Next Tuesday, the Flagler County School Board will vote on whether to arm some school employees. The board will vote yes, on zero evidence and without asking any of the right questions, because as is becoming routine with this board, when it is offered a chance between right and wrong, it chooses wrong.
Commentary
The Courage of Daniel Ellsberg
How a young war planner became a peace activist is one of the most striking conversion stories in American history. But Ellsberg’s political and moral transformation did not happen in a vacuum. It reflected a titanic shift in public attitudes about the Vietnam War.
96.4% of Americans Had Covid-19 Antibodies in their Blood by Last Fall
Antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19 were present in the blood of 96.4% of Americans over the age of 16 by September 2022. That’s according to a serosurvey – an analysis testing for the presence of these immune defense molecules – conducted on samples from blood donors.
Inside the Black Box of Amazon Returns
In 2022, Amazon returns cost retailers about US$816 billion in lost sales. That’s nearly as much as the U.S. spent on public schools and almost twice the cost of returns in 2020.
Guns and Drugs: Life Expectancy in the U.S. Keeps Falling
People in the U.S. are dying at higher rates than in other similar high-income countries, and that difference is only growing. It goes well beyond Covid, to an epidemic of gun deaths and drug deaths.
Anti-Trans Politicians Take Pages from Nazi Playbook
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders are following the Nazi playbook, substituting transgender youth for the Jews. They industriously promote hatred, fear, and physical revulsion of this small group — also barely 1 percent of the population — and pretend it’s out of concern for children.
South Florida’s Rich Spanglish-Infused Dialect
A new dialect is taking shape in South Florida, a language variety that came about through sustained contact between Spanish and English speakers, particularly when speakers translated directly from Spanish.
America’s Gun Crime: Why Tourists Are Being Warned to Avoid and Beware
Uruguay has suggested its citizens avoid certain American cities, Germany warns of the possibility of killing sprees, Canada now recommends its citizens familiarise themselves with how to respond to an active shooter before visiting, Australia’s official travel advice warns “gun crime is prevalent.”
The American Way of Woke
What is truly perverse today are those who actively seek to infringe upon the liberties of others while masquerading as defenders of liberty, argues Brad West. We are not perfect, and will always be a work in progress, even in wokeness. But we get better because of those who have been, and are, woke.
Pat Robertson: What We Endured
Televangelist Pat Robertson, who died at the age of 93 on June 8, was a familiar face on television for many conservative Christians, and wielded enormous influence on American politics.