Saying that while no city in Florida is contending with the issues of homelessness that are prevalent in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday came out in support of a proposal moving through the Florida Legislature that would ban local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property without a permit.
Human Rights
Elise Stefanik’s Immoral Compass, and Ours
When Rep. Elise Stefanik grilled then-Harvard President Claudine Gay about her “moral clarity” about genocide and bullying on campus, Israel was in its eighth week of the most genocidal assault on Palestinians in the history of Arab-Jewish wars predating even the creation of Israel in 1948. None of it was relevant to Stefanik, because when Israel is the subject matter, there are no two sides to the story. There are no interpretations. There is no discussion. None permissible, anyway. There is only dogma. Anything else is heresy.
An Interview with Acclaimed Civil Rights Attorney and Equal Justice Initiative Founder Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal clinic in Montgomery, Ala., that’s made strides on prisoners’ behalf, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a six-acre remembrance space highlighting the racial terrorism campaign that saw the lynching of over 6,500 victims, including women and children. In a wide-ranging interview, he reflects on the state of race in America and how honest accounts of history can help overcome resistance to progress.
‘That Was My Home’: The Homeless Are Being Purged Out of Their Encampments
More than 653,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness in 2023, a 12% increase from last year. Among the people experiencing homelessness, 64% are unsheltered. As tent encampments continue to dot urban landscapes — strewn around parks, along sidewalks, lining highways or sometimes abutting schools — many cities have increased their sweeps, some governors have announced funding to clear encampments, and several states have outlawed the tent communities altogether.
Judge Mulls Trial Competency of Migrant Facing Manslaughter Charge in Sudden Death of Deputy After Arrest
Declaring it a “complex situation,” Circuit Court Judge R. Lee Smith at the end of a three-hour hearing today said he needed time to think before issuing a decision on whether Vergilio Aguilar Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant controversially charged with manslaughter in the death of a St. Johns County deputy Michael Kunovich last May, is competent to stand trial. Kunovich died several minutes after Mendez was arrested for resisting arrest after a stop-and-frisk encounter in St. Augustine.
The Kissinger Delusion
This man’s death, way overdue–Kissinger lives to be 100 but Hank Williams, born the same year, dies at 30?–is a tragedy only in one sense: despite the copious and undisputed record about one of the most brutal men of the 20th century, Kissinger is still garnering bootlicking tributes. The tragedy is that America does not learn. It rinses the blood and repeats.
Trump’s Draconian Immigration Policies Are Setting the Tone for GOP’s Presidential Contenders
What were once considered far-right policies are now common talking points among the GOP candidates. That includes support for building a wall along the Southern U.S.-Mexico border and ending birthright citizenship for American-born children of undocumented immigrants — a protection that is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Condemn Palestinians’ Genocidal Rhetoric–and Israel’s Genocidal War
There’s unquestionably some river-to-the-sea anti-Semitism out there. It should be and is being denounced. But conflating all criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is itself a form of bigotry that places Palestinian lives beneath contempt and Israeli policy above reproach, even as swaths of Gaza in November 2023 look like Dresden in February 1945 and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in media and government continues to be indistinguishable from the vilest racism.
Americans Need to Hear More Palestinian Voices
The absence of Palestinians and their advocates from news coverage isn’t just unfair. Sarah Gertler, a Jewish American, argues it is harmful, silencing criticism of Israel and making news media complicit in war atrocities.
Miami-Dade Poised to Approve Nation’s 1st Protections from Excessive Heat for Outdoor Workers
South Florida’s Miami-Dade County could be the only local government in the nation to provide heat-related protections for outdoor workers in the construction and agriculture industries, though advocates claim the proposal has been watered down due to lobbying by business interests.
Voices from Gaza: ‘These Could Be Our Final Days.’
Olfat al-Kurd is a 45-year-old a mother of four, and Muhammad Sabah, 42, both residents of Gaza, provide testimonies about their attempts to escape bombings and find secure refuge inside the 140 square mile enclave–exactly the geographic size of Bunnell. Gaza’s population is 2 million.
In Gaza, Fighting Atrocities with Atrocities Compounds the Indefensible at Civilians’ Expense
Israel hasn’t won a war since 1967, and even that proved to be the untenable occupation and low-grade war it has faced for decades. It’s not about to win against Hamas. Hamas knows this. Israel knows it. Civilians are paying. Civilians alone will lose, as revenge substitutes for strategy and both sides perpetrate war crimes.
Laws of Combat in the Latest Palestine-Israel War
The killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas and retaliatory airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip by Israel raises numerous issues under international law. President Joe Biden said that that while democracies like the U.S. and Israel uphold such standards, “terrorists” such as Hamas “purposefully target civilians.” But the European Union’s top diplomat said that Israel was not acting in accordance with international law by cutting water, electricity and food to civilians in Gaza.
Such, Such Were the Joys of Plantations in DeSantis’s History of Florida
Gov. DeSantis and his crack education team are all about facts. In his Florida history version of plantation life, enslaved persons were treated like family, they learned invaluable skills, like cooking, and learned to make quality footwear. When you think about it, plantations should really be called “agricultural opportunity centers.”
Affordable Housing is a Human Right, Not a Handout
Housing is more than a roof over our heads. It determines our ability to stay healthy, get an education, build wealth, and live longer. It is not merely a luxury commodity limited to those who can afford it. It is a right — and our government should start recognizing and treating it as such.
A Memorial Month for Our Rights
Tuesday begins a month of memorial days as we watch our Supreme Court continue to roll back those very rights soldiers died for, trampling them more effectively than any enemy foreign or, for the most part, domestic, ever has.
Taking a Hard Look at Police Killings
In spite of the huge public attention to police violence since 2020, police are actually killing more people than before, with communities of color facing a much higher risk.
‘Disgusted’ Sheriff Rick Staly Denounces Tyre Nichols Killing as Video Exposes Brutality
Sheriff Rick Staly described himself as “disgusted” by the actions of Memphis police officers as the nation reacted with shock to a video showing the wanton brutality of the beating of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Nichols, 29, died three days later from the injuries he suffered in the beating.
America Wins World Cup of Orientalism
It’s been a perplexing World Cup. Should we be watching this thing? Should we be enjoying it? Shouldn’t we be getting outraged about human rights, LGBTQ rights, the death of migrants, environmental impacts? The questions reflect back on our own prejudices and stereotypes as much as they raise legitimate questions about Qatar’s right to host the biggest sports tournament in the world.
DeSantis’s New Target: Restricting Demonstrations at State Capitol in Name of Protecting Children
The state Department of Management Service’s proposal, in part, seeks to prohibit actions or displays that are “harmful” to children from taking place in the Capitol. The DeSantis Administration proposal is the latest in a series of measures restricting protest and speech.
Beaming Misogyny Around the World
Misogyny, a sexist contempt and hatred of women, aims to keep women in a lower position than men within a patriarchal society. With discrimination against women enshrined in Qatari law – which, among other things does not criminalise domestic violence or sexual assault – misogyny is being beamed through televisions internationally, via the means of the 2022 men’s football World Cup.
Qatar Is ‘Sportswashing.’ Fans Don’t Really Care.
“Sportswashing” is using sport as a tool of soft power, to clean up (and distract from) a murky political or humanitarian reputation. The World Cup is a massive deal. The last one, hosted by another controversial host nation, Russia, attracted 3.5 billion viewers across the world.
A U.S. Prison’s Scandinavian Make-Over Shows the Way to More Humane Penal System
At a medium-security prison outside of Philadelphia, a correctional officer-guided team has worked since 2018 to incorporate Scandinavian penal principles into its own institution. Prisoners reported feeling safer and having more positive relationships with staff and other people living in the prisons. They also indicated greater satisfaction with their access to food and the reintegration support available to them.
The Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Anti-Putin Human Rights Activists
On the 70th birthday of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the peace prize has gone to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine.
A Storied Gay-Pride Flag Doubles Down Outside FPC as Veterans Lead Protest of Student Leader’s Suspension
Military veterans from Key West and Washington, D.C., led a protest that drew 30 people outside Flagler Palm Coast High School at dawn today in protest of the school suspending student-leader Jack Petocz last Thursday after he led an anti-“Don’t Say Gay” walkout and distributed gay-pride flags. Petocz’s suspension ended today.
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.
Desmond Tutu, Father of South Africa’s ‘Rainbow Nation’
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died at the age of 90. He earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world. He carved out a permanent place in their hearts and minds, becoming known affectionately as “The Arch.”
This Is What Happens to Child Migrants at the Border
Behind huge numbers of migrants are individual children, many of whom have suffered from repeated trauma. Legally, the U.S. is obligated to care for these children from the moment they arrive until they turn 18, according to carefully defined procedures.
Holocaust Survivors Got Reparations. Why Not Slavery’s Descendants?
It’s easier to obtain reparations when the event occurred within living historical memory. It’s also easier when there are only a few identifiable perpetrators. And it is still easier when there is a limited number of victims, and the event occurred within a short period of time.
Behind Ben & Jerry’s West Bank Decision: Israel Is Losing the Battle for Public Opinion
Ben & Jerry’s said selling ice cream in the West Bank and Gaza “is inconsistent with our values.” The move is emblematic of a larger trend: public sentiment among a group of U.S. voters – including many American Jews – who used to be stalwart supporters of Israel has shifted, and they are increasingly turning their backs on the Jewish state.
The Bigger Picture In Israel-Palestine
The story I heard at my synagogue growing up is that Israel is the Jews’ historic homeland, writes Jill Richardson. We never discussed Palestinians’ rights in Sunday school. Instead, our lessons gave the general impressions that Palestinians were all terrorists who did not deserve rights.
Israel Is Having Its Own Black Lives Matter Moment as the Palestinian Minority Takes to the Streets
An unprecedented conflict is taking place on the streets of Jerusalem, Haifa, Lod and elsewhere, pitting elements of Israel’s Jewish population against elements of Israel’s Palestinian population who have had enough and have taken to the streets.
Guantanamo, America’s Enduring Shame
Guantánamo is a crime against humanity and there will never be any justification to rationalize why hundreds of people were held indefinitely, without trial, without due process, without international observers and without ever seeing their families and loved ones.
Addiction Is Not a Crime. The Drug War Is.
To continue with our cruel and sadistic drug war is the daily crime. The only way out is to decriminalize all drugs, treat, repair and, somehow, atone for lawmakers’ and the judicial system’s half-century assault on their own citizens.
Trevor Tucker, in Remarkable Shift, Provides 3-2 Majority to Add ‘Gender Identity’ to Long-Sought School Protections
The Flagler County School Board this evening reversed its April vote and added “gender identity” to its anti-discrimination policy, ending a year-long and at times controversial and embittered debate over the identity and rights of LGBTQ students.
The Bigotry Behind Judge Barrett’s Judicial Hijab
We don’t have to imagine what Amy Barrett’s jurisprudence will look like regarding gay rights, abortion, women’s rights, sex discrimination, even human rights and the separation of church and state. Reactionaries can party like it’s Deuteronomy again.
Volusia/Flagler Chapter Marks ACLU’s Centennial With “Future Voters Essay Contest” and $500 Prize
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ‘s Volusia/Flagler chapter is celebrating the ACLU’s 100th birthday with an essay contest open to all students, with a $500 prize and publication of the winning essay in FlaglerLive.
Inside the Cell Where a Sick 16-Year-Old Boy Died in Border Patrol Care
Video obtained by ProPublica shows the Border Patrol held a sick teen in a concrete cell without proper medical attention and did not discover his body until his cellmate alerted guards. The video doesn’t match the Border Patrol’s account of his death.
Transgender Inmate Spurs Appeal as Florida Prisons Seek to Deny Her Gender Identity
Inmate Reiyn Keohane contends that her rights have been violated at least in part because she has not been allowed to wear women’s undergarments and groom as a woman.
Low, $500 Bond For Sex Offender’s Re-Arrest Raises Sheriff’s Eyebrows–and Unravels
Bleak Case Through Court Maze
Tavares Calloway was 21 when he was charged with the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Probation violations landed him in prison for 3 years. He’s been rearrested again on a violation weeks after his release.
Calling Florida Prison Officials Ignorant and Bigoted, Judge Orders Accommodations For Transgender Inmate
A federal judge ordered Florida prisons to continue providing hormone treatments to Reiyn Keohane, who identifies as female since age 8. She started serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder in 2014.
Zero Tolerance: Here’s What It’s Like to Work at a Shelter for Immigrant Kids
A window into a system pushed into overdrive, straining to serve traumatized kids amid the uncertainty of America’s immigration system.
Cruel and Usual Trump
The Trump-Sessions zero-tolerance policy of separating children from their parents at the border has no precedent except in America’s slavery times.
Pious Homophobes Win One
The Supreme Court in its wedding-cake ruling declared gays once again second-class citizens, at least when their sexuality has to compete with someone else’s more stone-throwing version of Christianity.
To Keep America Great, Legalize All Undocumented Immigrants
We have a choice: Keep our economy vibrant and enviable or demolish it by expelling and demonizing undocumented immigrants, as short-sighted nations have done in the false name of “purity” over the years.
Notes From Underground
In Afghanistan, there may be up to 1,000 children in prison with a parent–not because they committed a crime, but because Afghan law permits their imprisonment with a criminal parent until the children turn 18.
In American First, Scott Signs Bill Providing for Birth Certificates In Cases of Miscarriage
The bill, which easily cleared the Senate and House in early May, makes Florida the first state in the nation to issue birth certificates for miscarriages. The implications of the bill are unclear.
Progressive Voices Rise to Resist Locally as Flagler Beach “Rally By the Sea” Rebukes Trumpism
Saturday’s rally of progressive-liberal organizations in Flagler Beach, organized by a group barely a few months old, suggests the local Republican sweep is not as total as it appears, or Trumpism the only movement in town.
A Country Unbecoming In the Age of Trump
Immigrants targeted for prosecution or removal could be the people who built your house, picked the fruit for your breakfast, and tidied up the hotel room where you last stayed.
Donald Trump’s New Deputy CIA Director: a Torturer Who Destroyed Evidence
Gina Haspel was deeply involved in the illegal torture of a prisoner at a secret CIA site, and when questions arose about the brutality, demolished 92 tapes that had documented the abuse.