Should Americans be bracing for bloodshed if Donald Trump loses the 2024 presidential election? A political scientist who studies American politics can easily imagine a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection – or worse – following this November’s presidential election.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Sen. Rick Scott Finally Concedes: Climate Is ‘Clearly Changing’
Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott acknowledged Friday in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene that the climate is “clearly changing,” adding: “We’ve gotta figure out how do we react to that.” Scott travelled through parts of the state speaking to law enforcement and first responders a day after the Category 4 hurricane caused record storm surge up the west coast and Big Bend region of Florida, with at least seven deaths in the state attributed to the storm.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Jesus Christ Superstar at City Rep Theatre, Peps Art Walk, Bob Kealing On How the Beatles Rocked Florida, the beauty and pathos of Philip Glass, a few words from Elmore Leonard’s Fifty-Two Pickup (1974).
Lebanese Civilians’ Memories of Israel’s 1982 Invasion
Lebanese families have been fleeing the country’s south in the thousands amid escalating tensions and an Israeli bombardment that has so far killed hundreds. Their fear, echoed by many onlookers, is that Israel will accompany the airstrikes with something that has the potential to have far worse consequences: a ground invasion of south Lebanon.
Rescue Efforts Fill Wake of Monster Hurricane Helene, With Advice to Residents: Stay Out of the Way
Rescue and recovery efforts were underway Friday morning in North Florida’s Big Bend region and other areas of the state after the Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night in Taylor County. State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie implored people not involved in recovery efforts to stay off the roads as authorities conducted search-and-rescue efforts amid debris and dissipating storm surge.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 27, 2024
Jesus Christ Superstar at City Rep Theatre, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, the Scenic A1A Pride Committee meets, torture museums around the world and Phyllis Rose’s “Tools of Torture.”
Plant Disease Could Spell The End of Citrus Fruits
If world agricultural authorities don’t get their act together soon enough, your morning orange juice may disappear from the supermarket shelves – for good. This is how critical the situation has become in the citrus growing world. In Brazil, production has fallen by more than 20%, 60% in Guadeloupe and and plummeted by more than 90% in Florida.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 26, 2024
All eyes on Helene, the Flagler Beach City Commission meets to approve its budget, everything else–schools, courts, colleges–have cancelled classes and operations for today, Mikhail Bakunin on the meaning of freedom.
The Ethics of Editing Fetal Genomes
Human prenatal genome editing has not happened yet – as far as we know. Prenatal genome editing isn’t the same as editing ex vivo embryos, like the Chinese scientist did, because prenatal editing involves editing the DNA of a fetus visible inside a pregnant person’s womb – without the intent to affect future descendants. But the societal implications of this technology are still vast. And researchers can already start exploring the ethics by engaging communities well ahead of time.
Florida Retains US News Title as Top Higher Education State
Florida was named — for the eighth year in a row — the top state for higher education by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings, released Tuesday, take into account factors including graduation rates, social mobility, student debt, retention rates, and academic reputation.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
The Palm Coast Tiger Bay Club presents a candidate forum ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, the Flagler County Public Library Book Club on Isabelle Allende’s Japanese Lover, Jake Scully in Australia and memories of John Glenn over Perth.
Alexander von Humboldt, Groundbreaking Naturalist
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous figures of his time, not only in his native Prussia but throughout the world. In addition to being a leading geographer, climatologist, ecologist and oceanographer, he attached great importance to the dissemination of knowledge to society as a whole.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council’s workshop is cancelled, UF/IFAS’s Fall Horticultural Workshops at the Palm Coast Community Center, Israel shifts the mass killings with the worst attack on Lebanon since 2006.
The Devastating Consequences for All if Israel and Hezbollah Go All Out
All parties surely know the likely destructive consequences of such an eventuality for themselves: Israel has the military power to devastate Beirut and other parts of Lebanon as it did in Gaza, while even a weakened Hezbollah could fire thousands of missiles at Israeli strategic sites, from the airport to central Tel Aviv, water supply lines and electricity hubs, and offshore gas rigs.
Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation
In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and others at highest risk from covid-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous. Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, September 23, 2024
The Bunnell City Commission meets, the Flagler County Beekeepers Association meets, the final words of a dying coal miner in the Fraterville mine disaster of 1902, a few words from Frank Kilgore’s “J. D. Vance Is a Fake Hillbilly.”
The Jet Stream, Climate Change and the Hottest Summer on Record
Summer 2024 was officially the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest on record. In the United States, fierce heat waves seemed to hit somewhere almost every day. Here’s how heat domes, the jet stream and climate change influence summer heat waves and the record-hot summer of 2024.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, September 22, 2024
Jesus Christ Superstar at City Rep Theatre, ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’ at Daytona Playhouse, ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students, a few words about the great William Maxwell and his story, “Billie Dyer.”
When DEI Policies Work Best
While it’s easy to dismiss the backlash as purely a result of bigotry – as not all criticisms of DEI are made in good faith – it’s important to consider how DEI efforts themselves can be made to be more inclusive, in order to garner the support necessary to help society as a whole progress.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, September 21, 2024
Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup, Jesus Christ Superstar at City Rep Theatre, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, The Onion thinks print is the way of the future, Gregor von Rezzori in Lolitaland.
When the Mediterranean Dried Out: Lessons for Today
The Mediterranean’s drying out 5.5 million years ago, known as the Messinian salinity crisis, is the biggest extinction event suffered by the Earth since the meteorite that wiped out the flightless dinosaurs and ended the Mesozoic era 65 million years ago. No one knows yet how long it will take for marine life to recover from the kind of global-scale change that is currently underway.
Tech Matters: Why Cornel West isn’t on Florida’s Presidential Ballot
Despite earlier claims by his campaign, Cornel West is not on the Florida presidential ballots that supervisors of elections are sending to overseas and military voters, giving Floridians dissatisfied with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris one less option to vote for president this year. The campaign blamed “administrative technicalities.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 20, 2024
Flagler and Florida unemployment numbers are released this morning, Free For All Fridays on WNZF, ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’ at Daytona Playhouse, an odd message about life insurance, the opening of “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
Israel’s Sophisticated, Illegal Attack on Hezbollah
The acts that apparently led Israel to strike Hezbollah are also illegal under international law. Hezbollah, a nonstate armed group supported by Iran, has no right to use violence of any kind, let alone missile strikes targeting civilians in northern Israel. But under law, hiding explosives in everyday objects makes them booby traps – and in almost every case, using a booby trap designed to kill is a crime.
Senator Who Sponsored Vacation Rental Bill Deregulating Local Control Says He Won’t Do So in Next Session
Florida lawmakers may once again attempt to pass legislation tightening regulation of short-term vacation rentals next year but, if they do, the state senator who has sponsored those bills during the past two sessions won’t be the one carrying it.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 19, 2024
988 Suicide Prevention Walk at Wadsworth Park and over the bridge, Sheriff’s Summit to Protect and Serve Seniors, gloomy musings about the election season, a few words from Wendell Berry.
It’s All About Play
In contrast to foraging and hunting – behaviors with clearly defined goals – play is undirected. When a pony frolics in a field, a dog wrestles with a stick or chimpanzees chase each other, they act with no goal in mind. But an animal at play is far more likely to innovate – and some of its innovations may in time be adapted into new ways to forage and hunt.
Rightward Revamp of New College Costing 9 Times More Per Student Than State Average
Board of Governors member Eric Silagy calculated that New College spent nearly $91,000 per student based on a 2023-2024 enrollment of 732 students, while the average for the state university system is about $10,000 per student. Silagy also questioned plans to increase student-athlete enrollment at the Sarasota college to 36 percent of the student body over the next decade.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
US Attorney Roger B. Handberg is the guest speaker at Flagler Tiger Bay, the Palm Coast Planning Board meets, the Palm Coast Council holds its final budget hearing, what we lost in LBJ, and tales of a dismembered anatomy.
When Retirement Stirs Fears of Irrelevance
Most discussions of retirement focus on the financial aspects of leaving the workforce: “How to save enough for retirement” or “How do you know if you have enough money for retirement?” This might not be the biggest problem that potential retirees face. The deeper issues of meaning, relevance and identity that retirement can bring to the fore are more significant to some workers.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
The Palm Coast City Council interviews candidates hoping to replace Cathy Heighter, Constitution Day With County Judge Andrea Totten at the library, Food Truck Tuesdays, the dark side of girls’ gymnastics and Béla and Márta Károlyi.
Pennsylvania’s Mail-In Ballot System Problem
Mail-in voting in Pennsylvania will not begin on Sept. 16, 2024, as was previously slated. Due to ongoing court cases, the past is poised to repeat itself in the commonwealth in the upcoming presidential election. Legal battles over Pennsylvania’s election system drew national attention in 2020 as former President Donald Trump and his allies in the state leveraged quirks of the system to sow doubt about the results of the election. Trump is setting the stage to do the same in 2024.
Vague on How, DeSantis Wants ‘Credible’ State Probe Into Man Who Staked Out Trump With a Rifle
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday the state needs to investigate the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump this weekend in Palm Beach County, alongside a federal probe. Without giving specifics, DeSantis said the incident Sunday at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach appears to include multiple violations of state law.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, September 16, 2024
The East Flagler Mosquito Control District Board and the County Commission meet (separately), the empty space of the Flagler Playhouse, the uncertainty principle explained by Stephen Hawking.
Conservative Opponents of DEI May Not Be as Colorblind as They Claim
Critics of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, commonly referred to by the acronym DEI, are increasingly using boycotts and bans to fight against their use. People often argue that this anti-DEI backlash is motivated by race-neutral concerns – for example, that DEI practices are irrelevant to work performance or are too political. But research suggests that conservative critiques of DEI often boil down to one thing: anti-Black racism.
Donald Trump’s ‘Weaves’ of Incoherence
We are truly blessed in the oratory department this political season with Donald J. Trump; we are perched on the Parnassus of campaign discourse. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. If Samuel Beckett were alive (which he isn’t) he would be in awe of some of Trump’s monologues with their startling juxtapositions and its Dadaist energy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, September 15, 2024
ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students, Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, the DEA’s drug museum and the futility of the war on drugs, with a few words from “The New Jim Crow”‘s Alexander.
Could Taylor Swift’s Endorsement Make a Difference?
Research shows that celebrity political endorsements don’t matter enough to determine an election’s results. Political campaigns seek them out because they still do matter and for many different reasons. Celebrities can easily get media attention, act as campaign surrogates, expand the voter base and make campaign contributions. All these things can help a candidate win.
Opponents of Abortion Rights Are Using Suppression Tricks and Disinformation to Derail Ballot Initiatives
In Florida, the state health agency launched a “Florida is Protecting Life” website earlier this month that says Florida’s abortion amendment “threatens women’s safety” and warns voters, “Don’t let the fearmongers lie to you.” The site makes several other unsubstantiated claims, including that the amendment would lead to unregulated and unsafe abortions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, September 14, 2024
Second Saturday Plant Sale at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Monthly Meeting, America’s killer SUVs.
How Kamala Harris Baited Donald Trump
When Harris triggered Trump’s insecurity by questioning his popularity and political prowess, his responses were narcissistic, racist and occasionally unhinged from reality. Trump’s performance in the debate against Harris demonstrates not only that white male insecurity is a strategic liability but also a threat to democracy.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, September 13, 2024
LGBTQ+ Night at Flagler Beach’s Coquina Coast Brewing Company, ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’ at Daytona Playhouse, Robert Reich on Trump’s campaign money, and do you know what’s more distracting than a cellphone in school, asks Clay Jones? An AR15 in your face.
Yet Another Problem with the Electoral College
The original brilliance of the Electoral College has become one of its prime weaknesses. Presidential candidates focus their rallies, advertisements and outreach efforts on the few states where campaigns could actually tip the balance. In 2020, 77% of all campaign ads ran in just six states that were home to only 21% of the nation’s population.
In Victory for Freedom to Read, Florida School District Wil Return 36 Books to Shelves in Lawsuit Settlement
Authors of the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” and parents of students have reached a settlement with the Nassau County school district that will lead to 36 books returning to school libraries after being removed last year, according to court documents filed this week. The settlement came in a federal lawsuit filed in May amid widespread controversy about removing books from school libraries in Florida and other states.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, September 12, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” dance marathons and Gloria telling off the moms for liberty of her day in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They.”
The iPhone 16 Shows How AI Is Shaking Up Devices
The unveiling of the iPhone 16 could mark a turning point in the history of Apple’s smartphone brand. Visual Intelligence allows you to search for content on whatever you can see through your phone with the help of a new camera control button on the side of the iPhone 16.
Property Owners Opposed to Public’s ‘Customary Use’ Of Beach Appeal Ruling in Case with Implications for Flagler
Property owners are challenging a ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington that said the town had adequately shown a history of “customary use” by the public of parts of the beach that are privately owned, to let the public keep using those beaches.
Clara Louise Douglas, 1951-2024
Clara Louise Douglas, 73, of Flagler Beach, Florida, passed away peacefully on August 6, 2024. Clara was born on May 12, 1951, in Putnam County, Florida.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 11, 2024
The Elks Lodge 2709 is holding its annual 9/11 ceremony, Weekly Chess Club for Teens, J. Michael Luttig recalls the prevarication of Mike Pence and how Jan. 6 almost caused an end to American democracy as Sept. 11 never could have.
Trump Support of Florida Pot Legalization May Show Growing Bipartisan Consensus
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s early Monday statement that he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida sent a strong signal that both major parties are moving to adopt popular marijuana reform efforts, unexpectedly elevating the issue in the presidential battle.