Understanding Malthus in a broader context reveals a very different character. As discussed in the 2025 book “Impasse: Climate Change and the Limits of Progress,” Malthus was an innovative and insightful thinker. Not only was he one of the founding figures of environmental economics, but he also turned out to be a prophetic critic of the belief that history tends toward human improvement, which we call progress.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
The Palm Coast City Council meets at 6 p.m., Flagler Beach’s Planning and Architectural Review Board meets, The Bunnell Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board meets, car dealerships as surgical wards.
Teacher’s Career Hinges On First Amendment Battle After Her Firing Over Charlie Kirk Comments
Kelly Brock-Sanchez, a former Clay County public school teacher fired for making controversial Facebook comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is fighting to save her career after her private posts went viral. She filed a federal lawsuit claiming the punishment violates her First Amendment rights. An administrative hearing will determine whether she permanently loses her Florida teaching certificate.
World Cup’s Credibility Is Red Carded After Trump’s Call
Fifa, international football’s governing body, has not only so far declined to give any detailed reasoning for its decision to suspend what would be a standard one game ban following Balogun red card. The reversal appears to result from direct pressure from the White House. Media reports suggest that Donald Trump made three calls to Fifa, starting from Wednesday, to ensure that the red card was overturned. The White House has said that the call was made to understand why Balogun was sent off and the reason for the suspension.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 6, 2026
The Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, the cost of data centers in electricity, dueling banjos, a note from Mar Reisener’s “Cadillac Desert” on another age’s power hogs.
Texas Approves Mandatory Public School Bible Readings
The Texas State Board of Education recently mandated a public school reading list featuring various biblical passages, violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment by prioritizing Christian teachings. Historical legal precedents over the past century consistently reject non-secular classroom instruction. Texas’s narrow policy fails to reflect religious diversity and faces inevitable litigation before its staggered implementation begins.
Red and Blue States Align in Unlikely Bipartisan Push for States’ Rights Against Federal Overreach in Trump Era
Liberals, longtime proponents of a stronger central government, are now championing an ideology that evokes odious memories of slavery and segregation. Many state leaders hope that a renewed focus on federalism could help lower the national political temperature. By shifting more political decisions to the states, they envision a nation less subject to blue-red swings that change the entire course of federal law enforcement, environmental policy and business regulation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 5, 2026
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, Chekhov’s “Beggar,” a story of caring before hectoring, Andy Sipowicz saves Danny’s job, a few lines from Joseph Heller’s Something Happened.
The Federalist Papers: Indispensable Guide to Understanding Constitutional System
The Federalist served as a critical theoretical bridge for ratifying the Constitution. The essays by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay advanced political science by redefining republics and creating institutions to channel human self-interest. They remain the most important commentary on American constitutional governance.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 4, 2026
Independence Day Events in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast, deconstructing the phrase make America great again, Willie Nelson’s July 4 picnic with friends, Abraham Lincoln’s style.
‘Rededicating’ US to God? Jefferson and Madison Would Not Approve.
Jefferson’s and Madison’s half-century of collaboration on behalf of religious freedom and equality is an important chapter in the nation’s founding history. Its legacy should be remembered and celebrated, not discarded.
CAIR Florida, the Muslim Advocacy Organization, Sues State Over ‘Unprecedented’ Terrorist Designation ‘Regime’
Immediately after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state would soon designate the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) a domestic terrorist organization, the Muslim civil rights advocacy group filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging that designation as unconstitutional and are calling for an injunction to halt its enforcement.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 3, 2026
First Friday in Flagler Beach kicks off the Independence weekend celebrations, First Friday Garden Walks at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, top ten things we’re doing this weekend, This Land Is Your Land, so is LBJ’s Hill Country.
Trump’s Assault on the Green Card
More than half a million people rely every year on the ability to apply from within the United States for a green card, the government-issued ID that allows an immigrant to legally live and work in the country long term. The federal government has now issued a draft change to current policy that denies immigrants the ability to apply for a green card while in the U.S. Instead, they would have to return to their home country to do it.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 2, 2026
The county and the nation are getting set for the 250th, so offices and activities are mostly closed and cancelled. Justice Kagan documents Donald Trump’s racism. An American in Turkey.
A Democracy or a Republic? Americans Are Asking the Wrong Question
The United States has functioned as a hybrid of democratic and republican ideals since its founding. James Madison distinguished between “pure” democracy and representative republics, yet he incorporated democratic elements to ensure actual representation. History reveals a continuous struggle between aristocratic elites and popular power. Americans should embrace both traditions to ensure the government remains accountable to the people rather than ruled by few.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 1, 2026
A high of only 89, Conversations in Democracy, John Darkow on data centers, the Flagler Beach Library Book Club, making sense of John Duns Scotus.
Your Cellphone Location Data Is Now Protected by the Fourth Amendment
The Supreme Court ruled that whenever police obtain an individual’s cell location data, even from a third-party tech company, it constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable government searches and seizures, and it does so in part by requiring search warrants based on probable cause that describe the particular person or thing to be searched.
Florida Right-Wingers Blast Birthright Decision. The Rest Welcome It.
Although it wasn’t considered a surprise, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship provoked strong reactions from Florida lawmakers on Tuesday–negative ones from right-wing Republicans, welcoming ones from elsewhere.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
A Candidate forum for School Board, County Commission and Palm Coast City Council, 5:30 p.m. at FCAR Building in Bunnell, the mania for website redesigns that offer nothing new as the visual keeps winning over substance.
As Route 66 Turns 100, What Is It That We’re Actually Celebrating?
As Route 66 approaches its centennial, the history of the highway reveals a stark division between promotional myths and historical reality. Early civic marketing manufactured an idealized American image of freedom and romance. This legendary status excluded Black and Latino travelers who faced systemic discrimination on the road. The subsequent rise of midcentury interstate highways eventually caused the economic decline of the route.
DeSantis Vetoes More Than $800 Million from $114.5 Billion Budget, a 26% Increase Since 2020
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his eighth and final budget (HB 5001E) of his tenure Monday, vetoing more than $800 million from a $114.5 billion spending plan. The move came two days before the fiscal year was set to begin, after lawmakers’ battle over the amount of spending led to a stalemate that required a special session in May to settle.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 29, 2026
Ingrid Rice on Trump’s latest grab for Canada, Martin Short talks about being Canadian in Il Duce’s America, Mark Rothko’s serenity, Francis Parkman on the St,. Johns River.
Republicans and Democrats Agree on What Makes a Good Teacher
Americans across the political spectrum share a unified vision of excellent teaching. Surveys from 2020 to 2025 demonstrate that Republicans and Democrats prioritize strong teacher-student relationships over strict discipline or high-stakes competition. Perceptions shift negatively only when partisan labels are attached to specific educational ideas. These findings suggest that common ground exists for school reform if debates focus on practice rather than ideology.
Modern Politicians Attempt To Sanitize The Complex And Morally Messy Realities Of Florida History
Florida celebrates America’s 250th anniversary by erecting statues of founders, yet the state was actually a loyal British colony in 1776. The territory resisted the American revolution, repelled continental forces, and later became a Spanish headache before its eventual transfer to the United States. Modern political myths obscure this complicated, messy history that citizens should contemplate during patriotic holidays.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Pride in Bunnell at 2K Ranch, noon to 4 p.m., heat index values as high as 106 today, national anthems at the World Cup, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, Robert Caro on Sam Rayburn.
The Supreme Court Favors Christians’ Liberties. Others, Not So Much.
The Supreme Court ruled in Landor v. Louisiana that federal law protecting prisoners’ religious rights does not permit lawsuits for money damages against individual prison officials. The six-to-three decision creates a barrier for inmates seeking accountability when their religious practices are violated. Justice Gorsuch argued the spending clause prevents private suits against officials. Dissenting, Justice Jackson warned this ruling leaves prisoners without necessary legal remedies.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Art Dycke’s Celebration of Life, Local Ham Radio Clubs Test Emergency Capabilities, Palm Coast Historical Society Executive Board Meeting, Gamble Jam, Albert Camus’s jottings on life and death.
Justices Rule You Can Hold a Pistol and a Gummy at the Same Time
The Supreme Court issued two landmark June 2026 decisions expanding Second Amendment protections, striking down a restrictive Hawaii concealed carry law and unanimously invalidating a federal law banning gun ownership for unlawful drug users. Historical traditions, the court ruled, relying on that newly favored standard, do not support disarming moderate pot consumers.
Florida Kills Dusty Ray Spencer, 74, For Wife’s Murder in 1992; He Is Oldest Inmate to Be Executed in Modern Era
Dusty Ray Spencer was put to death by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison in Starke for his wife’s murder more than three decades ago in Orange County. Spencer, 74, became the oldest person put to death by the state in the modern era. Spencer had a violent history with his wife, Karen, before stabbing her to death in the backyard of their home on Jan. 18, 1992 in Orange County.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 26, 2026
The Scenic A1A Pride Committee meets at the Hammock Community Center, the Friday Blue Forum meets, Acoustic Jam Circle, a United Nations Human Rights commission concludes Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in its genocide in Gaza.
Strength Training Matters at Any Age
You will lose muscle during periods of immobilization, whether from illness, surgery or injury. The loss is inevitable. What’s not inevitable is whether you can afford that loss. If you’re already low on muscle mass, losing even a small amount can push you over the edge from independence to dependence. The same loss that barely affects someone with a larger amount of muscle can leave someone with less muscle unable to function independently.
Trump Spikes Bipartisan Housing Bill Unless Congress Approves New Voting Restrictions
President Donald Trump derailed a housing overhaul which passed the Senate Monday and House Tuesday with wide margins. Trump was set to sign into law Wednesday. He cancelled a signing ceremony for the broadly popular bipartisan bill until Congress passes the controversial SAVE America Act, which addresses the extremely rare phenomenon of noncitizen voting. Republican senators have told Trump there are not enough votes in the chamber for it to pass.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 25, 2026
It’s between Beats and Eats in Town center and the Flagler County Tiger Bay candidate forum at the Community Center. Also, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, and the World Cup can be lopsided fun.
No Donald, You Do Not Own Congress
President Donald Trump remarked that he forgot to consider congressional input regarding the new Iran deal, rhetoric that mirrors a broad pattern of expanding executive overreach. The U.S. Constitution establishes a system of separated powers where the legislature serves as a coequal branch. Disregarding this framework sidelines elected representatives, isolates the public from self-government and reduces a resilient constitutional republic to a top-down hierarchy.
Five Democrats Running for Governor Are Challenging David Jolly for Nomination
With Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings dropping out of the race due to health problems, former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly would appear the clear frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor taking place on Aug. 18. Democratic voters looking for an alternative will have five other choices. Here are their profiles.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization meeting, Conversations in Democracy, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, sets Trump straight, Anna Akhmatova, Renato Carosone and Bill Day on Italy.
Violent Crime Is at Its Lowest in More than a Century. The Money that Helped Reduce It Is Disappearing
The United States is experiencing one of the steepest declines in violent crime in modern history, including a murder rate at its lowest point in more than a century. Yet the Trump administration has yanked hundreds of millions of dollars from the programs that helped make those numbers possible.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Clay Jones on Trump’s dissimulations, the School Board holds a workshop in the afternoon and one of its pro forma meetings in the evening, an epidemic of machine-made insincerity, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 10-18, at the Flagler County Public Library.
How Fear and Loathing Pushes Americans to Vote for Scandalous Candidates
Democrats and Republicans are far away from each other on policy preferences, issue positions and culture. They are also distant in terms of where they live, whom they support, how they feel and even whom they love. Political science tells us that this polarized distance has increased feelings of personal animus between members of the two parties. Political psychology says the more different Americans are from each other, the easier it is for them to not just disagree with the other side but to dislike the other side to the point of viewing them as a threat.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, June 22, 2026
The Bunnell City Commission meets, Fox’s second-class World Cup match-ups, France takes on Iraq, braving Disney on a hot summer day, Henry James on aging.
Trump’s Iran Deal Let’s Israel Screw Lebanon Again
President Donald Trump is framing the deal as a win for the U.S. and the closing of the latest chapter in Washington’s Middle East entanglement. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country was reportedly shut out of the diplomatic process, may have other plans that would challenge Trump’s authority in the region.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, June 21, 2026
Story Time on the Farm at the Florida Agriculture, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, when Pat Buchanan blamed the AIDS epidemic on homosexuals, the media and the Democratic Party, remembering Howard Ashman.
Stop Celebrating Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ Goal
The “Hand of God” downgrades the competency by which players distinguish themselves. Additionally, it is an unambiguous case of cheating. Maradona intentionally and surreptitiously violated a rule of the sport to obtain an advantage that he would not have obtained otherwise – it distorts the sport, spoils the result and disrespects the opposing team.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, June 20, 2026
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Chess Meet-Up At the Flagler Beach Public Library, Democratic Women’s Club of Flagler County meet, The Battle of Shallowford, a play at Limelight Theatre, traveling back to Etruscan tombs.
Clothless Emperor Trump’s Surrenders in the Iran Deal
The leaders of the United States and Iran have signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war between their countries, as well as Israel’s military assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon. From the US point of view, the deal leaves a lot to be desired. Washington is giving up a lot for very little in return. President Donald Trump’s claims of success make this feel like an “emperor has no clothes” moment.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, June 19, 2026
The disappearance of jail bookings, Clay Jones on the president’s many loves, Free For All Fridays, The Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3) meets, The Battle of Shallowford, a play at Limelight Theatre, a few lines from Kafka’s Castle.
Juneteenth’s Reminders
The Biden administration declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. Today, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. But the story for formerly enslaved people continued to unfold in complex ways well after Juneteenth, including when it came to their educational journeys. Juneteenth made clear that freedom was not just confined to someone’s physical enslavement, but mental enslavement as well, bound in the laws that barred enslaved people from receiving an education in Southern states.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, June 18, 2026
Third Thursday Together in Flagler Beach, a monthly event for residents to interact with Flagler Beach city departments. Today: finance. Marineland Commission meeting, Sabah el-Ward, Cary McMullen on CBS’s devolution.
Violent Spectacles from Nero to Trump
Public combat spectacles from ancient Rome to modern mixed martial arts serve as powerful rituals that trigger identity fusion among spectators. This psychological process merges individual identities into a collective cause, driving a willingness to endure hardship. Political movements and leaders capitalize on these moral dramas to foster deep trust, reinforce civilizational narratives, and build immense solidarity under conditions that defy material logic.









