New findings suggest the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or Amoc, could collapse within the next few decades – maybe even within the next few years – driving European weather to even greater extremes.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Jacob Oliva, as Arkansas Secretary of Education, Defends Removal of AP African American Studies
Former Flagler County Superintendent Jacob Oliva, now the secretary of education in Arkansas, sought to defend the removal of an AP African American Studies class from the state’s approved course list late last week, but anger persisted from education advocates, state lawmakers, students and the NAACP.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 17, 2023
Flagler Tiger Bay Club’s fifth annual Wine Tasting Meet and big reveal, Creative Writing for Adults at the Public Library, Democratic Women’s Club meeting, “Florida Soul” at the African American Cultural Society, the futility of beach renourishment.
Montana Kids’ Climate Lawsuit Victory Could Set a Powerful Precedent
The case, Held v. State of Montana, was based on allegations that state energy policies violate the young plaintiffs’ constitutional right to “a clean and healthful environment” – a right that has been enshrined in the Montana Constitution since the 1970s.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 16, 2023
The Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board takes on the Cascades development in Seminole Woods, Separation Chat, Open Discussion, George Carlin at the National Press Club, E.B. Sledge’s portrait of Sgt. Haney.
Israeli Colonists’ Terrorism Worsens Relations Already at Low Ebb with U.S.
There has been a change in the Biden’s administration’s overall attitude toward Israel, as with the pointed use of the term “terrorism” against Israel by the state department in response to the killing of a young Palestinian, 19-year old Qusai Jamal Maatan, near Ramallah by settlers on August 4.
Hating Trump Is Corrupting Liberal Media
The left’s partisan journalists are still so fixated on hating Donald Trump and making sure he never returns to power that they will never cover the blunders, failures and crimes of the Bidens. The liberal media’s response – “We don’t care. We hate Trump.”
Florida Felons Want Their Guns Back. Supreme Court May Hear Them Out.
After a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year on Second Amendment rights, the Florida Supreme Court could decide whether to uphold a state law barring possession of guns by convicted felons.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Food Truck Tuesdays, The Flagler County School Board has its monthly pair of meetings, the Palm Coast City Council meets, the Barbie movie is banned in Lebanon and is celebrated on SNL.
How Florida’s Academic Standards Distort Enslaved Americans’ Contributions to American Society
Whereas Florida would have students believe that enslaved Black people “benefited” by developing skills during slavery, the reality is that enslaved Africans contributed to the nation’s social, cultural and economic well-being by using skills they had already developed before captivity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 14, 2023
“Summer of Soul,” part of AACS’s film presentations of classic Black cinema, this afternoon, the Bunnell City Commission meets, Ian McEwan on civilization, on Bach, and on Ian McEwan.
Re-Imagining Democracy for the 21st Century
Imagine that we’ve all – all of us, all of society – landed on some alien planet, and we have to form a government: clean slate. We don’t have any legacy systems from the U.S. or any other country. We don’t have any special or unique interests to perturb our thinking. How would we govern ourselves?
The GOP’s Death Cult Is Holding Us Hostage to Climate Ignorance
The Earth is being held hostage by the party of ignorance, “conservatives” who no longer want to conserve anything other than white privilege. They’ve become a death cult, denying what’s obvious to rational, literate people. Who cares if the seas are boiling? As long as they “own the libs.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 13, 2023
Sunday Chess Club at Chabad, Jason Mraz at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, your fuel consumption against a plane’s, Google’s AI efforts against contrails, reading a book in public in the United States.
Maui’s Deadly Wildfires’ Reminder: No Community Is Safe Anymore
Fires have become an increasing risk in many areas of the U.S. that people once considered safe. Over the past two decades, a staggering 21.8 million Americans found themselves living within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of a large wildfire. Nearly 600,000 of them were directly exposed to the fire, with their homes inside the wildfire perimeter.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 12, 2023
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Gamble Jam, Steve McQueen and Cornel West in Conversation, Spottswood Rice’s letter, a shooting incident on Staten Island.
How Donald Trump is Criminalizing American Politics
Trump and his allies have long created a culture of lies, illusions, cruelty and misrepresentation. He has waged an incessant attack on reason, critical thinking, informed judgment and social responsibility. His distaste for Black people, migrants and others he considers disposable is matched by his support for the financial and corporate elite.
NOAA Says Hurricane Season Will Be More Intense Than Originally Predicted
Scientists at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center have increased their prediction for the ongoing 2023 Atlantic hurricane season from a near-normal level of activity to an above-normal level of activity–for 14 to 21 named storms, up from the originally predicted 12 to 17 named storms.
New College Interviews for New President Between Eliminating Gender Studies and Making Homer Mandatory
New College of Florida officials on Thursday interviewed three final candidates vying to become the school’s next permanent president, including current Interim President Richard Corcoran. The trustees also interviewed Tyler Fisher, an associate professor of modern languages and literature and a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Central Florida, and Robert Gervasi, a former interim president at the University of Mount Union in Ohio.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 11, 2023
LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, celebrating Britt Hobo Days, also known as the National Hobo Convention, the John T. Davis documentary, Jack London’s The Road.
Forced-Birth Reactionaries Fail to Rig the Game in Ohio
In a red Ohio referendum this week, forced-birth reactionaries got blown out by a whopping margin of 430,000 votes. No word yet on whether Roe v. Wade killer Donald Trump has aspirationally asked Republican election officials to find 430,001 votes.
The Heroic Effort to Save Florida’s Coral Reef from Devastating Record Heat
As water temperatures spiked in the Florida Keys, scientists from universities, coral reef restoration groups and government agencies launched a heroic effort to save the corals. Divers have been in the water every day, collecting thousands of corals from ocean nurseries along the Florida Keys reef tract and moving them to cooler water and into giant tanks on land.
Rise in Electric Vehicle May Be Denting Florida’s Gas Tax Revenue
As more motorists drive electric vehicles, the change could put a dent in gasoline taxes, which play a key role in funding transportation projects in Florida, according to an analysis by state economists.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 10, 2023
Flagler County schools are back in session for students today. The Flagler Beach City Commission meets. A few thoughts on going back to school from George Bernard Shaw and John Updike. And Sam Kinison, of course.
DeSantis Ousts State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Black Democrat Elected with 67 Percent of Vote
Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended another elected prosecutor. This time it’s Monique Worrell of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, in Orange and Osceola counties, a Democrat who was elected in November 2020 and is the second African American to hold the position.
Back-to-School Anxiety and What To Do About It
Predictability helps prevent anxiety in children. Predictability means things going along as they’ve always gone: sleep at night, up in the morning, cornflakes for breakfast, off to school, activities in the afternoon, dinner with the family.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 9, 2023
More dangerous heat today, Separation Chat, Open Discussion, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Johnny Cash’s greatest love affair, Christopher Niemann and Bach on coffee.
Sending People to Space Shouldn’t Be a Priority of Exploration
Most Americans (69%) believe it is essential that the United States continue to be a world leader in space. But only a subsection of that group believes NASA should prioritize sending people to the Moon. The United States’ most visible effort to maintain world leadership in space is arguably its Artemis Program to land humans on the Moon by late 2024.
Education Officials Want Lawsuit Over Gay Penguins Book Tossed Out, Claiming It’s Moot. Litigants Disagree.
“And Tango makes Three” had been banned for students up to third grade by Lake County schools, then allowed in libraries. It tells the story of two male penguins who raised a penguin chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo. In a filing last month seeking a preliminary injunction, attorneys for the plaintiffs disputed that the case is moot. They argued, in part, that the district could reverse course again and restrict access to the book in libraries.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 8, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop, the Flagler County Planning Board decides whether to allow less rain to seep through at the Cornerstone strip mall, Donald Hall and thoughts of oblivion in the middle of the night.
Dismantling the Myth that Ancient Slavery ‘Wasn’t That Bad’
Because these kinds of slavery took place so long ago and weren’t based on modern racism, some people have the impression that they weren’t as harsh or violent. That impression makes room for public figures like Christian theologian and analytic philosopher William Lane Craig to argue that ancient slavery was actually beneficial for enslaved people. Those arguments are wrong.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 7, 2023
The Flagler County Commission holds a pair of meetings, the Beverly Beach Town Commission just one, only in America, a Texas Supreme Court decision ridiculing the fanaticism of the Second Amendment.
Nonprofits May Engage in Advocacy, But Few Do
Though it can be vital for the advancement of their missions that charities exercise this right, fewer than a third of charities in the U.S. (31%) engaged in advocacy in the last five years. This represents a dramatic decline in the past two decades, even though the law allows these groups to speak up regarding the issues that affect the people they serve.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 6, 2023
“Firebringer” at City Repertory Theatre, Sunday Chess Club at Chabad of Palm Coast, how the bombing of Hiroshima was reported the day after, how Enrico Fermi experimented during the blast of the first atomic bomb.
Why Your Home Feels Warmer Than Thermostat Says, and What To Do About It
While people are used to thinking about how clothing, air movement, temperature and humidity affect comfort, two lesser-known measures help explain how they experience comfort indoors: Mean radiant temperature. and operative temperature.
Child Nicotine Poisoning Hit All-Time High as Vapes Flood the Market
Cases of vaping-related nicotine exposure reported to poison centers hit an all-time high in 2022 — despite a 2016 law, the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, that requires child-resistant packaging on bottles of vaping liquid. In what doctors call a major oversight, the law doesn’t require protective packaging on devices themselves.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 5, 2023
Back to School Jam, “Firebringer” at City Repertory Theatre, Monthly Volunteer Clean-Up Day at the Florida Agriculture Museum, Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, Maupassant’s “Inheritance.”
The Lessons of Hiroshima
In a world of potential nuclear terrorism and conflicts that risk the unthinkable use of nuclear weapons, the need to control proliferation and double down on arms control, such as a US-Iran agreement and better relations with China, are essential starting points.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 4, 2023
“Firebringer” at City Repertory Theatre, Superintendent LaShakia Moore on Free For All, First Friday in Flagler Beach, the future of abortion and a moment with Margaret Atwood.
Dunkin and Lego Made It Work. X Rebranding Misses the Mark.
Twitter has swapped the fluffy bird that used to symbolize the social media platform for a spindly black X. Ditching the company’s well-known logo and changing its name to a letter often associated with danger, death and the unknown is only the latest user-aggravating step CEO Elon Musk has taken since he bought Twitter in October 2022 for US$44 billion.
Florida Prisoners Broil in 115-Degree Heat in Buildings Without AC, and No Plans for Structural Relief
Many prisons are decades old. Installing air conditioning would be expensive and take years. Some facilities can’t be retrofitted for AC. Temperatures inside buildings without air conditioning can soar 15 degrees higher than the temperature outside. That means temperatures over 100 degrees last month put the thermometer above 115 inside prisons in some regions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 3, 3032
The incorrigible L’Darius Smith is back in court on a plea, a status hearing is scheduled in the case of Reba Lynn Johnson, who assaulted a teacher, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lawrence Friedman on law.
‘Dishonesty, Fraud and Deceit’: The Most Serious Trump Indictment Yet
Three counts in this new indictment allege conspiracies: There is conspiracy to defraud the government; to obstruct an official proceeding – in this case, counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021; and against the rights of the voters to cast ballots and have them fairly and honestly counted.
Florida Regulators and Industry Object to Federal Plan to Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Claiming Costs
Florida utility regulators and other industry officials are objecting to a federal proposal aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, arguing the changes could drive up costs for consumers and hurt the reliability of the state’s electric system.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Flagler Beach’s Margaritaville Hotel public meeting, the Flagler County Republican Club meets, Separation Chat’s open discussion, the ins and outs of juries and jury selection.
Unsupportive Families and Conversion Therapy Drive Trans Youth to Suicide
Supportive family environments and hormone replacement therapy that affirms a transgender child’s gender identity decrease their risk of suicide or running away from home, whereas unsupportive family environments and conversion therapy that denies their gender identity increase these risks.
Palm Coast and Florida Gas Prices Reach 3-Month High
Florida gas prices surged to the highest levels this summer over the past two weeks, adding 30 cents per gallon to an average of $3.67 before declining slightly. Oil prices today topped $81 a barrel, approaching their highest level since April as economic data has been stronger than expected.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
The Palm Coast City Council will consider the management contract for a new cell tower at Ralph Carter Park, remembering Charlie Ericksen, Jack Reacher solves the mystery behind why hookers always carry big purses.
Aromatherapy and Its Skeptics
Aromatherapy is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of any medical condition. Clinicians say there’s not sufficient evidence to show that it works. Conversely, public acceptance of aromatherapy has never been higher. But this is not always a good thing. Although information about aromatherapy abounds on the internet, many of the claims are based on personal experience. This is not scientific evidence.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 31, 2023
Heat index again at dangerous levels, stormwater and the Flagler County Commission, a celebration of the American language on the cusp of Gulden Draak.