Nex Benedict’s death is shadowed by the sentiment and ideology behind a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country. In 2024 alone, various state legislatures have introduced almost 500 such bills, many of which target LGBTQ+ youth in schools. Some of these bills restrict which restrooms transgender students can use and which sports teams they can join. Others censor the information that all students receive at school about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Richard Corcoran Gets $200,000 Bonus On Top of $700,000 Salary After Single Year as New College President
New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran will receive $200,000 in incentive pay after the school’s Board of Trustees on Thursday signed off on a performance evaluation and releasing the money. Corcoran has led New College since February 2023, initially on an interim basis amid a leadership shakeup at the school that garnered national attention. Trustees named him president on a permanent basis in October.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series: “Sea Turtle And Marine Mammal Health Assessments.” The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, the Palm Coast Democratic Club meets, on eternity and the afterlife.
Jon Stewart Returns to Remind America What’s at Stake
Trump lashes out when politicians and journalists bring us closer to truth. Stewart criticizes them for keeping us in the dark. To Stewart, the solutions to America’s political spectacle are political accountability and increased transparency. To Trump, the solution is far simpler: He alone can fix it.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Paul Peterson at Flagler Tiger Bay Club, Separation Chat, Open Discussion, Jon Stewart on Israel, on the trouble with intermittent fasting since the days of Herman Melville.
Expressing Support for Black Lives Matter On the Job Is Now Protected Speech
A Home Depot store violated labor law when it disciplined Antonio Morales, the National Labor Relations Board ruled. Morales, a Home Depot employee in the Minneapolis area, had drawn the letters BLM on a work apron and refused to remove them. The Home Depot decision establishes an important precedent for workers who express broad concerns about systemic racism.
DeSantis and Surgeon General Turn Fentanyl Bill-Signing Into Attack on Transgender Athletes
Just moments after the governor said that he would sign two bills, one promoting opioid antagonists to prevent deaths from overdose and another boosting penalties for recklessly exposing first responders to fentanyl, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo opened fire on athletic competitions that pit transgender women and girls against those who are biologically female.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 9, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Community Traffic Safety Team meets, mind not quite over matter, Christopher Hitchens on Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.
The Problem With Finland’s Happiness
Finland steadily ranks as the happiest country in the world. In March 2024 the country was, for the seventh year in a row, ranked as the happiness champion. The ranking is based on one simple question, using a ladder metaphor, that is asked to people across nearly every country in the world. But it may not be an objective question.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, April 8, 2024
The eclipse starts in Palm Coast and Flagler at 1:47 p.m., peaking at 61 percent of sun cover at 3:04 p.m. The Marcus Chamblin trial on murder charges begins, The Bunnell City Commission meets and likely celebrates its groundbreakings, the Flagler County Library Board of Trustees meets and likely dreams of its coming groundbreaking, recalling Covid, Calvino’s cities.
Rural Students’ Access to Wi-Fi In Jeopardy as Covid-Era Aid Recedes
Students in rural America still lack access to high-speed internet at home despite governmental efforts during the pandemic to fill the void. This lack of access negatively affects their academic achievement and overall well-being. The situation has been getting worse as the urgency of the pandemic has receded.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, April 7, 2024
AAUW 40th Anniversary Celebration: 3 to 6 p.m. at Uncork’d in Flagler Beach, Live Jazz Concert to Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month, Bartolomé de las Casas and the conscience of colonialism.
Big Businesses Like Amazon and Space X Are Waging War on the NLRB, the Agency Protecting Workers’ Rights
Amazon, SpaceX, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s have all responded to allegations that they have violated labor laws with the same bold argument. The National Labor Relations Board, they assert in several ongoing legal proceedings, is unconstitutional.
DeSantis Lashes Out at Pot Freedom and Abortion-Rights Amendments
Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at two proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the November ballot, three days after the Florida Supreme Court signed off on the measures.
More Kids Are Dying of Drug Overdoses from Counterfeit Pills Laced with Fentanyl
Buprenorphine prescriptions for adolescents were declining as overdose deaths for 10- to 19-year-olds more than doubled. These overdoses, combined with accidental opioid poisonings among young children, have become the third-leading cause of death for U.S. children. The main culprits are fake Xanax, Adderall, or Percocet pills laced with the powerful opioid fentanyl. Nearly 25% of recent overdose deaths among 10- to 19-year-olds were traced to counterfeit pills.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Palm Coast Historical Society Speaker Series: Vincent Adejumo on the Ocoee Massacre, Scott Spradley on Lauren Johnston, Featured Artist Rick de Yampert at Ormond Art Walk, Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
Whether It’s Trump or Biden, U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World
A Trump victory would raise fears of a new level of decline into fascist authoritarianism. However, a second Trump presidency would not necessarily implement a foreign policy any more destructive than what is normal for the U.S., as it has been under Biden.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, April 5, 2024
The Blue 24 Forum, Free Family Art Night: “Textured Turtles”, Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens, Louis C.K. on the French, and on that French expression about whipping cats.
How 19th Century Women Wrote About Marital Rape
Over a century before it was criminalized, two key groups of women – colonial writers and suffrage agitators – began to criticize a husband’s legal right to rape his wife. These criticisms took many different forms, ranging from self-published feminist journals to novels, short stories, serial fiction and poetry.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, April 4, 2024
The Flagler County Canvassing Board meets, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, why the CDC is not allowed to research gun violence as gun violence continues to ravage the country.
Israel’s Outrageous Killing of Humanitarian Workers Was Not an Isolated Incident
This attack was not, as Biden pointed out in his remarks on April 2, a “stand-alone incident.” More than 180 other aid workers have been killed since the start of the Israeli invasion in October 2023, according to the United Nations. Most of them were Palestinians working with the United Nations.
6-Week Ban and Abortion-Rights Measure on November Ballot Could Boost Florida Democrats
Following a pair of blockbuster decisions by the Florida Supreme Court, Democrats are galvanizing around abortion as a “front and center” issue that they say could affect races up and down the ballot in November. Focus on the abortion issue exploded shortly after the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent and triggered a 2023 law preventing abortions after six weeks. Critics maintain that the six-week restriction, which will take effect next month, amounts to a virtual ban on abortions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Flagler Cares hosts its quarterly Help Night at its City Marketplace location from 3 to 7 p.m., Separation Chat, Open Discussion, eekly Chess Club for Teens the Flagler County Republican Club meets, an exploration of denialism.
The Deep State’s Epic Awesomeness
People who work in the federal government care deeply about their work, aiding the public and pursuing the stability and integrity of government. Most of them are devoted civil servants. Across hundreds of interviews and surveys of people who have made their careers in government, what stands out most is their commitment to civic duty without regard to partisan politics.
You May Not Have An Abortion Past 6 Weeks in Florida. You May Vote To Restore Abortion Rights in November.
The Florida Supreme Court released two blockbuster rulings on abortion rights on Monday — one that within a few weeks will allow a ban on the procedure after six weeks’ gestation to take effect, and another allowing the voters to decide in November whether to amend the Florida Constitution to protect access to the procedure.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Donald Andrew Sharp sentencing, the Flagler County School Board meets, Donna Tartt speaks to Charlie Rose, taking the old riddle of a tree falling in the forest a step further.
Undersea Cables, Backbone of the Global Internet
Undersea cables, also known as submarine communications cables, are fiber-optic cables laid on the ocean floor and used to transmit data between continents. These cables are the backbone of the global internet, carrying the bulk of international communications, including email, webpages and video calls. More than 95% of all the data that moves around the world goes through these undersea cables.
Recreational Pot Amendment Cleared for November Ballot, Florida Supreme Court Rules
Florida Supreme Court justices on Monday approved ballot language for a constitutional amendment that will ask Floridians in November whether they want to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 years or older. The measure must get 60 percent approval to become law, which is the highest threshold for any ballot measure to be passed in the nation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, April 1, 2024
Bunnell City Hall and Police Department groundbreaking, Commerce Parkway groundbreaking, the Flagler County Commission meets, a judge specifies that Donald Trump is a rapist, Cato’s fawning and flatteries.
Excessively High Rents Are Burdening Immigrants Who MakeAmericans’ Lives Easier
Immigration is the main driver of population growth in the U.S., which is important for filling jobs and boosting tax revenues. After dipping because of pandemic-era restrictions in 2020-22, immigration to the U.S. started growing again, adding 1.1 million new residents in 2023.
The Economy Is Getting Better. Consumers Dont Feel That Way.
Americans are still worried about their financial stability even as their recession fears lessen. High prices at the grocery store and consumers’ memories of their pre-pandemic budgets may be playing a role. Here’s what financial and economic experts have to say about what this week’s economic indicators tell us about people’s perception of the economy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 31, 2024
It’s Easter, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, Richard Hofstadter and Warren Burger on America’s gun culture and the fraudulent interpretations of the Second Amendment as an individual right to bear arms.
Does Israel’s Razing of Homes in Gaza Constitute Genocide?
The intentional destruction of homes is referred to as “domicide” by scholars and the UN, and can constitute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It has been used in armed conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar and now in Gaza, where Israel has destroyed more than 60 per cent of homes. The bombings of Gazan homes have also killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Gaslighting Greed: Uber Overcharges Riders and Underpays Drivers
That higher driver pay would force big fare hikes is one of Uber and Lyft’s favorite scare tactics. As drivers across the country have protested poverty wages and organized for better pay, the rideshare giants have trotted out this line again and again. It’s false. The companies are reaping billions at drivers’ and riders’ expense, especially where no protections are in place.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 30, 2024
Cracker Day at County Fairgrounds, Annual Spoonbills and Sprockets Cycling Tour, Peps Art Walk near JT’s Seafood Shack, ‘Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,’ at Daytona Playhouse, the paranoid style of American politics strikes again in the Baltimore bridge collapse.
How Canada Responded to One Mass Shooting
March 30 marks the first anniversary of the release of the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report into the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead. It was the most thorough study of a mass shooting in Canadian history. The non-partisan commission’s 130 recommendations included several focused on gun laws and needed gun control, several of which were implemented.
They/Them vs. Him/Her: A Federal Judge Will Decide Legality of Florida’s Ban on Pronoun Freedom
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people. The challenge alleges the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 29, 2024
“Wait Until Dark,” at Limelight Theater in St. Augustine, “Bonnie and Clyde, the Musical,” at Daytona Playhouse, the recall of two censoring school board members in California, John McEnroe.
Will UN Security Council’s Gaza Cease-Fire Vote Mean Anything?
Attempts to define what a ceasefire is and what it entails will ultimately reveal a “lack of fit” with international law. This is because they are notoriously difficult to negotiate and enforce. This “lack of fit” has perhaps been most obvious in the UN Security Council’s deliberations over a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
DeSantis Signs Off and Drinks Up: You Can Now Buy a 4-Gallon Bottle of Wine in Florida
Under current state law, wine distributors and manufacturers are allowed to sell wine to other distributors and manufacturers in containers of any size, but regular Floridians are prohibited from purchasing wine in containers larger than one gallon. Under the new law (HB 583), wine will be allowed for purchase up to 15 liters, which is 3.963 gallons, according to the legislation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, the Palm Coast Beautification advisory committee meets, where people are happiest in the world and what Edward Abbey has to say about the morose.
Disney and Oversight District Settle Lawsuit, Not Quite Ending Company’s Dispute With DeSantis
The deal ends an Orange County circuit-court lawsuit that came amid a feud between DeSantis and Disney over the company’s opposition to a 2022 state law that restricted instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Disney filed a separate federal lawsuit and appealed after a U.S. district judge in January dismissed that case. The appeal remains pending.
Port Of Baltimore Bridge Collapse Will Rattle Supply Chains Again
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, has put a spotlight on the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest harbors in the U.S., which paused shipping and immediately halted all vessel traffic in and out. The overall economic toll will be high as billions of dollars of goods are rerouted amid the prospect of supply chains being snarled for months. It will also mean a loss of tax revenue for the city and state.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion, the weekly chess club for teens at the public library, India takes a page out of Trump’s book on Muslim bans.
Do Anti-Abortion Doctors Have Any Business Challenging Abortion Drug Access?
Who has the legal right to challenge decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration? And should the moral umbrage of a group of anti-abortion rights doctors shift policy across the country, limiting women’s ability to get the widely used abortion drug mifepristone? These are a few of the central questions that the Supreme Court fielded on March 26 during the oral arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.
Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Florida Law Restricting Employment for Chinese and Some Others
Two graduate students and a professor on Monday challenged the constitutionality of a 2023 state law that restricts employment of people from China and six other nations at Florida public universities and colleges. The challenge alleges, in part, that the law is unconstitutional because it is trumped by federal immigration laws.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop for the first time since firing its city manager, the School Board, alas, holds a pair of meetings, and a few thoughts about libraries loved and lost.
The Problem With Shaming People for Auschwitz Selfies
Based on our analysis, we think it may be better that young people engage with Holocaust sites in their own way, rather than not engaging at all. We also suggest that some commenters may be just as guilty as the selfie-takers, using their comments to show themselves in a positive light. Paradoxically, this is precisely what they are shaming the selfie-takers for doing: centering themselves, using the Holocaust as a prop.
DeSantis Signs Bill Restricting Children’s Social Media Accounts and Inviting Yet Another Lawsuit
With the state preparing for a legal challenge from the tech industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a high-profile bill aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms. Paul Renner and other key supporters argue that social-media companies have created addictive platforms that harm children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors. But critics, including tech-industry groups, argue the bill is unconstitutional and point to courts blocking similar legislation in other states.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 25, 2024
The Flagler County Beekeepers Association holds its monthly meeting, the Bunnell City Commission meets, Randy Newman on Louisiana in 1927, and what it’s like to wake up to a minor flood and falling ceilings in one’s own home.