Last day for early voting in the special election for Palm Coast mayor, second day of southern chess championship, first day of competition at the shameless Olympics, with a reminder from Red Smith about the Fields of Friendly Strife.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Ghostly, Soulless, Absurd Olympics
The epiphanies of supreme athletic achievements in Ancient Greek Olympics could occur only if witnesses were physically present to immerse themselves – and share in – the spine-tingling flirtation with the divine. The Tokyo Olympics are soulless in comparison.
Doctors Blame DeSantis: As Florida Hospitals Filled Up, “DeSantis Was Shouting About ‘Freedom Over Faucism’”
Florida physicians say DeSantis should spend more time talking to people about the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and less time attacking federal infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci in hopes of scoring political points.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 23, 2021
Next-to-last day for early voting in the Palm Coast mayoral election, Sheriff and fire chief on WNZF, first day of the shameless Tokyo Olympics, Louis Brandeis on free speech.
The Seduction of Propaganda
Propaganda is communication as force; it’s designed for warfare. Propaganda is anti-democratic because it influences while using strategies like fear appeals, disinformation, conspiracy theory and more. Political communication is persuasion used in politics. It helps to facilitate the democratic process. Guess what Americans prefer.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 22, 2021
Flagler Beach commissioners may again discuss the controversial decision to end July 4 fireworks and replace them with New Year’s Eve fireworks. Julian Lucas on Ishmael Reed.
At Origin of Cuba’s Mass Protests: Covid Misery and U.S. Economic Sanctions
Cuba’s current economic difficulties do not arise only from the pandemic: they are also the result of US policy. Thanks to US hostility, Cuba remains barred from access to emergency international financing from multilateral financial institutions.
DeSantis Rebuffs Calls for Red Tide State of Emergency, Accusing Environmentalists of ‘Politicizing’ Issue
DeSantis pointed to $4.8 million in the current state budget allocated for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Center for Red Tide Research, adding that an emergency declaration would only be warranted if the state needed to access unallocated general revenue.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Early Voting Day Five for the special mayoral election in Palm Coast, the Observer’s Brian McMillan sets a smearing politician straight about “fake news,” George Packer on fake constitutionalists.
Ignoraunce Incarno: The Wrongheaded Calls to Cancel Chaucer
It’s true that Chaucer’s work contains toxic material, including sexist and antisemitic material. But if you examine his writings in detail, you’ll see themes of concern for women and human rights, the oppressed and the persecuted, reappear time and time again.
Canada’s Less Restrictive Border Rules Could be a Boon to Florida Tourism
While decisions remain from the White House about Canadian travelers entering the United States, members of Florida’s Economic Estimating Conference said Tuesday they anticipate changes will be made to make it more convenient for people traveling south of the U.S.-Canada border.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Early voting in Palm Coast mayoral special election Day four of eight. The Palm Coast City Council meets and will set a tentative property tax rate for next year, and Tom Wicker writes about LBJ’s lack of likability.
Bias Is Natural. How You Manage it Defines Your Ability to Be Just.
We all have biases to some degree, whether we care to admit this or not. Our biases remain innocuous until our assumptions impact our behaviors toward other people. By acknowledging our biases we can find ways to mitigate their impact on our decision making.
Former Florida Chief Justice Kogan: Why Florida Should Abolish the Death Penalty
In a compelling new interview conducted by attorney and filmmaker Ted Corless, the late Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan lists the numerous reasons why he believed Florida’s death penalty should be abolished.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 19, 2021
Early voting for the Palm Coast mayoral race is in its third day at three locations, the Mosquito Control board meets, the relationship between witchcraft and UFOs.
Most Covid Deaths in England Now Are in the Vaccinated. Here’s Why That Shouldn’t Alarm You
The fact that more vaccinated people are dying than unvaccinated people does nothing to undermine vaccine safety or effectiveness. In fact, it’s exactly what we’d expect from the excellent vaccines, which have already saved tens of thousands of lives.
Robert Cuff: Palm Coast’s Choice for Mayor Is Between Competent Leadership and Truly Dangerous Dysfunction
Robert Cuff, the former Palm Coast city councilman, warns that the July 27 special election for mayor will need a large turnout from voters who seek smoothly functioning government and serious leadership. The alternative is partisanship, division, and dysfunction for the next three years, endangering the city’s future.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 18, 2021
Palm Coast Little League’s hosting the state championship concludes, and it’s Nelson Mandela’s birthday: ““Let the strivings of us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct.”
Why Some Younger Evangelicals Are Leaving the Faith
The institute’s study found that only 14% of Americans identify as white evangelical today. This is a drastic decline since 2006, when America’s religious landscape was composed of 23% white evangelicals, as the report notes.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 17, 2021
Palm Coast Little League continues to hosts the 2021 Little League Baseball Florida Championships at the Indian Trails Sports Complex, auditions for Neil Simon’s “Rumors” at the Flagler Playhouse.
High-Tide Flood Risk Will Increase 5 to 15 Times Over Next 15 Years, Putting Coastal Economies at Risk
The frequency of high-tide flooding along the U.S. coasts has doubled since 2000, and it’s expected to increase five to 15 times more in the next 30 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns in a new report released July 14, 2021.
Citing History, Gov. DeSantis Urges Cuban Military to Overthrow Its Government
Gov. Ron DeSantis told young members of Cuba’s military to “live in the history books” by overthrowing their nation’s communist leadership, as he pushed President Joe Biden to bring Wi-Fi access back to people protesting on the island nation.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 16, 2020
Parents’ Nights Out via the Palm Coast Community Center, Teen Chill Zone at the city’s Aquatic Center, auditions this weekend at the Flagler Playhouse for Neil Simon’s “Rumors.”
The Inherent Racism of Anti-Vaxx Movements
While many accuse anti-vaxxers of a selfish disdain for the health and safety of others, there is a underlying aspect of these movements that needs to be more widely recognized. Vaccine resistance movements have always been led by white, middle-class voices and promoted by structures of racial inequality.
Eleanor Shinnick, 1928-2021
On Thursday, July 8, 2021, Eleanor Shinnick, loving wife, and mother of Joseph Shinnick, Ellen Pugner, and Elaine Studnicki passed away at age 92.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 15, 2021
A wrongful death case in civil court, Rembrandt’s birthday, and “one of the few things that stands between us and an accelerated descent into darkness”: The Enlightenment.
Renner and Other GOP Leaders Launch Digital Ad Promoting Conservative Ideals; Democrats Push Back
GOP state leaders are utilizing social media for their 2022 campaign efforts to promote conservative policies that they say have helped Florida to recover from Covid-19 and protect Floridians’ freedoms — though Democrats disagree.
Cuba Protests: 4 Essential Reads on Dissent in the Post-Castro Era
Street protests erupted across Cuba on July 11, 2021, with crowds of Cubans demonstrating against food scarcity, medicine shortages and economic misery in their island nation. Here are four stories that describe current conditions in Cuba and the recent history behind this rare public outpouring of anger.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 14, 2021
The joys of living in a state that cares for its residents, Bastille Day, the many pleasures of studying the Enlightenment, and J.D. Vance’s lineage from Flannery O’Connor.
63% of Workers who File an EEOC Discrimination Complaint Lose Their Jobs
People who experience sex discrimination, race discrimination and other forms of discrimination at work aren’t getting much protection from the laws designed to shield them from it, researchers found.
State Board of Education Considers Overhaul of School Standards, Including Civics and U.S. ‘Exceptionalism’
Florida’s State Board of Education on Wednesday will consider adopting a wide-ranging overhaul of curriculum standards across multiple subjects in public schools, including guidelines for teaching civics and government courses and Holocaust education.
As If Global Warming Weren’t Enough: Rupert Murdoch Is Launching Fox Weather
A prominent media analyst, said it best the other day: “How do you address the fact that weather changes are caused to some degree by humans when you have a media property with a history of challenging that fact?”
Edward Charles Stiles, 1957-2021
Edward Charles “Chuck” Stiles, 64, of Gainesville / Palm Coast, Florida, passed away on July 1, 2021, at his home in Palm Coast.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Put your seat belts or HazMat suits on: the Palm Coast City Council meets in workshop this morning at 9 at City Hall, though misbehavior is unlikely: the place will be crawling with top cops: the sheriff is making a pitch for policing in the years ahead.
Zaila Avant-garde, 2021 National Spelling Bee Champ, Stands Where Black Children Were Once Kept Out
When Zaila Avant-garde, 14, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee on July 8, 2021, she became the first Black American to win in the competition’s history. Shalini Shankar, a scholar of spelling bees, breaks down the importance of this historical moment.
As Condo Tower Death Toll Reaches 90, Renner Says No Need for Immediate Changes to Building Codes
Rep. Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican set to take over as House speaker following the 2022 elections, pointed to the inability of the Champlain Towers South condo association to quickly address safety and structural repairs needed for the once 12-story building.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 12, 2021
The Flagler County Commission may settle its differences with Whispering Meadows Ranch and will discuss impact fees, and the Bunnell City Commission will bid farewell to Bill Baxley, the senior-most member of Flagler County’s elected officials, as he retires.
Trump Before Trump: When Nixon VP Spiro Agnew Attacked News Media
In 1969 Spiro Agnew in a speech written by Patrick Buchanan attacked the press with almost unprecedented venom, anticipating a run of anti-media presidents that culminated with Trump. Buchanan later remembered that as Nixon read his proposed draft, he heard him mutter, “This’ll tear the scab off those bastards.”
Proud Boys and Other Extremists Rally at Florida’s Old Capitol to Demand Release of Jan. 6 Insurrection Lawbreakers
About 100 people rallied on the lawn of the Historic Capitol Museum in Tallahassee. They flashed signs at passersby and chanted, “Let them go,” in reference to people arrested during the Jan. 6 attack.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 11, 2021
England gets its greatest chance yet to end its 55-year drought of championships in international soccer competition when it meets Italy at Wembley in London at 3 p.m. Palm Coast time, in the final of Euro 2020.
Five Lessons on Bringing Truth Back to Politics
Democracies have felt precarious – in the US, during the Trump presidency, and in countries like Brazil, Hungary and Poland currently. Integral to such corrosion of democracy (as George Orwell made clear in his novel 1984) is the distortion of truth and facts in favor of a particular agenda.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 10, 2021
Vaccine resistors, Cathar country for the Tour de France–those heretics the Catholic Church attacked and decimated in one of the forgotten genocides of history–and advice from Flaubert about the inane.
Yes, States Got More Money from Washington than they Needed for Covid Relief
It appears that the pandemic-related economic downturn in states was quite muted, confounding everyone’s expectation. For example, sales tax revenues actually grew by 0.5% in fiscal year 2020 and are on track to increase 2% in fiscal year 2021.
The Weekend Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 9, 2021
Jerald Medders, serving 15 years in prison for raping an underage girl, is back in court this morning to correct his sentence, down to 12.75 years. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” is not a metaphor for the Palm Coast City Council, but tonight’s movie in the park in Town center.
Trump Can’t beat Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in Court but the Fight Might Be Worth More Money than a Win
No one involved with this case could be serious about winning in federal court. But that is not the “court” to which the former president is playing. Donald Trump is after money, and the federal court stage is another way to get it.
Florida Realtors’ Support for Ballot Initiative to Protect Affordable Housing Fund Rises to $13 Million
If approved by 60 percent of voters, the proposed ballot measure would establish in the Florida Constitution the State Housing Trust Fund and the Local Government Housing Trust Fund. It would require that the trust funds receive at least 25 percent of the revenue from documentary-stamp taxes — which are collected on real-estate transactions — and would detail how the money could be used to address affordable housing.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 8, 2021
The Flagler Beach City Commission today recognizes James Heren and Stephanie Raffo for their efforts to save the life of patron at The Anchor restaurant, and Roseanne Stocker for her 22 years of service on the city’s Planning and Architectural Review Board, among numerous other civic and philanthropic involvements.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 7, 2021
All eyes on Hurricane-Tropical Storm Elsa as it crosses over Florida from west to northeast, but impacts in Flagler are expected to be limited. A chance to rediscover Elsa Morante, the great author of “History.”
Critical Race Theory: What it Is and What, Gov. DeSantis, It Is Not
Americans are used to viewing their history through a triumphalist lens, where we overcome hardships, defeat our British oppressors and create a country where all are free with equal access to opportunities. Obviously, not all of that is true.
Flagler Schools Refuse Free Rapid Covid Tests That Could Minimize Quarantines Even as 9 Private Schools Sign Up
Flagler County schools have declined an offer from the Flagler County Health Department to place free rapid-covid-test kits at the district’s nine school campuses. The rapid tests, part of a federal grant, could have been used to drastically minimize the need for students to be quarantined at home for 10 days at a time when merely suspected of having been exposed to the virus.