Before 2020, the average number of Asian Americans killed or injured in anti-Asian attacks was just over eight per year. In 2020 and 2021, however, 49 were physically harmed, an average of almost 25 per year. Almost half of the anti-Asian attacks in 2020 and 2021 were motivated, at least partially, by anger and animosity associated with COVID-19, a disease first identified in Asia.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Another round of listening in a town hall about Flagler Schools’ dress code, but no one showed up at the first one; Blame Biden? UK inflation hits 30-year high, how Republicans exploit the word “freedom.”
Women’s Freedom and Autonomy? Not in Florida.
These magnanimous Republicans will allow women and girls to have control over their own bodies until the fetus inside them gets to be about the size of an apple. After that, ladies, you’re nothing but a “host body,” as former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva famously said.
Florida House Passes Bill That Would Require Initiatives to Improve Fathers’ Parental Skills
The bill would require that grants be geared toward helping fathers in “finding employment, managing child support obligations, transitioning from a period of incarceration, accessing health care, understanding child development and enhancing parenting skills.”
When Presidents Lie. And Why.
Presidents who lie to save their own public image or career are unlikely to be forgiven. However, those who appear to lie in the service of the public are often celebrated.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
The Palm Coast Planning Board hears a site plan application for a 36-acre self-storage facility off Old Kings Road North, a school board committee hosts a “listening session” about the district’s dress code, John Cleese on extremism, Herbert Hoover on poverty’s eradication.
Sarah Palin’s Appeal of Libel Loss Could Set up Supreme Court Test of Decades-Old Press Freedom Rule
Before the 1964 Sullivan standard Sara Palin’s appeal could potentially overturn, the libel landscape in the U.S. consisted of a patchwork of state laws that made it easy for political figures to selectively persecute newspapers and public speakers who espoused opposing or unpopular views.
Proposed Florida Law Would Crack Down on Social Media ‘Pop Up’ Events
Authorities would be able to impound vehicles for days and double fines on noncriminal traffic infractions to crack down on large unsanctioned events put together through social media, under a measure heading to the Senate floor.
Florida’s New Elections Restrictions Are Driving Local Supervisors from Office
Some of the officials who supervise Florida elections are considering retiring under the threat of $25,000 fines if they make mistakes, according to testimony produced Tuesday in the federal trial over the GOP-dominated Legislature’s new voting restrictions.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
The Palm Coast City Council will hear from the Green Lion restaurant’s owners and supporters, the Flagler County School Board hears another update on library books and Susan Anthony is not happy with Florida.
Canada Should Be Preparing for the End of American Democracy
As Canada’s closest neighbor fractures at the seams and slides toward dangerous forms of authoritarianism, we should be deeply worried. The worst-case scenario in the U.S. — blood in the streets — isn’t necessarily the most likely, but we ought to resist the tendency to assign too low a probability to events that could have serious, catastrophic consequences.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 14, 2022
The Bunnell City Commission hears a strategic plan for its police department, Mamie Smith’s “This Thing Called Love,” the end is near, democracy’s sorry state, Peter Taylor’s “Demons.”
The Black Death Was Not as Widespread or Catastrophic as Long Thought
In popular imagination, the Black Death is the most devastating pandemic to have ever hit Europe. A new study of 1,634 samples of fossil pollen from 261 lakes and wetlands in 19 European countries suggests the pandemic’s toll was not as universal as currently claimed, nor was it always catastrophic.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, February 13, 2022
The cold weather shelter opens tonight as temperatures go back into the 30s, “Calendar Girls” at the Daytona Playhouse, Teddy Roosevelt’s dead Indians, the firebombing of Dresden, one of the great war crimes of World War II.
Patriotism, Dissent, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and the NFL
Playing the national anthem at every game became a flashpoint in the 1960s. Today, the NFL’s promise to play the anthem at every game cuts both ways. For Super Bowl LVI, three songs performed by four Black American female vocalists will offer a musical suite of unity in the face of division.
What I learned From Watching More than 500 Jan. 6 Videos
The Jan. 6 insurrection was brutal, and no amount of spin and obfuscation will alter that truth. Hundreds of videos prove that violence did not just occur sporadically as an extreme expression of the crowd’s displeasure but rather dominated the mob’s collective energy. The full weight of the crime that occurred on Jan. 6 is hard for Americans to measure because it is hard to imagine it could have occurred in America.
Life After the Covid Pandemic
There will not be a single moment when social life suddenly goes back to normal. Instead, gradually, over time, most people will view Covid-19 as a background risk and abandon the trappings of pandemic caution. There are major caveats to when the pandemic will wane, and trust in public health agencies has declined significantly.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 12, 2022
American Association of University Women hears about “The Contextualization of Confederate Iconography,” Daytona Playhouse stages “Calendar Girls.” the Jacksonville Symphony is all brass and organ, big days for Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton.
Trump and the Vaporization of Presidential Records
Boxes of documents and other items that should have been handed over to the National Archives were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Among the records reportedly incomplete or missing from Trump’s tenure in the White House are phone logs from Jan. 6, 2021.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 11, 2022
Flagler Technical College Director Renee Stauffacher and Sheriff Rick Staly talk about giving convicted criminals a second chance on the job, Meowy Hour at Sea Casas Boutique and Uncork’d, Lincoln on xenophobia.
How Joe Rogan Became Podcasting’s Goliath
Joe Rogan is not just a purveyor of right-wing ideologies. He is also someone who has built an empire by introducing these ideas – and a wide range of others – to listeners from across the political spectrum. His truly unique skill is drawing in from that spectrum a massive, young, largely male audience that advertisers highly covet.
Supreme Court Rejects DeSantis Request on Cutting Up Congressional District Held by Black Democrat
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis for an advisory opinion about his proposal to revamp a sprawling North Florida congressional district that has been held by a Black Democrat.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 10, 2022
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets and will ban balloon releases, people who believe in Covid conspiracies, all the news that’s fit to print’s history, a little Virgil as time goes by.
The Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol Was Not ‘Legitimate Political Discourse’
When Trump urged the Ellipse crowd to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell,” his words transformed an occasion of legitimate political discourse into an anti-democratic violent insurrection. The result was real physical violence.” Several people died and many were injured.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Gunnar Galambos pleads out in court, Circuit Judge Perkins is in pre-trials, including that of Brennan Hill, the Microtel shootist, the cold-weather shelter opens again, recalling “Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida,” the 1964 legislative report.
Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust Muddle
Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of ABC’s “The View,” set off a firestorm when she insisted on Jan. 31, 2022 that the Holocaust was “not about race.” Hands outstretched, she went on to describe the genocide as a conflict between “two white groups of people.” Her apology tour raised more questions about her views on race, antisemitism and the Holocaust.
How Republicans Take Biden Relief Bill Money and Run, After Unanimously Opposing It
The Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan package was opposed by every Republican in Congress and criticized by Republican governors, most of whom are now grabbing the money.
Florida Lawmakers Applaud Local School Board members Even as They Consider Cutting Their Salaries
Republican members of the Florida House and Senate have been pushing legislation to limit school board pay. At first, a House bill proposed zero salary for local school board members. Then, the Senate proposed a small salary of $29,697 — the same as Florida lawmakers, which would dramatically cut most school board member salaries.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
The cold-weather shelter is open tonight, the Flagler County Planning Board takes up the rezoning of Eagle Lake, the Palm Coast City Council talks public works, Joseph II talks burials.
How Truckers’ ‘Freedom Convoy’ Was Overtaken by Radical Fringe in Canada
The protest of commercial truckers swarming Canada’s capital in Ottawa shows how an issue can quickly be hijacked by extremist groups spouting themes of racism, hatred and violence.
Transgender Athlete’s Challenge of Florida Ban on Hold Pending Resolution of St. Johns Bathroom Case
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman last week issued a stay in the challenge filed on behalf of a Broward County transgender girl who is in middle school. The lawsuit contends that the ban, passed by lawmakers last year, is unconstitutional and violates a federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 7, 2022
Jason Reynolds on anxiety and book-banning, the Flagler County Commission holds a pair of meetings, including a workshop on beach issues, the Beverly Beach Town Commission meets, the biggest book ban advocates in the country are parents, Notes from Underground.
The Biggest Censor: Olympic Committee Silences Athletes’ Freedom of Speech
Beyond the Olympic’s facade of glitz, glamour and gold there’s a glaring and controversial regulation — the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Rule 50. Rule 50 prohibits athletes from demonstrating during competition or on the podium.
Florida’s Black Snow: How the Sugar Industry Makes Political Friends and Influences Elections
Florida produces more than half of America’s cane sugar and relies heavily on cane burning, a harvesting method in which the sugar industry burns crops to rid the plants of their outer leaves, producing pollution. Residents in the largely Black and Hispanic communities nearby claim the resulting smoke and ash harms their health. A city commissioner race provides a window into how the industry cultivates political allies, who help protect its interests.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, February 6, 2022
Cirque Ma’Ceo, the revolutionary theatrical experience, has its last day at the county fairgrounds, Ronald Reagan’s corruption and lawlessness, Richard Hofstadter on the Constitution’s paradox.
New Forms of Advertising Raise Questions About Journalism Integrity
Mainstream news media outlets have, in recent years, begun to create advertisements that look like news articles on their websites and on social media. Research raises questions about whether this modern form of advertising might influence those outlets’ real journalism.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 5, 2022
PCAF’s First Saturday Creative Bazaar Arts and Craft Market, Friends of the Library book sale at the Flagler County Public Library, John Adams on democracies’ suicidal tendencies, Olympic winners over the ages.
No, You’re Not Born Either Male or Female
Sex designation is not as simple as a glance and then a check of one box or another. Instead, the overwhelming evidence shows that sex is not binary. To put it another way, the terms “male” and “female” don’t fully capture the complex biological, anatomical and chromosomal variations that occur in the human body.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 4, 2022
Joseph Bova, convicted of murdering Zuheily Rosado at a Palm Coast convenience store in February 2013, is back in court, First Friday in Flagler Beach, Cirque Ma’Ceo at the county fairgrounds, Rigoletto in Daytona Beach and The Chris Thomas Band in Jacksonville.
ISIS’ Leader Is Dead. What Next for the Terrorist Group?
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed as he exploded a bomb at his compound in the country’s northwestern Idlib province. The blast also caused the death of members of his family, including children. Here’s how this raid fits the U.S.‘s counterterrorism strategy, and where it leaves the Islamic State.
In Trial Over Florida’s New Voting Law, Past Suppressions at Ballot Box Reverberate Anew
Post-Reconstruction history, first-hand narrative and statistics have laid the foundation this week in a legal challenge to a state election law that plaintiffs say will curtail Black and Hispanic Floridians’ ability to cast ballots and register to vote.
Florida Judge Attacks Landmark 1st Amendment Decision Protecting Press as ‘Wrongfully Decided’
Judge Brad Thomas of the 1st District Court of Appeal wrote an 11-page concurring opinion that took aim at the Supreme Court’s 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan ruling, which, in part, required that public officials prove “actual malice” to prevail in defamation lawsuits. But the concurrence’s reasoning and citations lack context.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin is the featured speaker at the meeting of the Palm Coast Democratic Club this evening, America’s non-partisan debt, an excerpt from John McGahern’s “The Barracks.”
11 Reasons Why Community College Students Quit Despite Being Almost Finished
Community colleges are designed to make college more accessible, yet 6 out of every 10 community college students cannot reap the full rewards of higher education because they do not earn their degree. For graduates, rewards often include making more money. For society, the reward is citizens who are more likely to vote, volunteer and pay more in taxes.
Florida House Completes Work on Its Own Voting Districts as Litigation Looms
The Florida House voted along party lines to approve a redistricting plan for itself and asked the state Senate to go along amid lingering uncertainty over the fate of congressional redistricting generated when Gov. Ron DeSantis got involved.
A City Seeks to Purchase Motels as Affordable Housing Instead of Letting Developers Demolish Them
The mayor of Reno is proposing to buy and rehabilitate motels through the Reno Housing Authority to accommodate low-income residents, moving quietly to buy two shuttered buildings, including one with a history of code violations that is now part of an estate sale.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 2, 2022
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, Florida’s citrus crop is as bleak as ever (but not California’s), rediscovering Florence Price, Dostoevsky’s bleeding heart.
Facial-Recognition Technology’s Worrisome Government Uses
The U.S. stands at the edge of a slippery slope, and while that doesn’t mean facial recognition technology shouldn’t be used at all, it does mean that the government should put a lot more care and due diligence into exploring the terrain ahead before taking those critical first steps.
House Set to Vote on Plan to Scrap School Board Salaries
A bill that would eliminate salaries for school board members and increase scrutiny of the way public-school instructional materials and library books are chosen is now primed for consideration by the full House.
After 1,000 Manatee Deaths in a Year, Groups Sue to Upgrade Federal Protections
The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Save the Manatee Club filed the lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C., against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.