Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and other reactionaries’ opposition to a mosque near ground zero offends liberty at the expense of the dead of 9/11.
All Else
Taking Stockman: How Nixon, Reagan, Bush and their GOP Demolished the Economy
David Stockman, Reagan’s former budget director, sums up how his GOP destroyed the American economy through a bogus faith in markets and false promises of fiscal discipline.
How Palm Coast Got Tagged in the Jessi Slaughter Cyberbullying Affair
A Florida girls tries out for fame and becomes a poster-child of cyberbullying instead. If her story were a flag on Iwo Jima, it’d be all red.
What You Always Wanted to Know About Mills & Millage Rates
Even John Quincy Adams complained almost 200 years ago that few people could figure out the meaning of “mills,” and he wasn’t even talking about millage rates. Here’s an explanation and some history of the most commonly incomprehensible word at tax time.
The Judge Behind the Decision Striking Down Parts of Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Law
Judge Susan Bolton, responsible for seven suits filed against Arizona’s immigration law, was recommended for the federal bench by a Republican senator, nominated by Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously in 2000.
School Board Candidate Peter Peligian’s Impersonation (and Tax and Claims) Problems
It’s not just that allegedly allegedly used his identity: School board candidate Peter Peligian is not living up to his own claims of transparency and accountability.
Andy Dance’s Two Masters: Voting for a Tax at the Chamber, Against One at the School Board
Dance says a perceived conflict between his positions on two tax proposals is unfortunate, but he’s still exploring the school option.
More Incitement to Violence Against Florida’s Alan Grayson
A $100 reward is put out to punch Florida Congressman Alan Grayson. A death threat follows, not for the first time.
Beat Shuffle at the News-Journal
The paper is making fewer changes than meet the eye while continuing to attempt to do a little more with far less.
Best of the Rest: July 11, 2010
Mark Twain’s latest, Harper Lee’s Mockingbird at 50, the problem with journalists, Florida’s war on the homeless, and more.