Eisenhower’s convertible trip to Karachi, Pakistan, in 1960, America’s dwindling reputation abroad, Springsteen’s, “This Land is Your Land,” a few words from James MacGregor Burns.
All Else
How Jefferson and Madison’s Friendship Shaped Separation of Church and State
Only 19% of Americans say the United States should abandon the principle of church-state separation. That said, criticism appears to be on the rise, particularly among political and religious conservatives. And such criticism comes from the top.
J.D. Vance Eclipses DeSantis. But He Might Want to Watch His Back.
If Trump wins and somehow doesn’t declare himself president-for-life, Vance will be the nominee in 2028. Ditto if Trump loses and the country survives the violence. Vance could end up as president before then, possibly without lifting a finger — except maybe to pass Trump the Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburgers that finally tip him over into massive stroke territory. Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and their autocracy-loving billionaire buds will see to that.
Florida Schools May Not Return to Pre-Pandemic Enrollment for 10 Years, Economists Forecast
A state forecast indicates Florida schools will experience declining enrollment in five of the next six years, with the one positive year representing less than a 0.1% increase. The student enrollment forecast from the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research predicts that 12,379 fewer students will attend traditional public schools during the 2024-2025 school year, a 0.5% drop from 2.366 million to 2.354 million.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 28, 2024
Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village, V.S. Naipaul’s odd turn in the South and a couple of seemingly nonexistent towns, Naipaul at Colgate university.
AI Supercharges Data Center Energy Use, Straining The Grid and Slowing Sustainability Efforts
Data centers have had continuous growth for decades, but the magnitude of growth in the still-young era of large language models has been exceptional. AI requires a lot more computational and data storage resources than the pre-AI rate of data center growth could provide.
Project 2025 is a Bad Bet for Florida’s Future
Project 2025 is a blueprint for Trump’s next term. It is full of recommendations for clamping down on abortion, banning pornography, abolishing the Homeland Security and Education departments, killing the Head Start program for kids, and putting the entire executive branch, including the Department of Justice, under direct control of the president — no civil service protection.
Florida Among 25 States Seeking Halt to Biden Rule Restricting Coal-Fired Power Plants
In Florida, coal is no longer a major factor in electricity generation. As 0f 2022, and coal-fired power plants supplied about 6% of the energy supply, down from 36% in 2001, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Attorneys argue that if the Biden administration’s rule is allowed to continue, it will mean that hundreds of megawatts will be forced offline, leading to power shortages during critical weather during the summer and winter.
Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Part of ‘Stop Woke’ Act
A federal judge Friday permanently blocked restrictions that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers placed on addressing race-related issues in workplace training — part of a controversial 2022 law that DeSantis dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act.”
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 27, 2024
Peps Art Walk next to JT’s Seafood Shack, Gamble Jam, Coffee With Commissioner Scott Spradley, with City Attorney Drew Smith, A Tribute to Queen at the Bandshell.
AI’s Mass Surveillance at Paris Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics is drawing the eyes of the world as thousands of athletes and support personnel and hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe converge in France. It’s not just the eyes of the world that will be watching. Artificial intelligence systems will be watching, too.
Local Responders Invade FPC for Active Assailant Training
“This is an exercise.” That was the beginning and end of every communication on July 24 during a full-scale active assailant exercise held at Flagler-Palm Coast High School to ensure that anyone within earshot or sight of the message would be clear it was about a training exercise. And, while a realistic training exercise, no one was injured or killed.
Alarms Raised Over Beach Dredging Feared Close to Live Fishery Grounds, Endangering Soft Corals and Sea Life
Backed by GPS data, photographs, and eyewitness accounts from the ground and from a fishing vessel, four people–two of them key advocates of the beach renourishment project ongoing in Flagler Beach, two of them fishing-vessel owners–are warning in dire terms that the dredging of over 1 million cubic yards of sand from the sea bottom several miles offshore is raking up live sea life and getting dangerously close to damaging or destroying a unique fishing ground.
Ray Stevens, Palm Coast City Council District 3 Candidate: The Live Interview
Ray Stevens is one of three candidates in the Aug. 20 primary election for Palm Coast City Council, District 3. It’s an open seat, as Council member Nick Klufas is term-limited. He is running for a County Commission seat. The candidates who qualified are Dana Mark Stancel, Stevens and Andrew Warner. All registered voters in Palm Coast regardless of party or non-party affiliation may cast a ballot in this City Council race.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, July 26, 2024
The Flagler County Canvassing Board meets, Acoustic Jam Circle At The Community Center In The Hammock, the Paris Olympics open on the Seine, remembering Red Smith.
Revisiting J.D. Vance’s Middletown, Ohio
J.D. Vance’s Middletown, Ohio, his hometown – just north of Cincinnati – risks becoming an abstract symbol of Rust Belt America. Ironically, it is easy to lose sight of the city’s rich, distinctive heritage, from which Vance’s memoir drew its potency.
Flagler Beach Gets $745,000 TDC Grant for Boardwalk Rebuild That May Never Happen, Besting County and Palm Coast
After three bracing presentations by three local governments but tortuous debate by Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council members, the council on Wednesday approved a $745,000 grant for Flagler Beach to rebuild its boardwalk near the pier even though the city has none of the remaining $3 million to build it. Palm Coast and Flagler County were at the losing end of the three-way pitch for the sizeable grant, which the tourism board offers only every two years.
Kathy Austrino, Palm Coast City Council District 1 Candidate: The Live Interview
Kathy Austrino is one of four candidates in the Aug. 20 primary election for Palm Coast City Council, District 1. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Florida High School Athletes May Now Cash In With Sponsors as State Board Approves ‘NIL’ Plan
While saying additional protections are needed, the State Board of Education on Wednesday ratified a plan approved last month by the Florida High School Athletic Association that will allow high school athletes to get paid through name, image and likeness, or “NIL,” deals.
Sheriff Staly Elected Treasurer of the Florida Sheriffs Association, a First for Flagler
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly was elected by his fellow Sheriffs to be an officer of the Association and serve as its Treasurer. This is the first time in the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s 107-year history that a Flagler County Sheriff has been elected as an officer of the Association.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 25, 2024
The Flagler Beach City Commission meets, Palm Coast’s forgotten Beautification Committee meets, Bob Newhart on Carson, a few thoughts on the GOP Convention.
Organized Fraud Involving Florida’s Osceola Turkey Leads to Charges Against 4
On July 24, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Division of Law Enforcement announced charges against four individuals involved in a fraudulent scheme to defraud hunters seeking Osceola turkey hunts. Larry William Collins, David Preston Mills, Paul Neil Beckham and Vernon Robert Flowers were charged with multiple felonies, including organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud, cheating and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Is Media to Blame for Biden Dropping Out?
Blaming the press for Joe Biden dropping out of his re-election bid assumes that the power of the press is significant and straightforward: If journalists report on an issue in a certain way for an extended period of time, they will ultimately shape how people feel about it. In reality, journalists’ influence is far more limited.
Council Votes 7-2 to Deplete Tourism Fund’s $11 Million Reserves and Build Flagler Visitor Center on SR 100
It was as audacious a plan as any that Flagler County Tourism Director Amy Lukasik presented to the Tourist Development Council this morning: take out $10.3 million out of two tourism funds’ reserves, reducing those reserves to $1.2 million, and appropriate the money for construction of the Flagler County Visitor and Eco Discovery Center on State Road 100, near the metallurgic foot bridge. The council went for it, voting 7-2 to recommend moving forward with Lukasik’s plan.
Flagler School District Yet Again Stuck at a B for 3rd Straight Year, But All Schools are at A or B
A third of Florida’s school districts scored an A in the 2023-24 school year. The Flagler County school district was not among them. For the third year in a row, and for the 10th of the last 11th grading years, the district remains stuck at a B, one of 26 districts in that pack. Seventeen districts scored a C. None scored lower. Two districts were not graded. The Florida Department of Education released the grades today.
Janie Ruddy, Flagler County School Board Candidate District 3: The Live Interview Template
Janie Ruddy is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 20 primary, facing Derek Barrs in District 3. The District 3 and District 5 seats are both open as incumbents Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro have opted not to run again. School board elections are non-partisan races: all registered voters in Flagler County are eligible to cast a ballot in the two races–whether registered Democratic, Republican, Independent or from a minor party.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
The Flagler County Public Library Book Club takes on Michael Morpurgo’s “Elephant in the Garden,” Separation Chat, Open Discussion, a few sights and thoughts on the reborn beach at the south end of Flagler Beach.
Eventful 2024? Think 1940, 1968, or 1973
History usually happens at a leisurely pace, with major events months or even years apart. But this year, it seems like someone has pushed fast-forward, with significant events coming on a weekly or even daily basis. One company is now selling a T-shirt declaring “THIS IS MY LIVING IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES SHIRT.”
Florida Has the Highest Rate of Heat-Related Illnesses, Report Finds
More than 5.7 million Floridians are vulnerable to extreme heat, according to a report from the Florida Policy Institute, which called upon state lawmakers to repeal a new law that prohibits local governments from enacting heat protections for outdoor workers.
Sawmill Branch Will Add 425 Single Family Homes in West Palm Coast as Planning Board Approves Latest Phase
The Palm Coast Planning Board cleared the way for 425 single family homes in the Sawmill Branch development’s latest phase on U.S. 1, a month after approving 320 town houses for a separate phase. The single-family home phase is on 213 acres west of U.S. 1, about half a mile south of Old Kings Road North. The town houses are on 65 acres, with lot size of 2,000 square feet.
Florida Issues Potentially Intrusive Social Media Age-Verification Rules to Ban Children from Platforms
The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on at least some platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts. It also requires age verification to try to prevent minors under age 18 from having access to online pornographic sites.
Vincent Sullivan, Flagler County School Board Candidate District 5: The Live Interview Template
Vincent Sullivan is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 20 primary, facing Lauren Ramirez in District 5. School board elections are non-partisan races: all registered voters in Flagler County are eligible to cast a ballot in the two races–whether registered Democratic, Republican, Independent or from a minor party.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, July 23, 2024
The school board holds its pair of meetings–afternoon workshop, evening meeting–the Palm Coast council meets, Book Dragons at the Flagler Beach Public Library, the sprawls of Palm Coast.
Already Vile, GOP Attacks Against Kamala Harris Are About to Get Worse
The anti-Harris rhetoric is part of what a report by the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank, described as a broad pattern of gendered and sexualized attacks on prominent women in public discourse.
Miller’s Ale House Preps Opening Aug. 5 Ahead of BJ’s Warehouse, With Luring Appetizer for First Guests
Miller’s Ale House is opening its 113th restaurant in Palm Coast on Aug. 5, in one of the five satellite businesses in front of BJ’s Wholesale Club, which opens a few weeks later. Miller’s Ale will host a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and offer recurring goodies to the first 100 guests that day.
Florida Democrats, Mirroring Nation’s, Quickly Rally Around Kamala Harris
Members of Florida’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention threw their support Monday to Vice President Kamala Harris, a day after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election campaign. As part of a rapidly moving effort to coalesce support behind the vice president, a group of Florida party leaders held a call with reporters to back Harris’ bid to become president and pointed to increased enthusiasm they hope translates down the ballot.
Lauren Ramirez, Flagler County School Board Candidate District 5: The Live Interview
Lauren Ramirez is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 20 primary, facing Vincent Sullivan in District 5. School board elections are non-partisan races: all registered voters in Flagler County are eligible to cast a ballot in the two races–whether registered Democratic, Republican, Independent or from a minor party.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, July 22, 2024
“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” in its final performance at City Repertory Theatre, the Flagler County Beekeepers Association meets, Hemingway’s recollection of Paris.
HIV Breakthrough: Injection Could Prevent Infection
A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection. The trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would provide better protection against HIV infection than two other drugs, both daily pills. All three medications are pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) drugs.
DeSantis’s Florida: The Who Cares State
Florida’s current regime (motto: “Ignorance is Strength”) operates on the theory that if you refuse to utter certain words — ”racism,” for example, “Covid,” or “climate crisis” — and pretend with all your might that what you see in front of you isn’t real, then the problem disappears.
The Solution to Homelessness Is Not Criminalization. It’s Housing.
With half of all renter households now spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, millions are one emergency away from homelessness. Punishing people for our country’s failure to ensure adequate housing for all is inherently “cruel and unusual.” Widespread homelessness directly violates the human right to housing under international law, which must be recognized in the United States.
Recreational Pot Amendment Backers Raise $61.5 Million as DeSantis Attacks
The political committee sponsoring a ballot initiative that would allow recreational marijuana collected nearly $314,000 in new donations, according to its latest campaign finance filing. Smart & Safe Florida has now raised nearly $61.5 million in its effort to pass the initiative.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, July 21, 2024
Iration and Pepper at the St. Augustine Amphitheater, Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar’s “Lords of the Land,” Ilan Pappé and the biggest prison on earth in Gaza and the West Bank.
Just One Drink a Day Can Bump Up Your Breast Cancer Risk by 5% to 9%
Did you know that casual drinks with friends or having a “wine mom” moment to unwind could actually be nudging up your risk for breast cancer? It sounds like a buzzkill. But it’s a truth that many might not know: Alcohol actually causes breast cancer.
J.D. Vance Praised Alex Jones as a Truth-Teller and Said the ‘Devil Is Real’
Sen. J.D. Vance, whom Donald Trump named as his vice presidential running mate Monday, told a group of influential young conservatives in a closed-door speech in 2021 that they should stand up for “nonconventional people” who speak truth, such as Infowars founder Alex Jones, projected a time when Kamala Harris would imprison conservatives in droves, and said the financial elite is full of sex perverts.
Palm Coast and Flagler Schools Collaborate at Annual Principals Breakfast
The City of Palm Coast and Flagler Schools joined forces on Wednesday for the annual Principals Breakfast, a collaborative event aimed at fostering a stronger partnership between the city’s leadership and the educational community.
To Neutralize Write-In Fraud, Switch to Republican: An Open Letter to My Flagler County Neighbors
Jake Scully, a lifelong Democrat until this summer, says the only way to get around the fraud of two-write-in candidates closing two County Commission races to almost 50,000 voters is to switch to Republican before the July 22 deadline.
The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, July 20, 2024
The Saturday Flagler Beach Farmers Market, Democratic Women’s Club of Flagler County meeting, Buddy Guy performs a rescheduled show in St. Augustine, and on casuistry.
The Free Market Myth: How the US Manipulates Global Markets for Economic Supremacy
For years, Democratic and Republican administrations in the US have touted the virtues of free trade to the rest of the world, working towards establishing a multilateral trading system that limits the use of protectionist policies. But it’s hypocritical.
Police Investigating ‘Suspicious’ and Violent Death of Sally J. Byrd, 66, in Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach Police are investigating the “suspicious” death Thursday morning of “Sally J. Byrd, 66, a resident of Pebble Beach Village at the south end of Flagler Beach. A man is in custody in Georgia in connection with the case, after stealing the woman’s car and fleeing the area.