A professor of business economics begs everyone, from investors to consumers to policymakers: Please calm down, take 10 deep breaths and relax. The economic data, taken together, paint a brighter if more complex picture.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 6, 2024
The Flagler Beach Planning Board takes on a revised height ordinance, the Palm Coast City Council holds an evening meeting, Nukemaps and the simulated results of nuclear bombings.
Hiroshima’s Last Survivors Tell Their Stories
The bomb, dropped by the US on August 6 1945, made orphans of around 2,000 children, mostly from central Hiroshima, who survived because they had been evacuated to the countryside. When they returned after Japan surrendered on August 15, they found their parents gone and their city razed to the ground.
Florida’s Teachers Unions Urge Judge to Side with Transgender Teacher Over State’s Pronoun Dogma
Accusing Florida of “dangerous political theater,” state and national teachers unions have urged an appeals court to side with a transgender Hillsborough County teacher who challenged a law requiring educators to use pronouns that align with their sex assigned at birth. The unions filed a 47-page brief arguing that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should uphold a district judge’s decision that the law violated the First Amendment rights of teacher Katie Wood.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 5, 2024
The groundbreaking for the southern branch library known as the Nexus Center is at 1 p.m., the County Commission has a pair of meetings, the Canvassing Board meets, Bernard Malamud delights us with his metaphors.
Court Rules Against Catholic Charter School. Ruling May Not Stand Long.
Three recent U.S. Supreme Court cases expanded the boundaries of state aid to faith-based schools and their students, ruling that they cannot be denied generally available aid solely due to their religious status. Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has the potential to further expand the boundaries of aid to faith-based schools and their students – a dramatic change worth watching.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 4, 2024
Unlimited Devotion performs in St. Augustine, the Magic of Motown at the Peabody, the LOL Jax Film Festival, the chauvinism of some American media’s medal-table standings.
Could Elvis’ Graceland Hold a Key to Bridging America’s Cultural Divide?
The anxiety over the possibility that Presley’s Graceland might fall out of family control raises an important question: Why does Graceland matter? It’s the second-most-visited home in the U.S., topped only by the White House. According to the U.S. Interior Department. Many have viewed the singer’s life, output and legacy with a sneer. Nowhere is this condescension more evident than in patronizing references to his home.
Florida Officials Want Supreme Court to Approve a Manipulated ‘Impact Statement’ on Abortion Amendment
Lawyers for Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner on Friday urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject an attempt to invalidate a revised “financial impact statement” that would appear on the November ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights. A state panel made controversial changes to the financial impact statement, which Floridians Protecting Freedom–leading efforts to pass the constitutional amendment–wants invalidated.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 3, 2024
Back to school jam at FPC, the Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, further thoughts on the Olympics’ opening ceremonies and arts’ controversies, a pop-up exhibit of paintings by Kiersten Hawkins.
The Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’
Project 2025 lays out many standard conservative ideas – like prioritizing energy production over environmental and climate-change concerns, and rejecting the idea of abortion as health care – along with some much more extreme ones, like criminalizing pornography. And it proposes to eliminate or restructure countless government agencies in line with conservative ideology.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 2, 2024
First Friday Garden Walks at Washington Oaks, First Friday in Flagler Beach, Free Family Art Night at OMAM, the cost of the Olympics, if economics were an Olympic sport.
How Reciting the Pledge Became a Sacred Ritual
In the early years of the nation, the American flag rarely appeared except in government and military displays. That changed with the Civil War. As historian and author Marc Leepson writes in his book about the U.S. flag, Northerners began displaying it in homes and businesses to show support for the Union. After the war, the flag became a symbol of the reunified nation.
Florida and 3 States Scramble to Avoid Enforcement of Federal Rule Prohibiting Gender Discrimination
Hours after a U.S. district judge ruled against them, Florida and three other states late Tuesday asked an appeals court to temporarily halt a new federal rule about sex-based discrimination in education programs. The states have prevented transgender students from using school bathrooms that don’t match their sex assigned at birth and blocked or restricted treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people with gender dysphoria.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 1, 2024
Clay Jones, Charlie Hebdo, Trump and voting for the last time, health care provider scoring meeting at the GSB, Lawrence Wright on a pledge of allegiance to the future of the country.
Another Escalation of Violence in the Middle East
With the war in Gaza showing no sign of abating and the whole Middle East on a knife’s edge, the Israeli assassination of Hamas’s top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, raises questions about whether it may spark a wider regional war.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 31, 2024
The Flagler County Canvassing Board meets, Flagler Parent hosts a one-hour live-streamed forum with school board candidates, Elvis’s very first concert at Overton Park Orchestra Shell in Memphis.
Childless Women and the Catholic Church
J.D. Vance’s views on childless women are sharply at odds with the attitude of his present Catholic faith. Catholic history is full of childless women respected for their work, many of them members of religious communities. They often contributed to lasting social and cultural change. In fact, the very existence of women’s religious communities is a testament to the value Catholicism puts on childless women’s lives.
DeSantis Signs Ninth Death Warrant: Loran Cole, 57, for 1994 Murder of Florida State Student John Edwards
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a death warrant for an inmate convicted in the 1994 murder of a Florida State University student who went to the Ocala National Forest to camp with his sister. Loran Cole, 57, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 29 at Florida State Prison.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 30, 2024
The Flagler Branch of the NAACP hosts a candidate forum at 6 p.m. at AACS, Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy, where Jimmy Carter went wrong on Salman Rushdie.
Behind Biden’s Proposed Supreme Court Reform
Inconsistency in appointments is one of the reasons why President Joe Biden’s call for Supreme Court reform, which Vice President Harris supports, should be considered a meaningful attempt to address a relatively new development that has diminished the ability of the people – through their elected representatives in the White House and the Senate – to shape an unelected Supreme Court.
Stop U.S. Arms Pipeline to Israel
There is overwhelming evidence that Israeli forces under Netanyahu’s leadership have committed massive human rights atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza. And that’s against the backdrop of an illegal military occupation of Palestinian territory and apartheid, as another ICJ ruling confirmed recently. Nonetheless, Congress invited Netanyahu to speak.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 29, 2024
Eisenhower’s convertible trip to Karachi, Pakistan, in 1960, America’s dwindling reputation abroad, Springsteen’s, “This Land is Your Land,” a few words from James MacGregor Burns.
How Jefferson and Madison’s Friendship Shaped Separation of Church and State
Only 19% of Americans say the United States should abandon the principle of church-state separation. That said, criticism appears to be on the rise, particularly among political and religious conservatives. And such criticism comes from the top.
J.D. Vance Eclipses DeSantis. But He Might Want to Watch His Back.
If Trump wins and somehow doesn’t declare himself president-for-life, Vance will be the nominee in 2028. Ditto if Trump loses and the country survives the violence. Vance could end up as president before then, possibly without lifting a finger — except maybe to pass Trump the Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburgers that finally tip him over into massive stroke territory. Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and their autocracy-loving billionaire buds will see to that.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 28, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, V.S. Naipaul’s odd turn in the South and a couple of seemingly nonexistent towns, Naipaul at Colgate university.
AI Supercharges Data Center Energy Use, Straining The Grid and Slowing Sustainability Efforts
Data centers have had continuous growth for decades, but the magnitude of growth in the still-young era of large language models has been exceptional. AI requires a lot more computational and data storage resources than the pre-AI rate of data center growth could provide.
Project 2025 is a Bad Bet for Florida’s Future
Project 2025 is a blueprint for Trump’s next term. It is full of recommendations for clamping down on abortion, banning pornography, abolishing the Homeland Security and Education departments, killing the Head Start program for kids, and putting the entire executive branch, including the Department of Justice, under direct control of the president — no civil service protection.
Florida Among 25 States Seeking Halt to Biden Rule Restricting Coal-Fired Power Plants
In Florida, coal is no longer a major factor in electricity generation. As 0f 2022, and coal-fired power plants supplied about 6% of the energy supply, down from 36% in 2001, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Attorneys argue that if the Biden administration’s rule is allowed to continue, it will mean that hundreds of megawatts will be forced offline, leading to power shortages during critical weather during the summer and winter.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 27, 2024
Peps Art Walk next to JT’s Seafood Shack, Gamble Jam, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, with City Attorney Drew Smith, A Tribute to Queen at the Bandshell.
AI’s Mass Surveillance at Paris Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics is drawing the eyes of the world as thousands of athletes and support personnel and hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe converge in France. It’s not just the eyes of the world that will be watching. Artificial intelligence systems will be watching, too.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 26, 2024
The Flagler County Canvassing Board meets, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, the Paris Olympics open on the Seine, remembering Red Smith.
Revisiting J.D. Vance’s Middletown, Ohio
J.D. Vance’s Middletown, Ohio, his hometown – just north of Cincinnati – risks becoming an abstract symbol of Rust Belt America. Ironically, it is easy to lose sight of the city’s rich, distinctive heritage, from which Vance’s memoir drew its potency.
Florida High School Athletes May Now Cash In With Sponsors as State Board Approves ‘NIL’ Plan
While saying additional protections are needed, the State Board of Education on Wednesday ratified a plan approved last month by the Florida High School Athletic Association that will allow high school athletes to get paid through name, image and likeness, or “NIL,” deals.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 25, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Palm Coast’s forgotten Beautification Committee meets, Bob Newhart on Carson, a few thoughts on the GOP Convention.
Is Media to Blame for Biden Dropping Out?
Blaming the press for Joe Biden dropping out of his re-election bid assumes that the power of the press is significant and straightforward: If journalists report on an issue in a certain way for an extended period of time, they will ultimately shape how people feel about it. In reality, journalists’ influence is far more limited.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
The Flagler County Public Library Book Club takes on Michael Morpurgo’s “Elephant in the Garden,” Separation Chat, Open Discussion, a few sights and thoughts on the reborn beach at the south end of Flagler Beach.
Eventful 2024? Think 1940, 1968, or 1973
History usually happens at a leisurely pace, with major events months or even years apart. But this year, it seems like someone has pushed fast-forward, with significant events coming on a weekly or even daily basis. One company is now selling a T-shirt declaring “THIS IS MY LIVING IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES SHIRT.”
Florida Issues Potentially Intrusive Social Media Age-Verification Rules to Ban Children from Platforms
The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on at least some platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts. It also requires age verification to try to prevent minors under age 18 from having access to online pornographic sites.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 23, 2024
The school board holds its pair of meetings–afternoon workshop, evening meeting–the Palm Coast council meets, Book Dragons at the Flagler Beach Public Library, the sprawls of Palm Coast.
Already Vile, GOP Attacks Against Kamala Harris Are About to Get Worse
The anti-Harris rhetoric is part of what a report by the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank, described as a broad pattern of gendered and sexualized attacks on prominent women in public discourse.
Florida Democrats, Mirroring Nation’s, Quickly Rally Around Kamala Harris
Members of Florida’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention threw their support Monday to Vice President Kamala Harris, a day after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election campaign. As part of a rapidly moving effort to coalesce support behind the vice president, a group of Florida party leaders held a call with reporters to back Harris’ bid to become president and pointed to increased enthusiasm they hope translates down the ballot.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 22, 2024
“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” in its final performance at City Repertory Theatre, the Flagler County Beekeepers Association meets, Hemingway’s recollection of Paris.
HIV Breakthrough: Injection Could Prevent Infection
A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection. The trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would provide better protection against HIV infection than two other drugs, both daily pills. All three medications are pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) drugs.
The Solution to Homelessness Is Not Criminalization. It’s Housing.
With half of all renter households now spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, millions are one emergency away from homelessness. Punishing people for our country’s failure to ensure adequate housing for all is inherently “cruel and unusual.” Widespread homelessness directly violates the human right to housing under international law, which must be recognized in the United States.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 21, 2024
Iration and Pepper at the St. Augustine Amphitheater, Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar’s “Lords of the Land,” Ilan Pappé and the biggest prison on earth in Gaza and the West Bank.
Just One Drink a Day Can Bump Up Your Breast Cancer Risk by 5% to 9%
Did you know that casual drinks with friends or having a “wine mom” moment to unwind could actually be nudging up your risk for breast cancer? It sounds like a buzzkill. But it’s a truth that many might not know: Alcohol actually causes breast cancer.
J.D. Vance Praised Alex Jones as a Truth-Teller and Said the ‘Devil Is Real’
Sen. J.D. Vance, whom Donald Trump named as his vice presidential running mate Monday, told a group of influential young conservatives in a closed-door speech in 2021 that they should stand up for “nonconventional people” who speak truth, such as Infowars founder Alex Jones, projected a time when Kamala Harris would imprison conservatives in droves, and said the financial elite is full of sex perverts.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 20, 2024
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Democratic Women’s Club of Flagler County meeting, Buddy Guy performs a rescheduled show in St. Augustine, and on casuistry.
The Free Market Myth: How the US Manipulates Global Markets for Economic Supremacy
For years, Democratic and Republican administrations in the US have touted the virtues of free trade to the rest of the world, working towards establishing a multilateral trading system that limits the use of protectionist policies. But it’s hypocritical.