Ex-Deputy Dedorius Varnes’s sentencing, Jane Mealy and James Sherman take the oath on the Flagler Beach City Commission, which then hears decides whether to keep its lease going with Ocean Palms Golf Club, “Osborne’s Revenge.”
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
An Ida B. Wells Barbie Is Nice. But It Doesn’t Combat Persistent Anti-Blackness.
Having a doll that honors Wells’ legacy can help today’s children “know they have the power” to bring about a better future, an Instagram account for Barbie said in a post. However, the mere existence of a Black doll does not combat anti-Black racism. Representation alone does not equal racial justice or stop messages of anti-Blackness from existing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 9, 2022
La Darrien McCaskill’s sentencing in the 2018 and 2019 Palm Coast robberies involving six assailants, the Northeast Florida Regional Council’s Affordable Housing Workshop for Flagler County, Schubert’s 13th sonata.
Support for Democracy Is Waning Across the Americas
People are losing faith in democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere. Across North, Central and South America, and parts of the Caribbean, only 63% of the public expressed support for democracy in 2021, possibly explaining the growth of support for authoritarian leadership in places like the United States, Peru and El Salvador.
Noel Jon Ouellette, Obituary
Noel Jon Ouellette, age 81, was peacefully called home to the Lord at Hospice of Ormond Beach on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Election Day in Flagler Beach and Bunnell, the Palm Coast City Council reckons with a grim evaluation from residents about its own behavior, the St. Johns River Water Management District board meets, as does the Flagler County Planning Board, with a look at Russian oil exports and know-nothings who think they know it all.
Battles Over Book Bans Reflect Conflicts from the 1980s
The attacks on books in the 1980s bear similarities to the current attacks. Both object to the critical teaching about race and racism, historical as well as contemporary. Both accuse schools of tearing down America and weakening patriotism. Both object to teaching about gender roles, sexual orientation and alternative models of the family. Conservative institutions like the Heritage Foundation have been involved in both periods.
Senate Moves to Cloak in Secrecy Businesses and Drugs Connected with Florida’s Executions
The Florida Senate on Monday passed a measure that would more broadly cloak information about people and businesses involved with state executions and the drugs used for lethal injection, positioning the proposal for action by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, March 7, 2022
The Flagler County Commission talks federal stimulus dollars without giving credit to the source, the Beverly Beach commission meets, Piet Mondrian’s 150th birth anniversary, Princeton’s dullness.
Conservatives Profit from Anti-Transgender Agendas to Rally Their Base
Anti-transgender health care bills and legal interpretations are part of a package of initiatives that mark 2021 as a “record-breaking year” for anti-LGBTQ policies introduced in state legislatures across the country. And 2022 is already on track to surpass this record.
Ukraine and the Fallacy of ‘All Lives Matter’
Every war brings out the best and the worst in human beings. Ukrainian resistance has been heroic and inspiring as Russia carries out its war crimes. But there’s also a strong element of bias at work in the public reaction. You know, the way a blue-eyed blond child gone missing will get page one sympathy while a missing Black child will be ignored.
‘We the People’ Are In Dangerous Territory
The state of the union is precarious because some of us have lost faith in democracy and have begun to flirt with other means to achieve political goals, other means to obtain and keep power, means based more on brute force and intimidation than on persuasion and compromise.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, March 6, 2022
Remembering the Dred Scott decision’s atrocity, “Company,” the 1970 musical by Stephen Sondheim, is staged by Flagler Playhouse, Poe’s macabre toothy grin in “Berenice,” the so-called “Fall of the Alamo.”
Death: How Long Are We Conscious For, and Does Life Really Flash Before Our Eyes?
Experiments have been conducted in an attempt to better understand reports from people who have had a near death experience. Such an event has been associated with out-of-body experiences, a sense profound bliss, a calling, a seeing of a light shining above, but also profound bursts of anxiety or complete emptiness and silence.
Trump Just Endorsed an Oath Keeper’s Plan to Seize Control of the Republican Party
The “precinct strategy” widely promoted by Steve Bannon has already inspired thousands of Trump supporters to fill local GOP positions, intent on preventing a “stolen election” despite endless evidence that there’s been no such thing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, March 5, 2022
A closer look at DeSantis bullying students for wearing masks, Stephen Sondheim at the Flagler Playhouse, The First Saturday Creative Bazaar Arts and Craft Market in Palm Coast’s Town Center, Dostoevsky on brutifying human beings.
Zelenskyy’s Putin Antithesis: Grit and Grace of Leadership
Putin demonstrates a tendency toward authoritarianism in both political action and in political style. Zelenskyy, in contrast, presents a more modest and understated vision of political leadership – one more appropriate for democratic institutions, in which the leader is not thought to be morally superior to the governed.
Florida Senate Approves 15-Week Ban on Abortion, No Exceptions for Rape, Incest, or Human Trafficking
Late in the evening Thursday, amid tears, personal stories, and fears about women’s freedom, the Florida Senate approved a 15-week abortion ban for Florida, allowing the legislation to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for his consideration.
Economy Adds 678,000 Jobs, Lowering Unemployment to 3.8% and Nearing Pre-Covid Levels
The economy added 678,000 jobs in February, the largest one-month gain since March 2021, lowering the unemployment rate to 3.8 percent and nearing pre-Covid employment level of 3.5 percent, when 5.7 million people were unemployed. In February, 6.3 million were unemployed. The economy still has 2.1 million jobs to recover before matching pre-covid employment, however.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, March 4, 2022
First Friday in Flagler Beach, Stephen Sondheim at the Flagler Playhouse, The 13th Paralympics Games open in (sigh) Beijing, a few bad memories of Grover Cleveland, the chauvinism behind the Russia-Ukraine war.
Stripping Bare the Illusion That Sports Are Apolitical
FIFA has suspended Russia from international competition, potentially excluding Russia from the World Cup in Qatar later this year. There are several reasons why the Ukraine invasion has served to break FIFA’s policy of viewing national teams apolitically. The brutality of the Russian aggression is one, the self-evident innocence of Ukraine is another.
William Oscar Dotson II, Obituary
William Oscar Dotson II, a resident for the past 30 years coming from Akron OH passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House with his loving family near him.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, March 3, 2022
Jack Petocz, a junior and student leader at Flagler Palm Coast High School, speaks at the Palm Coast Democratic Club, “Company,” the 1970 musical by Stephen Sondheim, opens at the Flagler Playhouse, discriminating among refugees from Ukraine.
DeSantis Heckles Students to Take Off Face Masks and Derides ‘Covid Theater’
While Gov. Ron DeSantis has touted a law called the Parents’ Bill of Rights, he didn’t take into consideration Wednesday that he could be imposing on parent rights when he aggressively told masked students they they didn’t have to wear them.
Sanctions Won’t Topple Putin
Putin’s support was not so big anyway: why else would the administration indulge in massive election fraud? Sanctions that make Russians poorer are therefore unlikely to motivate them to vote differently.
Florida Wildlife Officials Clear the Way for 24-Hour Alligator Hunting
Concerns were raised, in part, that the 24-hour proposal would conflict with other outdoor activities, such as bass fishing and duck hunting, and that there is the potential for meat spoiling from alligators harvested during the hottest part of the day.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, March 2, 2022
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets, “Company,” the 1970 musical by Stephen Sondheim, is staged by Flagler Playhouse starting with a Community Night tonight, Colin Thubron on the fabrication of Uzbekistan.
Can Rich Nations Stop Buying Russian Oil?
Sanctions against Russia’s oil industry would have a greater impact than limiting natural gas flows because Russia’s oil receipts are higher and more critical to its state budget. Russia earned over US$110 billion in 2021 from oil exports, twice as much as its earnings from natural gas sales abroad.
Following House, Florida Senate Poised Wednesday to Impose 15-Week Abortion Limit
After weeks of speeches and raucous protests, numerous votes in legislative committees and a full vote in the state House, Florida is at the endpoint for a decision on a 15-week abortion ban that doesn’t include rape, incest and human trafficking.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, March 1, 2022
A status hearing is scheduled in the case of Cornelius Baker, whose death sentence has been in a legal twilight zone for a few years, the School Board holds a workshop, the Palm Coast City Council discusses apartments, Russian writers assess the Russian character.
Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis Are in a Race Back to the 1950s
Sen. Rick Scott proposes to take us back to the 1950s, that glorious era when Black people were beaten and arrested for trying to vote, when women of all colors were expected to stay home and raise the children, when Christianity dominated the culture, when gay people had to stay in the closet, and we lived in mortal terror of socialism.
Putin’s ‘Denazification’ Slur on Ukraine
The victims of the genocide claimed by Putin are Russian speakers; the Nazis he referenced are the elected representatives of the Ukrainian people. Russian speakers have more freedom in Ukraine than they have in Russia, where Putin’s authoritarian government routinely suppresses political dissent.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 28, 2022
Six Appeal Vocal Band at the Flagler Auditorium, the Bunnell City Commission bids farewell to one police chief and welcomes the next, and talks of $1-an-hour raise to all employees, Montaigne, M*A*S*H and Barnes.
Think Twice Before Scanning That QR Code
Scanning a Quick Response, or QR code, is convenient and easy. And it is contactless, which can make people feel safer. But cybersecurity experts say QR codes also created new opportunities for fraudsters, who can tamper with them and direct victims to malicious websites to steal their personal and financial information.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, February 27, 2022
The Native American Festival at Princess Place, the Academy Awards, Ralph Nader’s birthday (George Bush’s happiest day), Steinbeck, mobs and oil prices.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, February 26, 2022
The 7th Annual Native American Festival is at Princess Place Preserve, the assassination of Trayvon Martin 10 years later, Michael Cavanaugh at the Jacksonville Symphony, Victor Hugo.
Who Is Ketanji Brown Jackson?
Ketanji Brown Jackson is supremely qualified. She has not just an elite education – she went to Harvard for both college and law school – she clerked for the retiring justice whose place she will take, Stephen Breyer.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, February 25, 2022
Donald Trump is apparently siding with Vladimir Putin, Free For All Fridays on the invasion of Ukraine and what it may mean to Flagler, Anthony Burgess, and Voltaire on arbitrary justice.
Setting the Record Straight on Ukrainian and Russian History
Much of the history of Ukraine and Russia the public is hearing is incomplete, some of it is wrong, and some of it is obscured or refracted by the self-interest or the limited perspective of who is telling it. Here’s a corrective.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, February 24, 2022
The Flagler Beach City Commission considers permitting a neighboring tattoo business, the Philip Martin trial enters its final day, Wendell Berry on the making of morons, Rodney Dangerfield, and Estonians.
Taxpayers: Expect Serious Delays from IRS This Year
Over 15 million returns and 5 million pieces of taxpayer correspondence from 2021 sit untouched – including 6 million original 1040s. Amended 2021 returns are taking more than 20 weeks to process. It’s not just complicated returns that are getting delayed. Even simple individual returns are caught in the backlog.
Senate Confirms Vaccine-Snubbing Ladapo as Surgeon General in Partisan Divide
A 24-15 party-line vote displayed the fissure between the parties on DeSantis’ approach to the pandemic, which in the past year has mostly concentrated on treating people who have tested positive for Covid-19 rather than boosting vaccinations. Ladapo has often echoed DeSantis’ positions since the September appointment.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, February 23, 2022
The trial of Philip Martin enters its third day, the county parks and rec committee meets, genocide in Ukraine, Brunei’s stoning-free National Day, “Defender of the Fatherland Day” in Russia.
At Least 650 Migrants, a Record, Died on the US-Mexico Border in 2021
A majority of people crossing the border are not from Mexico, having traveled instead from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. People migrate and attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border for complicated reasons, including violence and lack of work opportunities in their home countries.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on Ukrainian Nationalism and Separatism
“Russia and the Ukraine are united in my blood, my heart, my thoughts,” Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago half a century ago. “But from friendly contact with Ukrainians in the camps over a long period I have learned how sore they feel. Our generation cannot avoid paying for the mistakes of generations before it.”
Democratic Lawmakers Attempt to Raise Florida’s Stingiest Unemployment Benefit to $375 a Week
Mississippi has the lowest unemployment benefit in the nation, at $235. Arizona is next, at $240, but that ends in July, when it goes up to $320. Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama remain tied for the lowest weekly benefit of $275, but Florida’s is still the stingiest at 12 weeks, while the other three states, plus Mississippi, all offer up to 26 weeks.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, February 22, 2022
The East Flagler Mosquito Control District talks slightly larger boundaries, the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals takes up a high-profile transgender bathroom case from St. Johns County schools, English as a Second Language class, John Quincy Adams buys Florida from the Spanish. John McGahern reflects on the existence of God.
Putin Orders Troops Into Ukraine: 5 Essential Reads
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a provocative address that could be construed as a pretext to war, claimed today that all of Ukraine belongs to Russia and formally recognized the independence of two breakaway regions in Ukraine that are controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. His government then ordered troops to those regions.
Myth-Ridden Bill That Would Reduce Rooftop Solar Credits to Residents Advances, Angering Industry
People who own rooftop solar systems are required to hook up to utility systems and are able to sell excess electricity and receive bill credits in return. Under the 2008 rule, monthly credits are provided at utilities’ retail rates. The bill could reduce the amounts going to rooftop solar owners.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 21, 2022
The Flagler County Commission considers finalizing its agreement with Whispering meadows Ranch and approving the school district’s revised, scaled back impact fee schedule. Sebastian Maniscalco, trial week in Flagler court. Commemorating Nina Simone, W.H. Auden, Malxolm X.