This year’s climate summit is seen as the one that can bring concrete actions and commitments on emission reductions and also on the financing of losses and damages resulting from climate change to the global south. But will it be more successful than previous summits?
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, November 6, 2022
Kiwanis Club’s Fantastic Musical Comedy Show, “Charley’s Aunt,” at City Repertory Theatre, “Driving Miss Daisy” at Flagler Playhouse, how Trump is still damaging America, the wonder of books.
Pain Management, Opioids and the Promise of Pot
Drug overdose deaths from opioids continue to rise in the U.S. as a result of both the misuse of prescription opioids and the illicit drug market. But an interesting trend has developed: Opioid emergency room visits drop by nearly 8% and opioid prescriptions are modestly lower in states where marijuana is legalized.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Last day for early voting, 5th Annual Hidden Treasures at Hidden Trails Community Sale, Flagler Beach Farmers Market, “Charley’s Aunt,” at City Repertory Theatre, and how American society is so focused on race that it is blind to class.
There Is No Ethical Reason Not to Vote
Even if November 2022 could see more Americans registering their midcycle political preferences than in recent years, a large chunk of eligible voters – perhaps around half – will not bother. Each of the usual arguments against voting is flawed.
In latest Intrusion on Academic Freedom, Tenure Review Could Be Tied to How Professors Teach Race
A controversial law designed to restrict the way certain race-related topics can be taught in Florida classrooms could factor into a new tenure-review process for university professors, under a proposal that higher-education officials will consider next week.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, November 4, 2022
“Charley’s Aunt,” at City Repertory Theatre, First Friday in Flagler Beach, “Driving Miss Daisy” at Flagler Playhouse, other media catch up to Will Fury’s sleaze, extremists and political violence.
Political Violence, at Home in America
A warning about the threat of political violence heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 28.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, November 3, 2022
Three days left for early voting, open registration for spring 2023 classes at all DSC campuses, the Pegasus String Quartet in recital, Beppe Severgnini on shopping in America.
Christian Nationalism’s Gated Community
According to a May 2022 poll from the University of Maryland, 61% of Republicans favor declaring the United States a Christian nation – even though 57% recognized that it would be unconstitutional. Christian nationalism is more than religiosity and patriotism. It is a worldview that guides how people believe the nation should be structured and who belongs there.
Amendment 3: Is Yet Another Homestead Exemptions Needed, Or Prudent?
Florida voters could offer significant property tax exemptions to Florida’s teachers, firefighters, active-duty members of the U.S. military, and other specified professions, amid a relatively hostile housing market. But a well-meaning tax exemption may bring about other complications, such as a loss of local government tax revenue.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, November 2, 2022
The county’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee talks building incentives, early voting continues, an explanation of Magritte’s treachery of images, the rise of juvenile delinquency, circa 1921.
Race-Based Diversity in College Admissions Is on the Brink of Extinction
The U.S. military learned a valuable lesson about race during the Vietnam War: Diversity does not happen without affirmative action. The conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court is about to unlearn that lesson.
Sen. Ben Sasse, ‘Sole Finalist,’ Chosen by Trustees to Lead University of Florida After Secret Search
The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve Nebraska’s U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as the new president to lead Florida’s flagship institution, despite weeks of outcry, questions about the senator’s political views, and an air of secrecy around the search process that led to his candidacy.
The board agreed to provide compensation for Sasse that would be up to but not exceed $1.6 million.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, November 1, 2022
The school board rehearses saying good bye to Trevor Tucker, Jill Woolbright and Janet McDonald, early voting continues, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, How To Build a Semi-Fascist Party.
The Dangers Behind the Supreme Court Losing Legitimacy
The Supreme Court’s historically low public standing has prompted a national conversation about the court’s legitimacy. It’s even drawn rare public comment from three sitting Supreme Court justices. What’s referred to by experts as the problem of “judicial legitimacy” may seem abstract, but the court’s faltering public support is about more than popularity.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, October 31, 2022
The Halloween Hall of Terror is back at Palm Coast Fire Station 21, giving books for treats instead of candy, Lake Okeechobee in memoriam.
The Ethics of Cancelling Student Debt
Is student debt cancellation unfair? It isn’t as simple as yes or no answer. It seems to violate the moral principle of following through on one’s promises. Fairness and respect, however, also demand that society address the magnitude of student debt today, and especially the burden it imposes on low-income, first-generation and Black borrowers.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 30, 2022
The Halloween Hall of Terror is back at Palm Coast Fire Station 21, “Charley’s Aunt,” at City Repertory Theatre, Steinbeck’s East of Eden, a word from M*A*S*H.
Elon Musk Is Wrong: Content Rules Preserve Free Speech
Musk’s likely acquisition of Twitter raises concerns that the social media platform could decrease its content moderation. Research shows that stronger, not weaker, moderation of the information ecosystem is called for to combat harmful misinformation. It also shows that weaker moderation policies would ironically hurt free speech.
Expect Higher Power Bills: FPL Wants to Make Customers Pay $1.1 Billion More for Ian Repairs
About $220 million of the $1.1 billion would be used to replenish a storm reserve, Kirk Crews, executive vice president and chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, said Friday during a third-quarter earnings call with analysts.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, October 29, 2022
Witches of Flagler Beach Bike Ride, “Charley’s Aunt,” at City Repertory Theatre, Halloween Scavenger Hunt in Flagler Beach, Northeast Florida Jazz Association, Boswell, Vaclav Havel.
Angry American Voters. Good for Turnout. Bad for Democracy.
Guided by the mantra that an angry voter is a loyal voter, politicians have a strong incentive to agitate the American public – incumbents and challengers alike. Anger’s ability to cause individuals to socially polarize has potentially drastic ramifications for the health of American democracy. Crucially, social polarization precludes opportunities to form ties and build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, October 28, 2022
Early voting, the Scenic A1A Pride Committee meets, Theatre UCF’s ‘Working,’ the Volstead Act and Erasmus’s Praise of Folly, and a happy birthday to Andy Sipowicz.
A New Tool for Protecting Newly Hatched Sea Turtles
Humans can best protect sea turtle hatchlings as they make their way from the beach to the sea if they know precisely when the baby turtles will appear. But predicting emergence has been difficult. By placing a simple sensor disguised as a turtle egg in the nest, it indicates when the baby turtles would emerge from the sand and swarm toward the water.
Trump’s Persistent Lies About 2020 Results Undermining Supervisors of Election’s Assurances of Sound Process
The challenges have come amid supervisors’ years-long battle to convince voters that, contra Trump lies, election processes aren’t rigged, an issue that took root and spread as Trump and maga supporters continue to maintain that Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was fraudulent.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, October 27, 2022
Early voting, The Flagler Beach City Commission talks pier and utility rates, The Flagler Education Foundation hosts a tour of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Classrooms to Career programs, Teddy Roosevelt’s racism, Ross Douthat on California’s extremism.
State Courts Are Fielding Sky-High Number of Lawsuits Ahead of Midterms
The current volume of state election litigation also has the potential to derail the safeguards that state courts can provide. When every aspect of an election becomes a lawsuit, negative effects may follow – including destabilizing elections, overwhelming already strained courts and imposing significant costs on states.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Early voting continues, so does Carlos Dupree’s trial for home invasion, Hurricane Ian Information Forum in Flagler Beach, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Domenico Scarlatti’s birthday.
DeSantis Administration Violated Public Records Law With Snub of Migrant Flight Data Request
A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration did not comply with the state’s public-records law after an open-government group sought records about a controversial decision to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
2022 Is Already Record Year for School Shootings, With Months To Go
There have been shootings at U.S. schools almost every year since 1966, but in 2021 there were a record 250 shooting incidents – including any occurrence of a firearm being discharged, be it related to suicides, accidental shootings, gang-related violence or incidents at after-hours school events.
Culture Wars, Abortion, Crime, Immigration and Spin Dominate Raucous DeSantis-Crist Debate
Crist opened the evening as a clear underdog whom DeSantis has far outstripped in fundraising and polling. The governor’s sitting on more than $107 million in cash on hand. Crist has just $2.2 million in comparison.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Carlos Dupree, 36, goes on trial for a home invasion in Palm Coast’s P Section, the Flagler County Public Library’s Freedom Readers Club, new music concerts at Stetson and UCF, watch today’s eclipse of the sun, old age, a beginner’s guide.
It Matters: Rishi Sunak Is Britain’s 1st Prime Minister of Color
Sunak was born in the southern English port city of Southampton in 1980. His father, Yashvir, was a family doctor and his mother, Usha, a pharmacist. They were born and brought up in present-day Kenya and Tanzania, respectively, before moving to the UK. Sunak’s grandparents on both sides were from India and had migrated to East Africa.
Nation’s Report Card Echoed in Florida Shows Alarming, Appalling Losses in Reading and Math
A large majority of Florida eighth graders do not read proficiently and struggle with 8th grade-level math skills, according to a nationwide assessment of students in 2022 — an uncomfortable reality for teens unprepared for a rigorous high school schedule.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, October 24, 2022
The Bunnell City Commission tries for the third time to dispose of its Charter Review discussion, many trials in felony court but none high-profile, the disunited States, Annie Edson Taylor goes over in a barrel.
That’s Disgusting. So Why Are You Delighted By It?
Halloween is a time to embrace all that is disgusting, from bloody slasher films to haunted houses full of fake guts and gore. But the attraction to stuff that grosses us out goes beyond this annual holiday.
Top Republicans Are Embracing Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Violent Rhetoric
The lure of violence is not an inherently Republican thing or a Democratic thing; it is a human thing. But at this moment in American history, members of only one party are featuring assault weapons prominently in their campaign ads and even family Christmas cards. Only one party is tolerating and even promoting the likes of Greene, with none daring to condemn her message.
My Newspaper Died
Our papers are getting worse at a time we desperately need them to get better. Why? Because they are no longer mediums of journalism, civic purpose, or local identity. Rather, they’ve been reduced to little more than profit siphons, steadily piping local money to a handful of distant, high-finance syndicates.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, October 23, 2022
St Elizabeth Ann Seton Community Fall Festival, DragQueen Halloween, William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure,” Theatre UCF’s “Working,” remembering Johnny Carson.
A Severe Polarization of School Boards on the Whole Continent
Groups that oppose the teaching of critical race theory and 2SLGBTQ+ supports in schools often position themselves as truly or more accurately in favor of social justice by co-opting social justice language, alleging critical race theory discriminates against white people. School boards have been at the centre of these attacks.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, October 22, 2022
The first Palm Coast Arts Festival in Town center, St Elizabeth Ann Seton Community Fall Festival, Teens-In-Flight Inc. hosts the grand opening of its new digs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, John Reed shakes the world.
How Pit Bulls Went from Our Best Friends to Public Enemies and Back
Pit bulls are not inherently dangerous. Like other dogs, they can become dangerous in certain situations, and at the hands of certain owners. But there is no defensible rationale, other than canine profiling, for condemning not only all pit bulls, but any dog with a single pit bull gene, as some laws do.
Trump-Appointed Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Muzzling Gender ‘Instruction’ In Schools
Skirting merits of the law by citing lack of standing, U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger refused to block school districts from carrying out a new state law that restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. She rejected arguments by parents, students and a non-profit organization.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Law Banning Payments to Petition Gatherers for Ballot Measures
The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, made it a crime to continue a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. Experts have said the changes doubled the cost of getting initiatives on the ballot.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, October 21, 2022
A Stetson University Symphonic Band and Concert Band Concert, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” at 82, Bach, Beethoven and Brahms at the Jacksonville Symphony, and lots of theater, including William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure,” but you’ll have to travel a little out of town.
Florida Man Genesis: Why So Many People Move to Sunshine State and Into Harm’s Way
Over 22 million people currently live in Florida. That’s about 37% more than the 16 million who resided in the state in 2000.Today’s new and part-time Floridians are drawn by the same factors that have lured settlers and snowbirds for a century: warm weather and waterfront views, along with lower taxes and fewer regulations than in other parts of the country.
School Boards Now Required to Out LGBTQ Bathrooms and Muzzle Discussions of Gender and Race
County school boards and charter schools will have to follow new requirements for notifying parents about policies involving access to bathrooms and locker rooms, and teachers could be fired if they violate two controversial new laws muzzling discussion of gender identity and racial matters.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, October 20, 2022
Drug Court, Barack Obama on the midterms and other late-empire issues, the History of the Fairchild Family, Theatre UCF’s “Working.”
Meet Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lankan Novelist and Winner of the Booker Prize
Sri Lankan novelist Shehan Karunatilaka has won the 2022 Booker Prize for his second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. The Booker prize is the among most important international literary prize for writers of English after the Nobel. It is awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.