Prioritizing physical fitness and health as you get older can help you go through your normal day-to-day routine without feeling physically exhausted at the end of the day. It can also help you continue to have special memories with your family and loved ones that you might not have been able to have if you weren’t physically active.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Local Newspapers Are Disappearing, But Don’t Romanticize Their Role Too Much
Taking one newspaper’s history as a prism, local newspapers didn’t always fulfill their watchdog role, lavishing attention on their community sometimes with a paternalism that chose to conceal problems and fostering a certain coziness with the area’s power players. Boosterism and conflicts of interest occasionally interfered with telling the full story.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, October 14, 2023
Smokin’ at the House at the Flagler Woman’s Club, Selina Hernandez of the Flagler Education Foundation at the AAUW lunch, the Economist on Hamas, Herbert Spencer on the evolution of societies away from war.
Gaza’s Desperation
International aid groups now face the same problem in Gaza that local businesses and residents have encountered for about 16 years: a blockade that prevents civilians and items, like medicine from easily moving into or out of the enclosed area, roughly 25 miles long. That 16-year blockade did not apply to the food and fuel that groups brought in to Gaza. Now, it does.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, October 13, 2023
Two sentencings in felony court, LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast, the “ReAwaken America Tour brings us back to Richard Hofstadter’s Paranoid Style in American Politics, Friday the 13th.
Banning Supervised Drug Injection Sites for Addicts Does More Harm Than Good
While much of the political discourse surrounding the ban of supervised injection sites has focused on protecting neighborhoods where drug activity happens in parks and on the streets, ample evidence suggests that banning supervised injection sites may instead jeopardize the people and communities the policy was intended to protect.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, October 12, 2023
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Luíseach Nic Eoin, Senior Editor at Nature Ecology and Evolution, is the featured speaker at Whitney’s lecture series, innocent lives lost.
Claudia Goldin’s Nobel Prize
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics has been awarded to 90 men since 1969 and just three women. The third woman to win the prize, distinguished Harvard labor economist Claudia Goldin, was honored on Oct. 9, 2023, for her decades of work studying the gender pay gap. It wasn’t a victory just for her but for women in the field.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Palm Coast’s Imagine 2050 Community Engagement Session at the Community Center, Monserrate Teron, found guilty of abusing his niece, is sentenced, Brendan Depa is in court for a pre-trial, Salman Rushdie on Prozac Nation.
Eyeless in Gaza: A Key to Understanding This War
How did Gaza become one of the most densely populated parts of the planet? And why is it the home to militant Palestinian action now? Understanding the answers to those questions provides crucial historical context to the current violence.
In Lawsuit Settlement DeSantis Administration Will Stop Censoring Covid Death Counts and Vaccinations
The DeSantis administration has agreed to release years of previously suppressed data about Covid’s spread in Florida to settle a lawsuit filed by a former state House member, a government openness group, and news organizations. The Florida Department of Health will resume posting on its website details of vaccination counts, case counts, and deaths weekly by county, age group, gender, and race in the future.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, then again in a special workshop with its planning board to talk about Imagine 2050, the next comprehensive plan, Donna Tartt’s Goldfinch, swimming in the Seine.
Israel-Hamas War: No Matter Who Loses, Iran Wins
Analysts are suggesting that Tehran’s fingerprints can be seen on the surprise attack on Israel. At the very least, Iran’s leaders have reacted to the assault with encouragement and support.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, October 9, 2023
The Flagler County Commission meets behind closed doors to talk litigation, the Bunnell City Commission meets, debating Columbus.
Branson, Missouri’s Lesson to Live Theater ‘In Crisis’
American live theater, especially regional, non-profit theater, is on the verge of collapse. One place to look for ideas is the tourist town of Branson, Missouri. Scholars and theater critics have ignored this mecca of live entertainment that attracts millions of people a year, largely because of its reputation for cheesy performances and political conservatism.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 8, 2023
Palm Coast’s and AdventHealth’s Pink on Parade 5k Run/Walk in Town Center, Creekside Music and Arts Festival, the determinism of 2+2=4, Daniel Boorstin on Charlie Rose and pseudo-events.
Serenity Now: Meet Jon Fosse, Winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature
Despite having been in the running for the award for a number of years, Fosse, as with several other 21st century European laureates like Elfriede Jelinek and the controversial Peter Handke, is still largely unknown in the English-speaking world. Fosse’s massive literary oeuvre includes roughly 40 plays as well as novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, October 7, 2023
Creekside Music and Arts Festival today and tomorrow, Monthly Volunteer Clean-Up Day at the Florida Agriculture Museum, Maze Dayz Fall Festival, Stetson Choral Festival, housing prices, Víkingur Ólafsson’s new Goldberg Variations.
Narges Mohammadi Wins the Nobel Peace Prize on Behalf of Millions of Iranian Women
Prominent Iranian women’s rights advocate Narges Mohammadi has won the 2023 Nobel peace prize for her long fight against the oppression of women in Iran. Mohammadi is serving multiple prison sentences in Evin prison in Tehran on charges which include spreading propaganda against the state.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, October 6, 2023
First Friday in Flagler Beach, the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, Stetson Choral Festival, the John Marchi-John Lindsey mayoral race and that Lloyd Bentsen-Dan Quayle moment.
The Supreme Court Is Privileging Christians Ahead of Others’ Dignity
On issues where the Christian right’s First Amendment claims directly threaten the equal citizenship of sexual minorities, the court leaves no question about which side it’s on, privileging Christians over all others.
Ex-Volusia Council’s Heather Post Agrees to Pay $1,000 Fine Over Missed Financial Disclosure Filing
The Florida Commission on Ethics’s advocate, in a joint agreement with former Volusia County Council ember Heather post, is recommending that Post pay a $1,000 fine for failing to file her financial disclosure form for 2021 on time. The agreement also calls for Post to be publicly reprimanded and censured.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, October 5, 2023
The Nobel Prize for Literature is announced this morning, making this the most important day of the year. No drug court today. Bach’s Toccata in C Minor, and a few words from the late Alan Siegal on good writing.
If You Think the House Is Fractured, Look at America
The House of Representatives did something that had never been done before in the nation’s history: It ousted the speaker of the House. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, lost his job in a vote of 216 to 210. Charles R. Hunt of Boise State University’s School of Public Servic offers a sense of what this historic development might mean for the government at the moment, as well as for American democracy over the longer term.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Bridge and Games at Flagler Woman’s Club, James Taylor is back in court, battling his life term, the Flagler County Republican Club meets, Weekly Chess Club for teens, more Gatsby and the 7 Train in snow.
Where the Supreme Court Stands on Banning Books
Until the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a newer case, the lower courts will look to existing precedent, set in a legal ruling that dates back to 1982. In that ruling, the court declared that school personnel have a lot of discretion related to the content of their libraries, but this “discretion may not be exercised in a narrowly partisan or political manner.”
Judge Exonerates ‘Christian’ Teacher Who Refused to Refer to Trans Student by His Preferred Pronouns
An administrative law judge Monday backed a Miami-Dade County teacher who reportedly told a transgender student that, “I’m a Christian, and my God made no mistakes” while refusing to call the student by preferred pronouns.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 3, 2023
The school board meets in secret and meets again in the open, the Palm Coast City Council holds an evening meeting, the Nobel Prize in Physics is announced, Adam Nagourney on the New York Times.
The Covid Vaccine Wins the Nobel in Medicine
The Covid vaccines would not have been possible it if weren’t for the pioneering work of this year’s winners of the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine decades earlier: Dr Katalin Karikó and Dr Drew Weissman, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, for their discoveries into mRNA biology. The pair were the first to discover a way of modifying mRNA that allowed it to successfully be delivered to cells and replicated by them.
Don Gaetz Wants Back in Florida Senate as His Son Disrupts U.S. House
Former state Senate President Don Gaetz is seeking a return to the Legislature as his son makes waves in Washington, D.C. Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who served in the Senate from 2006 to 2016, including as president during the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, said Monday he was filing paperwork to run next year in the Panhandle’s Senate District 1.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, October 2, 2023
Nysean Giddens is sentenced, the Beverly Beach Town Commission and the Astronomy Club meet (separately), the U.S. Supreme Court begins its 2023-24 term, and what are we to make of the Sphere in Vegas?
Food Poisoning: What and Where to Never Eat
An estimated 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases every year. A microbiologist outlines what to look for and what to avoid to not end up poisoned.
DeSantis Solution to Climate Change: Burn More Fossil Fuels
Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Texas last week to stand in front of a couple of noisy oil wells and a friendly crowd of oil field workers to issue a clarion call for coping with climate change by burning more fossil fuels. He pledged to make it easier for oil industry to drill and said he would replace references to “climate change” with “energy dominance.”
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Florida Law Forcing Social Media to Carry Objectionable Content
The Texas and Florida legislatures passed the laws at the center of the disputes in 2021. The Florida law, known as S.B. 7072 or the Stop Social Media Censorship Act, prohibits social-media companies from banning political candidates and “journalistic enterprises.” The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to weigh in on the constitutionality of the controversial laws.
Remembering Lucy Morgan, Florida’s Most Feared Journalist
When Lucy Morgan started out, female reporters were usually confined to the food and style pages. She was the machete clearing the trail for many women in Florida, not the first pioneering newspaperwoman but surely the most significant. Causing trouble — for the powerful, at least — was her job, and she mentored generations of journalists.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 1, 2023
St. Augustine Songwriters Festival, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at City Repertory Theatre, a celebration of Amin Maalouf.
America’s Way Too-Senior Moments
The world’s oldest democracy currently has its oldest-ever Congress. President Joe Biden (80 years old) is also the oldest US president in history. His leading rival in the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump, is not far behind at 77. They’re both older than 96% of the US population. Ron DeSantis thinks the founders would have had a maximum age limits on elected officials if they “could look at this again.” But why didn’t they?
Bipartisan House Vote Keeps Government Open for 45 Days; Flagler’s Mike Waltz Votes Against
The U.S. House approved a bill Saturday that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. The bipartisan 335-91 vote to send the bill to the Senate took place with less than 10 hours until funding expired. U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, who represents Flagler County, voted against the measure.
Madeline Mary Lee, 1934-2023, Obituary
Madeline “Maddy” Lee 89, of Palm Coast, Florida passed away during the early morning hours of September 23, 2023 at the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, September 30, 2023
A themed 60s/70s Dance Party at African American Cultural Society, Remembering Heroes Fall Festival in Palm Coast’s Central Park, Jamil Jan Kochai’s great story, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak.”
France’s Wrong-Headed Ban of the Abaya in Public Schools
Many critics argue that the abaya is a cultural garment, not a religious one, and should be allowed under laïcité. In practice, though, anything associated with Muslim cultures tends to be considered “religious.” Catholic traditions, meanwhile, are often considered “cultural” – and therefore compatible with laïcité.
Florida’s Policing of Public Restroom Gender Draws Federal Lawsuit from Trans and Nonbinary Group
A group of transgender and nonbinary people on Friday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Florida law requiring people to use public restrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth, asking a judge to block enforcement before an upcoming march in Orlando.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 29, 2023
Michael Bowling is back in court, “The Tin Drum” at the Carver Center, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at CRT, a brief review of the GOP debate.
GOP’s Shutdown Threat Is the Wrong Way to Win a Budget War
History shows that shutdowns are counterproductive – at least as measured by their own defenders’ goals. Fortunately, the past also provides a proven way to reduce the deficit, a laudable goal. But now is the wrong time for Republicans to take a stand on reducing the deficit, not least because shutdowns don’t get results.
Nancy Abudu, Former ACLU-Florida’s legal Director, Seated Friday at 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
Nancy Abudu, former legal director for the ACLU of Florida, will be installed as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Friday in Atlanta. In doing so, she will make history as the first Black woman to serve on that court, which has jurisdiction over all of Florida.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 28, 2023
Chad Cordoma faces up to 15 years in prison for making written threats against a family member, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets, time to give Scott Fitzgerald a fresh look.
How the Federal Government Shutdown Would Affect You
The U.S. is moving toward a government shutdown. Whether delayed business loans, slower mortgage applications, curtailed food assistance or postponed food inspections, the effects could be substantial.
Betting Companies Ask Florida Supreme Court to Strike Down Part of State’s Deal with Seminole Tribe
After a federal appeals court ruled against them, two pari-mutuel companies on Tuesday asked the Florida Supreme Court to strike down part of a multibillion-dollar deal that would give the Seminole Tribe control over sports betting throughout the state. The challenge alleges the deal runs afoul of a 2018 constitutional amendment requiring voter approval of expansions of casino-style gambling.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Claude Sisco Deen Services services at Cattleman’s Hall at 2 p.m., Reba Johnson status in court, the Flagler County Public Library Book Club meets, a new book on The New York Times.
The Supreme Court’s Conservative Supermajority Reconvenes. Beware.
On Oct. 2, 2023, the court will meet after the summer recess, with the biggest case of the term focused on the limits of individual gun rights. The other core issue for the coming year is a broad reassessment of the power of the administrative state. Both issues reflect a court that has announced revolutionary changes in doctrine and must now grapple with how far the new principles will reach.