“Vinegar Tom,” at City Repertory Theatre, The Blue 24 Forum, still-going early voting for the non-election, how Disney priced out Floridians, and how Saddam Hussein rebuilt Babylon.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
A New Moon Shot. Sort Of.
The recent Odysseus landing stands out for two reasons. For starters, this is the first time a US-built spacecraft has landed – not crashed – on the Moon for over 50 years. Secondly, and far more significantly, this is the first time a private company has pulled off a successful delivery of cargo to the Moon’s surface.
Watchdog Groups Call on Gov. DeSantis to Veto Ethics Bill Restricting Investigations of Corruption
A coalition of state watchdog groups have sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling on him to veto an ethics bill that prohibits ethics commissions from pursuing any investigation of public officials or candidates for public office unless it comes from an individual “based on personal knowledge or information other than hearsay.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series: “Fish Ecology in a Rapidly Changing World,” the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, George Templeton Strong exults about the 1864 election, who is really voting in this early voting window and why is anyone bothering?
Ramadan Finds Greater Recognition in America’s Public Schools
Ramadan – the Islamic month of fasting – began at sunset on March 10 and the first day of fasting was Monday. Amaarah DeCuir, who researches Muslim student experiences, offers insights into how public schools can move toward greater recognition of the sacred Islamic month.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Early voting, but who really cares, the 2024 Health and Human Services Summit at the Ocean Center, Separation Chat, drilling down into the intellectual dishonesty of claims of double standards in reporting about Israel.
Betty Smith’s ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ at 80
The New York in the 1940s, the setting for Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” was not the city we know today. The Empire State Building had not reached its full height, nor had the statue of “Alice in Wonderland” taken up residence in Central Park. Brooklyn, too, was still becoming itself – and no other 20th-century American novel did quite so much for the borough’s reputation.
As DeSantis Crows, Opponents of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Say Settlement Rectifies Some of the Damage
Gov. Ron DeSantis was quick out the door with a claim that a settlement in a legal challenge to his Parental Rights in Education Act— or Don’t Say Gay — vindicated his efforts “to keep radical gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms of public-school children.” In fact, the settlement agreement’s terms also limit enforcement of that law which the governor pushed through the Legislature two years ago to bar public school instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Early voting continues, the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Community Traffic Safety Team meets, Al Green sings, a few Plutarch words about Solon.
Big Night at the Oscars. But ‘Oppenheimer’ Is a Disappointment and a Lost Opportunity
“Oppenheimer”‘s narrative has long informed how Hollywood and the U.S. media have addressed nuclear weapons. It paints the bombs’ creation as a morally fraught but necessary project. There is something that strikes me as so inward-looking to this narrative – it is so focused on the stress over losing an arms race, on fears of making a mistake, on anxiety over what would happen if bombs were to one day be dropped on the U.S. – that it drowns out what actually did happen after the bombs were detonated.
Defamation Revamp, Flag Bans, Limits on Local Tax Authority, ‘Unborn Child’ Bill All Dead Issues for Now
When Florida lawmakers went home after ending the 2024 legislative session Friday, they left behind hundreds of bills that did not pass, including a bill that would have allowed public figures easily to sue journalists, one that would have banned the flying of certain flags on public property, a proposal to lower the minimum age to buy rifles, and one that would have made it harder for local governments to raise property taxes.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 11, 2024
Early voting, unemployment numbers released, the library board and the Bunnell City Commission meet (separately), and a few questions about conspiracy theories’ pious believers.
2.5 Million People Were Displaced by Tornadoes and Other Disasters in America Last Year
A closer look at demographics in the survey reveals much more about disaster risk in America and who is vulnerable. It suggests, as researchers have also found, that people with the fewest resources, as well as those who have disabilities or have been marginalized, were more likely to be displaced from their homes by disasters than other people.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday March 10, 2024
Strawberry Festival in Central Park, St. Augustine Celtic Music and Heritage Festival, early voting, a voyage to Alderney, the British island you’ve never heard of.
Four Centuries of Trying to Prove God’s Existence
Whether God exists or not is one of the most important philosophical questions there is. And the tradition of trying to establish God’s existence involving evidence is a long one, with a golden age during the 17th and 18th centuries – the early modern period.
As Supreme Court Takes on Florida Law Forcing Social Media’s Hand, Maybe It’s Time to Reinterpret the First Amendment
Florida is in the middle of an epic legal battle over concepts of free speech, press freedom and unimpeded commerce. It’s a clash between internet publishers, who want the government to leave them alone, and Republican leaders who insist that social media platforms are too powerful to be run by giant, faceless corporations that can — and do — impose their tastes on all of us.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Rick de Yampert’s book-signing at Vedic Moons this afternoon, early voting for the useless primary begins today, Strawberry Festival in Central Park, AAUW meeting, St. Augustine Celtic Music and Heritage Festival, return to Byzantium.
Media Coverage of Primaries Fails Voters but Helps Trump
When candidates are from the same party, voters cannot rely on their partisanship to make a choice. Instead, they must sift through candidates within one party and learn about them. Since media have more leeway to focus on some people over others in this context, they help choose which candidates voters hear about in the first place.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 8, 2024
Town Hall Meeting with Palm Coast Council Member Nick Klufas, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, the death toll surpassed 30,000 in Gaza, and Dareen wonders why her family was wiped out, Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony at the Jacksonville Symphony.
After Super Tuesday, Exhausted Americans Face 8 More Miserable Months of This
A September 2023 Monmouth University poll showed no more than 40% of Americans said they were “enthusiastic” for either Biden or Trump to run again. That same month, the Pew Research Center found that 65% of Americans were exhausted with the current state of American politics. In February 2024, The New York Times said Democrats in particular were burned out by the seemingly endless avalanche of political crises.
After DeSantis Veto, Lawmakers Pass Watered-Down Social Media Ban Awash in Loopholes
The bill, in part, would prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts, but the revamped plan does not include age-verification requirements, making the ban moot but for the state’s vague threat of lawsuits.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 7, 2024
Read Across Flagler Literacy Night in Town Center’s Central Park, Story Time for Preschoolers at Flagler Beach Public Library, a trip back down Bernie Sanders’ way, and whose side are you on.
Ford’s Hungry Workers Wanted Better Pay. Henry Ford’s Cops and Guards Shot and Killed 5 and Injured 60.
The response of the Ford Motor Company as workers marched for better pay and skull-cracking cops went after them shot holes in the myth that Ford cared about his workers. More than 30,000 people showed up for the dead marchers’ funerals. The violent reactions of Ford security and Dearborn police during the march were widely condemned.
Senate Approves Ban on Homeless Sleeping in Public, Sending Bill to Gov. DeSantis for Signature
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 27-12 along party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which would bar cities and counties from allowing people to sleep at places such as public buildings and in public rights of way. The House approved the bill last week, and DeSantis has voiced support for it. But Democrats argued the state would provide limited resources to local governments to carry out the measure, potentially exposing the local governments to lawsuits.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, the Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State meets, reflections on January 6, and where we went, and are going, from there.
Do Self-Immolations and Other ‘Spectacular’ Protests Make a Difference?
Self-immolation, the act of setting oneself on fire, can be seen as an extreme form of a modern repertoire of protest that is both common and familiar, not just in the U.S. but in many parts of the globe. While such acts may generate attention, this kind of agency is often costly, requiring the protesters involved to make considerable personal investments of time, money, comfort, privacy, dignity and even life. Yet, despite the costs, the outcomes of spectacular agency are frequently uncertain.
Lawmakers Set to Pass $117.46 Billion Budget by Friday, After ‘Cooling Off’ Period
Overall state spending will be higher than the $117.46 billion in the budget because of separate legislation. For example, lawmakers have approved spending $717 million in a major health-care bill (SB 7016) that includes efforts to attract more doctors to the state.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
The Flagler County School Board meets in workshop, the Palm Coast City Council holds its monthly evening meeting, Joe Biden on the talk show circuit, Robert Fisk on the drug of hope.
Federal Appeals Court Stops DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke’ Restrictions on Workplace Training Against Bigotry
The workplace-training part of the law listed eight race-related concepts and said that a required training program or other activity that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual (an employee) to believe any of the following concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.”
The Supreme Court Rules It’s Unconstitutional for States to Decide on Trump’s Qualifications
Right from the very beginning of the nation, and persisting until today, there have been rules that limit the ability of the people to choose their leaders. All of these rules stand in the way of simply “letting the people decide,” as Brett Kavanaugh suggested. Strictly speaking, those rules are not democratic. But they are intended to protect democracy itself.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 4, 2024
The Flagler County Commission meets, the Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, why Nietzsche hated Socrates, and why it’s probably better for your health not to like Socrates too much.
Ben Shapiro’s Hip-Hop Hypocrisy and White Male Grievance
Teaming up with Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald, Shapiro released “Facts” in January 2024. Given today’s bitter partisan divide and extremist culture wars, it comes as no surprise that Shapiro’s track quickly found a devoted following. But his racist, anti-rap rap lyrics ultimately repeat the same tired charges right-wing politicians have used against hip-hop since its birth over 50 years ago.
DeSantis Thinks He’s Abolishing the Homeless by Banning Them from Sight. He’s Wrong.
DeSantis and lawmakers are likely reacting to a shift in the way communities across the U.S. view homelessness from compassion to penalties and restrictions. Unfortunately, but true to form, DeSantis didn’t offer a palette of humane solutions to the homelessness problem. Instead, he spoke of the issue in stark, unsympathetic, self-absorbed terms characterizing homelessness in purely negative terms, blaming them for contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of others lucky to not be sleeping on the street.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 3, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, “Tuck Everlasting” is still going strong at Limelight Theatre, a trip through Jean Stafford’s “The Children’s Game” and Knokke le Zoute.
Seriously? Research Shows Significant IQ Drop After Covid
Those who had mild and resolved Covid showed cognitive decline equivalent to a three-point loss of IQ. In comparison, those with unresolved persistent symptoms, such as people with persistent shortness of breath or fatigue, had a six-point loss in IQ. Those who had been admitted to the intensive care unit for Covid had a nine-point loss in IQ. Reinfection with the virus contributed an additional two-point loss in IQ, as compared with no reinfection.
Texas Prosecutor Disciplined for Allowing Murder Charge Against Woman who Self-Managed an Abortion
The State Bar of Texas has fined and suspended Starr County’s district attorney for pursuing a murder indictment against 26-year-old woman after she self-managed an abortion.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 2, 2024
The Flagler Beach All Stars hold their monthly beach clean-up, Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, Will Durant, national character, and when stereotype slips into bigotry.
Hey, Ladapo! Measles Is One of Deadliest and Most Contagious Diseases. And Most Easily Preventable.
The United States is on track to have one of the worst measles years since 2019, when Americans experienced the largest measles outbreak in 30 years. As of mid-February 2024, at least 15 states have reported measles cases and multiple ongoing, uncontained outbreaks. While this measles crisis unfolds, U.S. measles vaccination rates are at the lowest levels in 10 years. Prominent figures like the Florida surgeon general are responding to local outbreaks in ways that run counter to science and public health recommendations.
Florida House Passes Ban on Homeless Sleeping In Public Despite Added Burdens to Local Governments
The Florida House on Friday approved a controversial proposal that would prevent homeless people from sleeping in public, despite concerns about increased costs for local governments. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-26 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 1365), which is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It also would make it easier for residents and business owners to challenge local officials over how homelessness is addressed.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 1, 2024
First Friday in Flagler Beach, the Blue 24 Forum, George Carlin on wanting to engage in an involuntary protein spill, and on getting old in a world of illusions.
Pinpointing 36.8 Million Annual Lightning Strikes in Unprecedented Detail
Each giant spark of electricity travels through the atmosphere at 200,000 miles per hour. It is hotter than the surface of the sun and delivers thousands of times more electricity than the power outlet that charges your smartphone. In the United States, an average of 28 people were killed by lightning every year between 2006 and 2023.
Renner and DeSantis Trying to Ward Off Veto Over Social Media Ban for Children Under-16
With a Friday deadline looming, House Speaker Paul Renner said Wednesday that he and Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to work out differences on a bill aimed at keeping children under age 16 off social-media platforms. Renner is keeping silent on alternatives.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday February 29, 2024
Drug court, Clay Jones draws about and writes on Trump’s racism, “Tuck Everlasting” at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre, a history of leap years and what it looked like from the vantage point of 1960.
Anti-Immigration Pastors Get the Attention, But Real Priests Still Protect Migrants
Historically, Latinx Christian leaders have been at the forefront of immigrant rights in the U.S.. For example, Mexican-American Catholic leaders of the Jim Crow era such as Alonso Perales and Cleofas Calleros applied Catholic social teaching, such as the inherent equality of all human beings, to civil rights struggles.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Ralph Carter Park Community Update and meeting, Separation Chat, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” 41 years ago, E.B. Sledge discharged from active duty at Pensacola.
Miserable at Work (and Who Isn’t)? Here’s How the Bhagavad Gita Can Help.
Employees are generally unhappy at work. The number of those who feel angry and disconnected with their organization’s mission is climbing. A mindfulness technique called “nishkama karma” – acting without desire – described in an ancient but popular Indian text called the “Bhagavad Gita,” may prove useful for navigating the contemporary world of work.
Florida Lawmakers Back Modest Reparations for Dozier School’s Black Victims of Rampant Abuse
The Florida Senate measure would create a $20 million “Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Program” to compensate “living persons who were confined” to Dozier or the Okeechobee School, another reform school, between 1940 and 1975 and “who were subjected to mental, physical, or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
A Palm Coast City Council workshop, the Book Dragons meet at the Flagler Beach Public Library, the Carnival of Binches and its extravagant street parties, a few lines from Gibbon.
An Anthropologist at CPAC: Trump’s Base Believes He Is the Savior
An anthropologist who studies peace and conflict went to the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, to better understand the Make America Great Again faithful – and their die-hard support for Trump.
GOP Lawmakers Recommend Co-Founder of Moms for Liberty, an Extremist Group, for Ethics Job
Republican lawmakers in a Senate hearing Monday recommended Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-government extremist group, for an appointment for the Florida Commission on Ethics. The full Senate must approve the executive appointment.