Katie Hansen, president of Flagler County’s teachers union, forcefully argues against FCAT’s culture of high-stakes testing and false but pervasive notions that unions protect bad teachers and contribute only to Democrats.
Commentary
Get to Work, Governor Scott, and Implement Health Care Reform Now
Now that the most conservative Supreme Court in the history of our nation has ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, perhaps it is time to redirect a little of that negative energy used to obstruct reform toward implementing the law and solving Florida’s health care crisis, writes former Florida House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber.
The Vagina Monologues Ungagged
Vagina. Uterus. “There,” writes Marry Jo Melone in a look at the Lisa Brown-GOP flap over the words. “I’ve said those dirty words, and boy, did it feel good. It’s curious what a little free speech will do. It clears the mind.”
Oceans on Acid: How a Greenhouse Gas May Be Taxing the Seas
The surge in worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide–a greenhouse gas–may be overtaxing oceans, which can absorb only so much of it before altering their acidification, and affecting marine life.
Lord of the Flies On a School Bus: The Bullying of Karen Klein
Karen Klein is the 68-year-old school bus monitor from Greece, N.Y., cruelly bullied by seventh graders and recorded on a YouTube video that went viral. The middle schoolers are acting out the persecuting spirit that christens their daily lives.
Charlie Crist’s Sexuality, and Ours
Rome burns. But the greatest issue before us is whether Charlie is gay. The rumors naturally reveal far more about those who spread them than Crist, argues Maty Jo Melone.
Michael Klubock, Ocean-Size Hero
Michael Klubock and his Malibu Foundation spent almost 20 years helping middle school kids understand the importance of protecting the oceans, especially against plastics. Frank Gromling showcases him.
Heckling Obama
Neil Munro, a reporter for the Daily Caller, heckled Obama at the president’s announcement of a new policy regarding young immigrants. Munro’s behavior is indefensible.
Calling Their Tactic “Legal but Immoral,” Jim O’Connell Asks Flagler’s Write-Ins to Withdraw
In an open letter to write-in candidates in coming elections, Jim O’Connell, the former Flagler County Commissioner tells the write-ins their presence on the ballot will deny 40,000 voters their right to vote.
Facebook, First Amendment Rights and Employers’ Censors: The New Rules
Facebook’s big brothers: As employers develop policies to restrict what employees post on their personal Facebook pages, the federal labor board (NLRB) has found that employees fired or disciplined had engaged in “protected concerted activity” and were punished illegally.
Gov. Scott Walker and the Pyrrhic Victories of Union-Bashing
Inspired by Ronald Reagan’s union-busting, the latest round in the war on labor is a self-inflicted wound on the American economy, where workers-union and non-union alike–have been losing ground for 30 years.
Understated Slivers: The Unique Fragility and Vitality of Barrier Islands
Barrier islands such as the one that hosts Flagler Beach are fragile, diverse and play a vital, understated but often unappreciated role in coastal ecology and protection. Frank Gromling provides a tour.
Florida’s Voter Purge: There Is a Better Way to Ensure Accurate Rolls
Voter rolls to be as accurate as possible, but shouldn’t this be initiated through the 67 locally elected supervisors of election, who are constitutional officers? And shouldn’t this be done in a non-election year and in a non-redistricting year?
Best Way to Keep Florida’s Manatees Wild: Do Not Disturb
Manatees are experts at finding food and fresh water – they don’t need our assistance. Quite the contrary, they will do far better if we can give them a wide berth and keep our distance, writes Katie Tripp.
“The Wreckage Was Vast and Startling”: Ernie Pyle on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944
Ernie Pyle on Omaha Beach after the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944 describes a wreckage “vast and startling” along “this shoreline museum of carnage” even as he anticipates inevitable victory for the Allies.
The Fear of Mormons
“Making Mormons look bad helps others feel good,” J. Spencer Fluhman, a Mormon scholar, argues, but it neither explains nor justifies the unresolved prejudices and self-serving veils that cling to Mormon dogma.
The Joy of Writing, Strangled by FCAT
Testing, Is Revived One Page at a Time
Most students hate to write. Jo Ann Nahirny can’t blame them. Schools have snuffed the joy out of writing, all in the name of standardized testing, she writes, as describes how she empowers them to claim their voice back.
Dolphin Deaths and Seismic Shockwaves: A Theory
Dolphins have been washing ashore, dead, by the hundreds, in Peru. Scientists theorize that oil and gas exploration’s blasting underwater, which breaks dolphins’ bones around the ear, may be the cause.
FPC Commencement 2012
My Daughter, the Graduate
I have covered an endless number of graduations in my career. Tonight, for the first time, my child–my daughter–was among the graduates. There was only one way to cover this one: in the first person.
Hero Whiplash: Abusing Soldiers, Misusing Honor
When it comes to talking about the troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, hero is the most overused word, while those who have sent them to Iraq and Afghanistan let themselves off the hook, argues Mary Jo Melone.
When Elderly Is an Offensive Term
The elderly are simultaneously the country’s most powerful single demographic and its least respected. But if the elderly don’t want to be infantilized, if they don’t want to be referred to as the elderly, it may be time to means-test the term and the literal benefits it entails.
70 Homes and Counting as Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Project in New Orleans Builds On
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, which builds affordable homes in new Orleans’s deva In many cases, the private sector can move faster and better than government agencies. In my opinion, that is the record of Brad Pitt’s vision and action in New Orleans.
A Florida Senator’s Facebook Addiction
Florida Sen. Paula Dockery has had her adventures–and misadventures–on Facebook and Twitter. “For those of you who haven’t joined the world of social media,” she writes, “you are missing out on being connected in this less personal but oddly more personal world.”
Hi Governor Scott, It’s Me, an Early Tea Party Supporter. Not That Much Anymore.
Henry Kelley, a tea party activist, ran Rick Scott’s Okaloosa County campaign and was pretty much the only “No Party Affiliated” person, given his deep-seated mistrust of Florida Republicans. He now tells Scott of his disappointment with his tenure.
Advanced Placement Gambit: Challenging Students at the Risk of Penalizing Teachers
Flagler County high schools are encouraging more students to take Advanced Placement tests, which beef up a school’s profile. But when students fail the testm their teachers are penalized, now that their pay is tied to student performance.
Gator Shame: Why I’m Relieved My Daughter Won’t Be Attending the University of Florida
Athletics aside, Florida doesn’t take its public universities and public schools seriously, making it difficult for top students to stay here–or for the state to depend on more than tourist ghettoes, sunbathing spreads and Medicare colonies.
Invasion of the Giant African Snail: Florida’s Latest Slimy Bane
The giant African snail is again invading South Florida and possibly spreading north, devouring numerous crops such as banana, potato, onion and cabbage, and also eating stucco plaster and concrete. Frank Gromling reports.
Dear Gov. Scott: “We Are Going To Start Losing Teachers.” An Ex-School Board Member’s Plea
Evie Shellenberger, the former Flagler County School Board member, writes Gov. Rick Scott to warn him of despairing teachers and a generation of students left behind by Florida’s neglect of vocational education, and invites him to a one-on-one sit down discussion.
Obama’s Come to Jesus Moment on Gay Marriage: More Buchanan Than Lincoln
One might be tempted to see in Barack Obama’s belated embrace of gay marriage a retraction of the infuriatingly compromising president we’ve come endure and a return to the audacious president we thought we were electing four years ago. But that would be projecting a fantasy on a cave wall.
Breastfeeding Frenzy
Time magazine’s cover featuring 26-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet breastfeeding her nearly 4-year-old son is the latest revival of the old fervors and prejudices surrounding breastfeeding including, unfortunately, the sexualization of an asexual act.
From Pathways Academy and Matanzas High To Beverly Beach: A Sea Oats Odyssey
Students from Pathways Academy and Matanzas High School planted 750 sea oats along Beverly Beach’s dunes through a University of Florida project and the initiative of Beverly Beach Commissioner–and FlaglerLive columnist–Frank Gromling, who relates the story.
The Flip-Side of Voter Suppression: Not Everyone Needs to Vote
It is a staple in the newspaper business – especially left-wing newspapers – to exhort people to vote at every election. Conservatives, however, are more interested in quality than quantity, argues Lloyd Brown.
There’s Only So Much Palm Coast Government Can Do About Eyesores and Vacant Lands
From the Palm Coast Players Club to the Sheraton/Palm Coast Resort or Sesame Island, the city has very limited legal or financial means, absent much higher taxes, to take over such properties and convert them to something residents would prefer, argues city council member Frank Meeker.
Joe Biden Outs Himself
Joe Biden unequivocally endorsed gay marriage in a Meet the Press interview Sunday, sending the Obama administration scrambling for its latest tangle in hypocrisy.
Dear Mrs. Nahirny: Tales From the “Don’t Quit” File on Teacher Appreciation Week
Every year during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7-11), Matanzas’s Jo Ann Nahirny has her English students write thank you cards to teachers, and receives a few herself, which she’s always kept in what she calls her “don’t quit” file. She opens it up.
The Threats Are Out There: Asian Tiger Shrimp Invade Gulf’s Ecosystem
The Asian tiger shrimp, predatory and cannibalistic, is one of many invasive species being discovered in the Gulf of Mexico and possibly along Florida’s East Coast, that threaten local habitats and fisheries. Frank Gromling reports from New Orleans.
Rick Scott’s Obsession With Other People’s Urine
Anyone other than my doctor who’d ask me to pee in a cup isn’t just out of line. He’d be out of his mind. Yet an entire industry thrives on such cup-holders, Gov. Rick Scott among them, and millions of Americans are not only complying with the docility of circus animals. They’re encouraging the indignity and asking for more.
Fake Gun. Real Fear. Small Consequence: A Mother’s Outrage at Flagler Schools’ Response
On March 2, Gloria Kollosch’s son and a friend left Matanzas High School on their bikes, and had a confrontation with other Matanzas boys, who brandished a gun–a fake gun, which they thought was real. The school district responded with a slap on the wrist, calling the incident a “prank,” and blatantly contradicting its own Code of Conduct, Kollosch argues.
Return of the Sea Turtles: Flagler’s First Sighting Renews a Million-Year Ritual
The first sea turtle to scout for a nest on a Flagler beach did so Tuesday, renewing a ritual going back 200 million years. She scouted Columnist Frank Gromling’s beach backyard for her nursery. A report from the sands.
American Soldiers Committing Atrocities: Placing the Blame Where It Belongs
From posing with corpses of insurgents to going on murderous rampages, American soldiers’ atrocities in Afghanistan are becoming routine. Without absolving the military of its responsibilities, the real isn’t the soldiers’ alone.
The Citizen Scientist:
Inside Marine Mammal Research Offshore
Frank Gromling describes his two days off the coast of St. Johns County as he assisted marine mammal scientists in various research projects about endangered whales.
FCAT Season From a Teacher’s Perspective: An Absurd and Demeaning Fraud
Florida’s FCAT autocrats have gamed the system into an exam only the dumbest can fail while hijacking teachers’ and students’ time for nine weeks of regimentation and secrecy worthy of classified military secrets, argues teacher Joann Nahirny in her latest dispatch from the trenches.
Protecting the Oceans: Your Role
Individuals can have a big role in protecting oceans no matter here they live. The key in ocean protection is to get started today, right now, argues Frank Gromling, who provides a list of suggestions.
In Defense of Ozzie Guillen: Cuban-Americans Have Held US Policy Hostage Long Enough
The Florida Marlins’ duplicitous suspension of Ozzie Guillen aside, the real scandal is the degree to which South Florida’s Castro-era Cuban community continues to hold American foreign policy hostage to seven decades of juvenile antagonism.
Stare Decisis Their Ass: The GOP’s Activist Judges
Scorn for “activist judges” has been a staple of the Republican playbook ever since it was Earl Warren’s Supreme Court. Now that it’s John Roberts’s court–or should we say Antonin Scalia’s?–and a Democratic president is calling them out, the rhetorical roles have reversed overnight.
The 4th Amendment, Stripped and Degraded
The Supreme Court’s decision allowing the strip-searching of anyone booked into jail–no matter how small the charge, no matter the presumption of innocence of the accused–is merely the latest in a long series of constitutional violations, enshrined by conservative justices.
Protecting the Oceans to Protect Life
The oceans are not an inexhaustible source of good things, argues Frank Gromling. It is past time for every earth-dweller to make a pivotal change in direction to allow the oceans to recover to their former health and productivity.
Bob Graham, the First Lady and Umbarger: Honoring Florida’s Book Award Winners
Caren Umbarger, artistic director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra, was among the authors honored by First Lady Ann Scott at a Governor’s mansion luncheon recognizing the winners of the Florida Book Awards. Umbarger recounts the experience.
Your Password, Please: When a Job Interview Includes Demands for Facebook Pages
In a society where privacy is constantly eroding, recent efforts by some employers to pry into Facebook pages to investigate job applicants should be resisted as an unwarranted intrusion on personal freedom and dignity.
Between a Tortoise and a Turtle
Living on the Atlantic Coast, we often hear about sea turtles while gopher tortoises get second billing, though they’ve inhabited Florida and a few other southern states for millions of years. A primer.