Should Americans be bracing for bloodshed if Donald Trump loses the 2024 presidential election? A political scientist who studies American politics can easily imagine a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection – or worse – following this November’s presidential election.
Commentary
Lebanese Civilians’ Memories of Israel’s 1982 Invasion
Lebanese families have been fleeing the country’s south in the thousands amid escalating tensions and an Israeli bombardment that has so far killed hundreds. Their fear, echoed by many onlookers, is that Israel will accompany the airstrikes with something that has the potential to have far worse consequences: a ground invasion of south Lebanon.
The Big Read:
Deconstructing J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Fictions
When J.D. Vance went from calling Trump “America’s Hitler” and calling himself a Nevertrumper to calling him a man of “extraordinary vision” as he accepted the nomination for vice-president, the apparent change was mistaken for the apotheosis of an opportunistic pivot and a betrayal of his memoir’s affective nuances. But it was in fact the reflection and perfection of a skill Vance displayed throughout “Hillbilly Elegy,” where he constructed a persona scaled to a chameleon’s tongue. The book is the Rosetta Stone of the Vance we see today.
Plant Disease Could Spell The End of Citrus Fruits
If world agricultural authorities don’t get their act together soon enough, your morning orange juice may disappear from the supermarket shelves – for good. This is how critical the situation has become in the citrus growing world. In Brazil, production has fallen by more than 20%, 60% in Guadeloupe and and plummeted by more than 90% in Florida.
The Ethics of Editing Fetal Genomes
Human prenatal genome editing has not happened yet – as far as we know. Prenatal genome editing isn’t the same as editing ex vivo embryos, like the Chinese scientist did, because prenatal editing involves editing the DNA of a fetus visible inside a pregnant person’s womb – without the intent to affect future descendants. But the societal implications of this technology are still vast. And researchers can already start exploring the ethics by engaging communities well ahead of time.
Alexander von Humboldt, Groundbreaking Naturalist
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous figures of his time, not only in his native Prussia but throughout the world. In addition to being a leading geographer, climatologist, ecologist and oceanographer, he attached great importance to the dissemination of knowledge to society as a whole.
Sheriff Staly: Why I Oppose Amendment 3 on Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
As Flagler County voters consider Amendment 3, which proposes the legalization of recreational marijuana in Florida, we must consider the serious consequences the amendment would impose on our community and what its backers, with their well-funded commercials, aren’t telling you, Sheriff Rick Staly writes.
The Devastating Consequences for All if Israel and Hezbollah Go All Out
All parties surely know the likely destructive consequences of such an eventuality for themselves: Israel has the military power to devastate Beirut and other parts of Lebanon as it did in Gaza, while even a weakened Hezbollah could fire thousands of missiles at Israeli strategic sites, from the airport to central Tel Aviv, water supply lines and electricity hubs, and offshore gas rigs.
The Jet Stream, Climate Change and the Hottest Summer on Record
Summer 2024 was officially the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest on record. In the United States, fierce heat waves seemed to hit somewhere almost every day. Here’s how heat domes, the jet stream and climate change influence summer heat waves and the record-hot summer of 2024.
A Florida Editor Told Clay Jones His Political Cartoons Were Too Political. He Responds.
Celebrated and fearless cartoonist Clay Jones, whose work has been appearing at FlaglerLive for a year, received a complaint from a Florida editor (not us) that his political cartoons were too political. His response: I refuse to change how I cartoon to the point that my work is frivolous and meaningless. Other cartoonists are doing that. Let them have it.” Clay Jones will not play nice. For good reason.