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.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
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.
How Record-Setting Heat Waves Could Punish Economies Already Reeling from Inflation
Hundreds of millions of people struggled to keep cool amid a sweltering summer heat wave as cities across the U.S. and mainland Europe experienced record-high temperatures. Here are four ways extreme heat hurts the economy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 20, 2022
A working group meets to discuss the inter-local agreement on school concurrency, the Flagler county Tourist Development Council meets to decide the fate of a $739,000 grant Palm Coast is in line for.
Youth Sport and Safety During the Hottest Years on Record
At least 50 high school football players in the U.S. have died from heat stroke after falling ill on the field in the past 25 years. And high school athletes in other sports are not immune from the risks. The numbers are especially shocking when you consider that heat-related illnesses and deaths are entirely preventable.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 19, 2022
The Palm Coast City Council is expected to set the maximum, but tentative, property tax rate, the school board holds a pair of busy meetings, Food Truck Tuesdays, Pianist Alxeander Kantorow plays Saint Saens, Robinson Crusoe reflects.
Children Bombarded by Violent News: How to Help Them Cope
With gun violence, war and other tragedies in the news, children are often exposed to scary images and information. How can adults help children feel safe when imagery about tragedies abounds throughout the media?
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 18, 2022
A possible plea in the case of Jerami Talkington, Flagler County’s local mitigation strategy meeting, Nelson Mandela’s birthday and Nobel lecture.
Red Wave, Youth Wave: November’s Variables
People ages 18 to 29 have historically been less likely to vote than older adults. But in recent years, they have been spurred to organize and vote by major national controversies, like school shootings and police violence against Black people. The Supreme Court’s decision enabling states to ban abortion may be another spur.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 17, 2022
It is National Ice Cream Day, so head to Sally’s Ice Cream in Flagler Beach. The colossal uselessness of the B-1 bomber, Thoreau sailing from Fair Haven.
Is Disney a Religion?
People have been up in arms over a ruined Disney park proposal and a couple who opted to have Minnie and Mickey at their wedding instead of food. But just because many people treat Disney as sacred, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a religion.
DeSantis Calls on ‘Moms for Liberty’ at National Summit to Fight ‘Leftist’ Agenda
Claiming that Florida schools are undergoing “leftist indoctrination,” a “leftist agenda,” and “sexualization of children,” Gov. Ron DeSantis called on hundreds of members of “Moms For Liberty,” gathered in Tampa Friday, to fight.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 16, 2022
Free Virtual Legal Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic, Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Amazon’s birthday, the Trinity atomic bomb test.
How Swelling Grocery Bills Are Crushing the Poorest
While all Americans have seen their grocery bills swell, many may not fully appreciate the enormous burden that rising food costs pose for low-income households. The reason is simple: Poor families spend a much larger share of their income on food than the median household.
Experts Say Florida’s Medicaid Ban for Transgender Health Lacks ‘Scientific or Medical Justification’
National medical and legal researchers have issued a report condemning Florida health officials’ plan to block Medicaid coverage for gender-dysphoria treatments. The critical report was released by Yale School of Medicine researchers and professors.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 15, 2022
The sentencing of Dan Priotti on his third DUI conviction in 10 years, affordable housing in Flagler, Trump’s Pandora’s box, Jacques Derrida’s impenetrable deconstruction.
James Webb Space Telescope: An Astronomer Explains the Stunning First Images
The buzz among professional astronomers like me has been electric since members of the Webb team shared tantalizing test images. And the real images are even better than anyone could have hoped for.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 14, 2022
A working group meets to discuss the ILA on school concurrency, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets to discuss City Manager William Whitson’s future, speaking of insurrections.
‘We Need to Quit Mincing Words… What It Was Going to Be Was an Armed Revolution’
During its seventh hearing on July 12, 2022, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol connected the dots between white nationalists and key allies of former President Donald Trump and their concerted efforts to overturn the 2020 election by interrupting the counting of Electoral College votes and inserting fake electors.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 13, 2022
A marble statue of educator and civil-rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune is unveiled in the U.S. Capitol, a Captain’s BBQ hearing in court, Queen at Wembley for Live Aid, “Somebody cuts you? Where it doesn’t show?”
What the Controversial 1972 ‘Limits to Growth’ Report Got Right
“The Limits to Growth,” an extension of biologist Paul Ehrlich’s bestselling “The Population Bomb,” was way off in some regards, but dead on in this one: Humans must limit and soon reduce their aggregate production of greenhouse gas emissions.
Why Can’t Florida’s Medical Pot Patients Buy Guns? Ag Commissioner Fried Challenges U.S. Law
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is relying on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to support arguments in a challenge to federal regulations that make it illegal for medical-marijuana patients to buy guns.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Kwentell Moultrie’s many trials may be scheduled today, the Palm Coast City Council will hear a presentation on the regional tennis and racquet club construction, Buckminster Fuller speaks, Lewis and Clark set off.
Militant White Identity, Guns and GOP Campaign Ads
The use of guns in political ads has evolved as a coded appeal for white voters. While ads might have been a bit more ambiguous in the past, candidates are increasingly making these appeals appear more militant in their culture war against ideas and politicians they oppose.
Florida Moving toward Medicaid Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender People
The DeSantis administration moved toward banning gender-affirming care for transgender Floridians under Medicaid, meaning that treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers may soon be out of reach for many low-income members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 11, 2022
The Flagler County Commission takes up consideration of the proposed Eagle Lakes subdivision off Old Kings Road, Kwentell Moultrie in court, auditions for the award-winning musical “Oliver!” and Francis Fukuyama.
June Jobs Report Offers Hope Against Recession, But With Tiny Room for Error
The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in June, keeping the unemployment rate at a 70-year low of 3.6%. Does this mean the U.S. will avoid a Fed-induced recession? The Fed has some room to maneuver, but not much.
Florida Prisons Propose Cutting Family Visitations, Drawing Sharp Objections
Florida’s state-run prisons would be allowed to cut visitation with inmates in half to mirror staffing shortages. Advocates for inmates and their families object, saying visitation is a boon to inmate behavior and helps maintain family ties critical for the success of inmates returning to free society.