Amid an outcry from the LGBTQ community and harsh criticism from a host of physicians and health-care professionals, the Florida Board of Medicine on Friday advanced a plan that would ban doctors from providing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender people under age 18.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, August 7, 2022
A view of American from abroad, Remembering Philippe Petit’s walk between the World Trade Center towers, the Gulf of Tonkin REsolution’s relationship to the Hatfields and McCoys.
The UN Declares a Healthy Environment a Universal Human Right
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on July 28, 2022, to declare the ability to live in “a clean, healthy and sustainable environment” a universal human right. It also called on countries, companies and international organizations to scale up efforts to turn that into reality.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 6, 2022
It’s the annual Back to School Jam at Flagler palm Coast High School, Sunshine and Sandals Social at Cornerstone, The First Saturday Creative Bazaar Arts and Craft Market, discovering Arturo Marquez and the Autum Concerto for trumpet, Octavio Paz on the Mexican exception.
Trump-Boosted Christian Nationalism Going Mainstream Despite History of Violence
The Christian nationalist movement is “as ethnic and political as it is religious,” and relies on the assumption of white supremacy. Christian nationalism combines belief in a particular form of Christianity with nativist and populist political platforms. American Christian nationalism is a worldview based on the belief that America is superior to other countries, and that that superiority is divinely established.
Rejected in 2020, DeSantis Appoints Renatha Francis Again to Supreme Court, Despite Ethical Issues
The governor named Francis for a high court vacancy in 2020 but the sitting justices refused to seat her because she hadn’t been a member of the Florida Bar for the constitutionally mandated 10 years at the time. A recent news report showed she has been the subject of as many as five ethics complaints alleging she’d been unfair to litigants.
Mid-Season Update Still Projects Above-Normal Atlantic Hurricane Activity
Atmospheric and oceanic conditions still favor an above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, according to NOAA’s annual mid-season update issued today by the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 5, 2022
Pleas and docket sounding in circuit court, First Friday in Flagler Beach, a few thoughts on prohibition, the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Nothing’s the matter with Kansas.
Why Crossing the US-Mexico Border Is Deadlier Than Ever for Migrants
Fatalities result from two intersecting phenomena. One is the massive growth in the federal government’s policing system in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands since the mid-1990s. The other is the strong and profoundly unequal ties between the United States and the home countries of most unauthorized – or undocumented – migrants.
DeSantis Suspends Twice-Elected Hillsborough State Attorney Over Abortion Stance
Saying that a twice-elected Hillsborough County prosecutor has put himself “above the law,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren for pledging to not enforce Florida’s 15-week restriction on abortion.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, August 4, 2022
The Oversight Committee discussing the inter-local agreement, or ILA, between the school board, the county and Flagler’s municipalities regarding school concurrency, meets, Louis Armstrong, America’s assassination of jazz.
Kansas Vote for Abortion Rights Highlights Supreme Court’s Disconnect
The Kansas referendum’s result, by which voters made their opinions directly known on abortion, highlights the disconnection between public opinion and restrictive state abortion laws passed by many conservative state legislatures after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
First Lady Announces launch of Resource Site to Navigate Dizzying Realities of Cancer Care
First Lady Casey DeSantis on Wednesday announced the launch of Florida Cancer Connect, an online resource site for cancer patients to hear from survivors and access information to help navigate the dizzying realities of battling cancer.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, August 3, 2022
The Flagler Woman’s Club’s election forum for county commission and school board candidates, the Palm Coast Code Enforcement board, Happy Birthday, James Baldwin.
Local Elections Officials Are As Non-Partisan As They Come
Have these officials, as some charge now, used their authority to interfere with America’s democratic process? Do local election officials abuse their power? Research shows they do not, and they have not, whether they are Democratic or Republican. Legislators are a different matter.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, August 2, 2022
The Flagler County school board outlines $165 million in school construction over the next five years, the Palm Coast City Council talks Lehigh Trail, a Melville Moby-Dick marathon.
Politically Appointed Florida Board of Medicine Will Weigh Blocking Transgender Treatment for Youths
The Florida Board of Medicine is slated Friday to consider a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to bar physicians from providing treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty-blocking medication to transgender youths.
The Bill Russell Legacy
Bill Russell undertook an intellectual and personal journey during his career. He sought to find worth in basketball amid the racial tumult of the civil rights movement. He emerged from that crucible not only as a stronger man, but also as one of the most potent figures at the intersection of sports and politics.
John Wesley McNeeley Ph.D., Obituary
John Wesley McNeeley, of Palm Coast, Florida, longtime Daytona State College distinguished Professor of Psychology, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 24, 2022.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, August 1, 2022
The Flagler County Commission meets and will once again neither censure Joe Mullins nor require him to step down at least from the chairmanship, following his abusive encounters with law enforcement. Kemal Belevi’s “Suite Chypre,” Francis Fukuyama on Soviet Man, not to be confused with Florida’s parental Bill of Rights.
What We Can Learn from Apartheid-Era Book Bans in South Africa
The rise in attempts to ban and censor books in America–and in Flagler County–in 2022 looks an awful lot like what South African censors did during apartheid. It’s as though would-be American censors have taken a page directly from the South African censors’ playbook, setting out to squash political dissent and silence social debate.
Suddenly, Florida Is a Haven for Abortion-Seekers in the South. But For How Long?
As of this week, most abortions are banned in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. Other states in the South also have strict abortion bans that are in flux because of court appeals. But on the geographical edge of this block of Deep South states, abortion is expected to remain legal in Florida and North Carolina, at least until the November elections.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 31, 2022
“Keep Palm Coast Clean” litter pick-up from 8 a.m. to noon, “Constellation” has its last performance at City Repertory Theatre, Milton Friedman, The Sewing Girl’s Tale.
Time to Debunk Stereotypes About Mobile Homes, Affordable Housing’s New Face
Over 20 million Americans live in manufactured housing – more than in public housing and federally subsidized rental housing combined. Yet many people, including urban planners and affordable housing researchers, see manufactured housing parks as problems, when they may be part of the solution to housing crises.
Due to Redistricting, Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book Faces Challenger in Re-Election Bid
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat elected in 2016, is trying to hold onto her seat after the makeup of Senate District 35 changed earlier this year through the once-a-decade reapportionment process. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Book has made her advocacy for preventing child abuse a top priority.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 30, 2022
“Constellation,” at City Repertory Theatre, Puppapalooza at James Holland Park in Palm Coast, The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, reflections on Henry Ford.
The Independent State Legislature Doctrine Could Reverse 200 Years of Electoral Progress
In a case to be heard in the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court could decide that state legislatures have control over congressional elections, including the ability to draw voting districts for partisan political advantage, unconstrained by state law or state constitutions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 29, 2022
Willy Wonka, Jr. at the Flagler Playhouse Ken Burns on Ken Burns, Wendy Kaminer on atheism, the last taboo, another call for the Veterans Park Fountain Design Contest.
Are We Now in a Recession? Depends on Whom You Ask.
Some observers suggest the two quarters of contraction constitute a “technical recession” or the “unofficial start” of one, while others suggest it at least raises fears or signals it’s on the way. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell apparently thinks otherwise. On July 27, after raising interest rates 0.75 percentage point, Powell told reporters, “it’s a strong economy and nothing about it suggests that it’s close to or vulnerable to a recession.”
Paul Renner’s Stunning Attack on Green Energy Is Bad News for Florida’s Climate Change Challenges
Sea level rise is just the most obvious manifestation of our climate change peril. Yet Speaker-designate Renner has barely even mentioned that when talking about Florida’s future as he keeps raking in campaign cash from power and coal companies.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 28, 2022
The Flagler Beach City Commission may or may not hold an inquisition, Brooke Anna Lorenzen, accused of DUI manslaughter, pleads out, the Jan. 6 hearings and Shostakovich’s 10th symphony, fascism in the streets.
The Trouble with ‘Closure’
The language of closure can often create confusion and false hope for those experiencing loss. Individuals who are grieving feel more supported when they are allowed time to learn to live with their loss and not pushed to find closure.
DeSantis and the Mis-Education of Florida’s Schoolchildren. With Test for Extra Credit.
Ron DeSantis wants the young ’uns educated with no unfair criticism of the Greatest Country that Ever Was. To that end, he’s bringing in a curriculum from Hillsdale College, a righteous institution where they love the Lord, the flag, and capitalism — not necessarily in that order.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Panel Discussion of LGBTQ+ Issues and the Separation of Church and State at the Flagler County Public Library, Jules Verne and the Great Eastern, Teresa Carreño.
Coal Is Over. The Supreme Court Won’t Stop That.
At its peak in 2007, coal was responsible for almost 2 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity generation in the U.S., equivalent to powering over 186 million homes for the year. By 2021, that total had dropped by 55%.
Four School Boards Sued Over Enforcing ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law, Charging Violation of 1st Amendment
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Orlando, seeks to block the school boards in Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach counties from carrying out the law (HB 1557), which restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. The lawsuit charges the law is unconstitutional.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 26, 2022
The Palm Coast City Council talks utility, stormwater and other special funds, the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, On Barney Frank, this endemic stage of Covid.
Home-Buying Is Beginning to Stall: Blame Fed’s Inflation Fight
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage hit 5.81% in June, the highest level since 2008 and up from less than 3% throughout most of 2021. The rate currently stands at 5.54%. On a $200,000 mortgage, a 5.54% rate translates into over $400 in extra interest costs every month compared with 3%.
Janet G. Jennings, Obituary
Janet G. Jennings, 75 of Palm Coast, passed away Thursday, July 21, 2022 at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 25, 2022
The Bunnell City Commission meets takes stock of a $275,000 for a surveillance-camera system trained at South Bunnell, the County Commission meets to talk about goals, Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival.
How a 1989 Poster Framed Front Lines in Battles Over Abortion Rights
For abortion rights advocates, Barbara Kruger’s iconic feminist image “Untitled (Your body is a battleground)” remains as relevant today as when it was first released in 1989.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 24, 2022
Cats and Dogs Alert: The Flagler Humane Society is at capacity and needs you help finding homes for cats and dogs, The Wacky Wonderful Oz, Toward the End of Time.
Why Donald Trump Can’t Be Prosecuted for ‘Dereliction of Duty’
The Jan. 6 House committee might find that Trump’s failure to ensure that rioters would not storm the Capitol and stay there for hours amounted to a dereliction of duty in an informal or colloquial sense. But this is not an actual crime that could be applied to a president.
Monkeypox Declared International Public Health Emergency; Florida’s 260 Cases Rank 3rd in U.S.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Saturday that the monkeypox outbreak that’s expanded globally is now a public health emergency of international concern. The Florida Department of Health shows monkeypox cases of 260 in 16 counties as of Saturday, none in Flagler.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 23, 2022
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, “The Wacky Wonderful Oz” at the Daytona Playhouse, presiding party’s mid-term losses, a heat wave shuts down Congress, in 1912.
Law-Abiding or Not, You Are Being Watched
The U.S. has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. This flow of data puts fuzzy notions of privacy in peril.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 22, 2022
Kori Jones and Darius Watts, 17, are sentenced as adults for violent crimes they committed when they were 15, Alexander Calder in Grand Rapids, Werner Herzog on reading.
Florida’s 15-Week Abortion Ban Remains in Place as Appellate Court Signals It Will Uphold It
A split state appeals court has refused to reinstate a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban, meaning Florida’s 15-week abortion ban remains in effect.
Why You Should Read Syrian Novelist Shahla Ujayli’s ‘Summer With the Enemy’
The ongoing devastation of the war that began in 2011 has brought Syria to the world’s attention. Shahla Ujayli’s sweeping historical novel “Summer with the Enemy” is a way to experience its deep and rich culture, history and literature beyond the headlines.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 21, 2022
The WNZF political forum featuring county commission candidates, at the Community Center, The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee focuses on Trump’s 187 minutes of complicit silence, Marshall McLuhan.