Traitors: Fired While Gay

October 13, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 5 Comments

Donald Zarda was fired from his skydiving instructor job for being gay. He died in a BASE jumping accident in 2014, but his case continues, and is one of three gender-discrimination cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this term. (Facebook)

The Supreme Court will decide three cases that ask a question you should be offended to hear still asked today: may an employer fire a worker for being gay? The answer in most states, including Florida, is yes.

Bernie’s Heart. And Ours.

October 7, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 35 Comments

Bernie Sanders. (Iowa Public Radio)

Bernie has a huge and eternally healthy heart, filled with the lifeblood of empathy and dedication. In essence, that’s what the 2020 Sanders campaign is all about. Not him. Us.

Wall Street Is Killing Newspapers

October 3, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

newspapers dying

This is a crisis. This country lost more than a fifth of its local newspapers between 2004 and 2018, while newspapers lost almost half of their newsroom employees between 2008 and 2018.

Let Medicare For All End Cruelty of Using Health Care Coverage as a Bargaining Chip

September 26, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 27 Comments

If we already had Medicare for All, the United Auto Workers could be using their collective power to fight for higher wages and better benefits. Instead, GM gets to use the health of its employees as a bargaining chip.

President Trump: I’m One of the Workers You Lied To

September 24, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 25 Comments

Workers rally outside the Schneider Electric plant in Peru, Indiana. (Our Revolution)

Trump’s broken promises have become a broken record destroying our communities, even in Midwestern counties that gave him the vast majority of votes in 2016.

To Make Vaping Safer, Legalize Pot

September 22, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

While the Trump administration’s pending bans on flavored e-cigarettes will no doubt influence the legal nicotine marketplace, they will have virtually no impact on the counterfeit cannabis vaping products associated with the recent outbreak of serious lung illnesses.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood Smears Our Judges

September 20, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 61 Comments

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. (© FlaglerLive)

Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood’s call on Chief Judge Zambrano to “overturn” another judge’s ruling on a convicted sex offender’s bond shows contempt for and misunderstanding of the very laws Chitwood was sworn to uphold. He sets a noxious tone.

Global Climate Strike on Friday: Kids Are Demanding Action, But Will Adults Act?

September 19, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

global warming strike

Led by 16-year-old Swedish student and climate activist Greta Thunberg, the Global Climate Strike, calls on world leaders to take decisive climate change action ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23.

The Rich Should Be Taxed Differently Than You and Me

September 17, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

A 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million should be levied on wages and salaries and investment income gained from wealth, including capital gains and dividends.

A Gun Registry In Florida Is a Bad Idea. Just Ask Canada.

September 16, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 37 Comments

ar-15 assault weapons registry

A panel of Florida economists weighed the burden of a proposed constitutional amendment that aims to ban assault weapons but grandfather in guns already circulating, as long as their owners register them with the state. Bad idea, says Nancy Smith.

Intensive 50-Home Beachwalk Development in the Hammock Would Set a Dangerous Precedent

September 16, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

There would not be much of a jungle feel to Jungle Hut Road by the time a developer is done building 50 homes alongside it, argues a Hammock resident and opponent of the project.

The developer is proposing to build 50 homes crammed into a parcel along Jungle Hut Road of fewer than 13 acres, under the guise of a planned unit development. County commissioners Monday evening have a chance to stop the plan.

Welcome to a Redesigned FlaglerLive Ahead of Our 10th Birthday: Here’s What To Expect

September 16, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 23 Comments

Redesigns are gimmicky, disorienting, and just plain irritating, but sometimes they’re necessary. Almost 10 years after FlaglerLive launched, it was time to bring the place up to code, but the essentials won’t change: The focus is still first and last on quality, serious news reporting, with as little attention as possible to the technical gimmickry necessary to get it to you.

From Social Security to Medicare to Great Public Works: America’s Socialism in Action

September 12, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

The GOP hopes the S-word will scare you, but great public works projects underpinned by socialist funding principles transformed this country for the better, as did socialist programs like Social Security and Medicare.

What America Could Learn From Canada

September 8, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Better health care, longer lives, a better standard of living, more overall well-being: Canada is becoming a model for what Americans aspired to but keep seeing eroded in their own lives.

Here’s What You Can Do With Yourself, Dorian

August 31, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 14 Comments

hurricane dorian

Hurricane Dorian’s fortunate shift away from the Florida peninsula must have at least something to do with the collective obscenities Floridians worn out from three years of hurricanes cussed its way, creating their own defiant weather system.

See Something, Say Something? 3 Flagler School Board Members Say Not If It’s Cancer.

August 25, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 28 Comments

Opposition to the Flagler Health Department’s proposal to offer the HPV vaccine in schools is driven by three board members echoing the rhetoric of vaccine denialism though various irrational pretexts.

Stop Criminalizing Children in the Name of School Security

August 18, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 30 Comments

The rash of zero-tolerance felony arrests of children that the Flagler school district experienced last year unjustly makes examples of adolescents in the name of a security establishment focusing on the wrong threats across the state.

Of Course Guns Have Nothing To Do With It

August 11, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 73 Comments

mass shootings united states guns pierre tristam

Mountains of evidence link America’s mass killings to the massive amount of guns in circulation, but let’s go ahead and pretend that guns have nothing to do with it, nor the absence of sensible gun control.

For Parents’ Peace of Mind, It’s Time for Video and Audio Monitoring of Flagler’s Special Education Classrooms

August 8, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

ese

An incident at Belle Terre Elementary School last school-year illustrates the need for more objective, independent oversight of what goes on in special education classrooms, where students may not have a voice of their own.

I’d Like to Stop Writing About Innocents Killed by Guns

August 5, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 57 Comments

el paso ohio massacres

So far, as hard as we try, every time it happens again we apparently have not stood up in sufficient numbers or shouted loud enough to make the massacres stop. What does it take? The story keeps repeating.

What “Abolish ICE” Really Means

August 4, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

abolish ice

All evidence suggests that immigrants are far from the national security threat the Trump administration claims they are. Regardless of status, they’re more law-abiding than native-born citizens.

The Lose-Lose of Trump’s Proposal to Cut 3 Million People Off Food Stamps

August 2, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The Trump administration’s move to cut low-income people who are eligible for food stamps and school lunch off of those programs isn’t just immoral, it’s short-sighted, argues Jill Richardson.  

Immigration, the Democrats’ 2020 Waterloo

July 29, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

nancy smith immigration democrats

In this Democratic Party, argues Nancy Smith, moderates have been purged, conservative Democrats are nonexistent, and the party’s leaders seem intent on turning it into a party of hard socialism as quickly as possible.

Coming Out in Rural America

July 26, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

coming out in rural america

“I came out to my parents via email the same week I figured it out myself because it’s no big deal in our family. Others aren’t as lucky; some people’s families still disown them.”

Go Back Where You Came From

July 23, 2019 | Pierre Tristam | 39 Comments

Home, in the P Section. (© FlaglerLive)

No American can tell another to go back where he or she came from, at least not with a straight face: We’re all carpetbaggers in America going back to the original ones who crossed over the Bering Strait.

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