The court issued an order scheduling a hearing in a challenge to a 2022 law that prevented abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The outcome of the case also will affect a law passed this year that would bar abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — and could determine whether a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution will protect abortion rights.
Rights & Liberties
Families Flee Florida and Other States Thwarting Transgender Care
Missouri, Florida, and Texas are among at least 20 states that have limited components of gender-affirming health care for trans youth. Those three states are also among the states that prevent Medicaid — the public health insurance for people with low incomes — from paying for key aspects of such care for patients of all ages.
Florida’s New College Board Seeks $2 Million to Counter ‘Cancel Culture’
The New College of Florida Board of Trustees on Thursday moved forward with a plan to request $2 million in funding from the state Legislature to set up a “Freedom Institute” aimed at combating “cancel culture” in higher education. The bulk of the $2 million request would go toward hiring “scholars to work and teach” on the New College campus.
Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence for Christian Cruz in Volusia Murder
The court, in a 5-1 opinion, rejected arguments by Death Row inmate Christian Cruz that stemmed from his co-defendant, Justen Charles, receiving a life sentence in the murder of Christopher Jemery.
Citing Florida’s ‘Latest Assault on the Right to Vote,’ Judge Blocks Parts of Election Law
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a 58-page decision, issued a preliminary injunction against parts of the law that would prevent non-U.S. citizens from “collecting or handling” voter-registration applications and make it a felony for voter-registration group workers to keep personal information of voters.
Biden Administration Barred from Interfering with Social Media Even If It’s Misinformation or Lies
A federal judge has prohibited Biden administration officials from communicating with social media platforms “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”
Ruling Denies 1.5 Million Eligible Floridians Student Debt Relief
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject the legal arguments behind President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan ruined the chances of relief for more than 1.5 million Floridians who applied for or were eligible under the plan.
Shocking Disparities in Flagler’s Handling of 3 Different Assaults by Disabled Students Against School Staff
Violent assaults against school staff involving profoundly disabled students, never before reported in detail until today–and not caught on surveillance video–point to startling if not shocking disparities in how cases may be handled, compared to that of Brendan Depa at Matanzas High School, depending on the attention they garner.
Un-Achieving Brown v. Board of Education
It took 69 years, but today the U.S. Supreme Court took its revenge on Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that cracked the door a smidge to desegregating schools. It did so in a vengeful, cynical decision re-inventing color-blindness in an America where only whites wear the blinders.
Moms for Bigotry Quoting Hitler Is an Example of the Right’s Embrace of Extremism
Last week, an Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit organization that advocates for “parental rights” in education, ended up apologizing and condemning Adolf Hitler after previously using a quote from the racist and anti-Semitic Nazi leader in its newsletter.
U.S. Supreme Court Decisively Rejects Outlier Elections Theory Giving Unchecked Powers to States
In a major election-law decision, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that although the Constitution gives state legislatures the power to regulate federal elections, state courts can supervise the legislature’s exercise of that power. By a vote of 6-3, the court rejected the so-called “independent state legislature theory” favored by a extreme Republicans.
School Vouchers, Teaching Muzzles, Diversity Bans, Looser Guns: 200 New Laws Take Effect Saturday
More than 200 laws passed during the 2023 legislative session, including a record $116.5 billion budget, will take effect Saturday, including a massive expansion of public money available for private schooling, permitless gun-carrying, and more restrictions or bans on what teachers may say or teach.
Florida Law Banning Kids at Drag Shows Blocked and Termed Unconstitutionally Vague
Operators of Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s, which has run “family friendly” drag shows for 15 years, filed a legal challenge shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law restricting children from attending “adult live performances.”
Supreme Court Kills Lawsuit by State Attorney Andrew Warren, Whom DeSantis Suspended
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an attempt by suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren to get his job back, ruling that the twice-elected Democrat waited too long to bring the case. Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Warren on Aug. 4, accusing the prosecutor of “incompetence” and “neglect of duty.”
Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court
In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.
Once a Model of Independence, Florida’s Judicial Nominating Process Is Now an Irrelevant Farce
Veteran prosecutor Victoria Avalon, a Florida Supreme Court candidate, warned that the judicial nominating process that once was a model of independence under Gov. Reubin Askew has been politicized to the point of irrelevance by Republican governors since Jeb Bush, with all picks pre-ordained.
Guns and Drugs: Life Expectancy in the U.S. Keeps Falling
People in the U.S. are dying at higher rates than in other similar high-income countries, and that difference is only growing. It goes well beyond Covid, to an epidemic of gun deaths and drug deaths.
Anti-Trans Politicians Take Pages from Nazi Playbook
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders are following the Nazi playbook, substituting transgender youth for the Jews. They industriously promote hatred, fear, and physical revulsion of this small group — also barely 1 percent of the population — and pretend it’s out of concern for children.
Lawyers Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Halt Duane Owen’s Killing, Arguing Mental Incompetence
Attorneys for convicted murderer Duane Owen on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block his execution, after Florida courts rejected arguments that he was not mentally competent to be put to death.
Why the 9/11 Families Are So Angry With the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour seized on alleged Saudi connections to the 9/11 attacks when opposing the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour. But in partnering with LIV, families of the 9/11 victims say the PGA has “done a complete 180.”
America’s Gun Crime: Why Tourists Are Being Warned to Avoid and Beware
Uruguay has suggested its citizens avoid certain American cities, Germany warns of the possibility of killing sprees, Canada now recommends its citizens familiarise themselves with how to respond to an active shooter before visiting, Australia’s official travel advice warns “gun crime is prevalent.”
The American Way of Woke
What is truly perverse today are those who actively seek to infringe upon the liberties of others while masquerading as defenders of liberty, argues Brad West. We are not perfect, and will always be a work in progress, even in wokeness. But we get better because of those who have been, and are, woke.
Recorded Executions in 2022 Skyrocketed to Highest Total in 5 Years
Recorded executions in 2022 reached the highest figure in five years, as the Middle East and North Africa’s most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees, Amnesty International said as it released its annual review of the death penalty.
Exuberant Pride Day Follows Drag Night as Palm Coast Goes United Colors of LGBTQ+ in Town Center
Bookended by an exuberant evening of drag the night before and Sunday evening’s more solemn vigil in memory of the Pulse massacre victims, Flagler Pride today celebrated the local and regional LGBTQ community with song, dance, causes and bounties of divergence in the fourth annual Pride Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center, drawing some 750 people.
In Surprise Victory for Voting Rights, Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Map Diluting Black Vote
By a vote of 5-4, the justices issued a major voting rights decision, ruling that Alabama’s new congressional map likely violates the Voting Rights Act. Even more significantly, the court declined an invitation to adopt an interpretation of the act that would have made it much more difficult to challenge redistricting plans.
The Hung Jury Got It Right in the Monserrate Teron Trial
Raymond Warren, a retired assistant public defender who practiced in Flagler County and the rest of the Seventh Judicial Circuit for decades, reviews the reaction to the hung jury in the Monserrate Terron case and argues why the jury got it right.
DeSantis Lawyers Tell Court That Bill Targeting Drag Shows Doesn’t Target Drag Shows
State lawyers filed arguments Friday as U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell prepares to hold a hearing Tuesday on a motion by operators of the Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the law, which DeSantis signed last month.
Take Pride
This Pride Month, there’s not much to be proud of in people who to this day would rather burn than raise the Pride Flag. It’s about time it replaced all those MIA flags in school yards and at courthouses. LGBTQ victims, unlike the mythical missing, are real, and they’re piling up.
To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
In Florida, I worked three jobs — not enough to make ends meet, but enough to disqualify me from food stamps and cash assistance. Politicians who cut our safety net say these strict rules encourage work, but for me it was the opposite.
DeSantis Lifts Hold on Killing of Duane Owen as Attorneys Battle Over Competence
Gov. Ron DeSantis has lifted a temporary hold on the planned June 15 execution of convicted murderer Duane Owen, as attorneys for Owen and the state continue to battle at the Florida Supreme Court about whether he is mentally competent to be put to death.
Voters Approved an Amendment For Racial Equity in Districts. DeSantis Wants It Ignored.
A lawsuit filed by voting-rights groups focuses a Jacksonville-area district that helped elect Black Democrat Al Lawson until a DeSantis plan redrew it and installed two white Republicans instead. Now DeSantis is asking a court to ignore a 2010 constitutional amendment requiring “Fair Districts.”
I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
Our tax laws shouldn’t protect giant CEO retirement accounts when my coworkers and I can’t afford to save at all: even after 22 years of working for Walmart, our nation’s largest employer, I can’t afford to retire any time soon.
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.
A Trans Teen No Longer Feels Welcome in Florida. So She Left.
Josie moved more than a thousand miles from St. Augustine — and her parents — to start a new life in Rhode Island to escape a state where Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP Legislature politicized and passed policies that de-legitimize and demonize trans people.
Gun Groups Perpetuate Militia Myth to Keep Whatever Arms They Dream Of
This idea of the average American stockpiling an arsenal seems rather quaint when compared to the military and the taxpayer funded arsenal we’ve allowed the government to develop. It’s kind of like putting up a macaroni collage right next to the Monet.
Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new rule that will lead to Florida officials publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that have drawn public objections, in a move that the board’s chairman said will “provide transparency for our families.”
On Flagler Schools’ Ban List: The Upside of Unrequited, a Review and a Recommendation
Becky Albertalli’s “The Upside of Unrequited,” about a fat girl’s desperate quest for a date after 26 unrequited crushes, is one of 22 titles on Flagler’s ban list, and the last to be considered by a school-based committee at FPC on Thursday.
A Federal Lawsuit Is Filed Against Florida School District, Calling Book Bans Unconstitutional
The lawsuit is against the Escambia County School District and its local school board. Plaintiffs include PEN America, powerhouse publisher Penguin Random House, several authors, and parents of children. A remedy: Return books to school library shelves, particularly books considered “targeted,” according to the lawsuit.
Nearing Presidential Run, DeSantis Signs Series of Anti-LGBTQ Bills Critics Call ‘Slate of Hate’
With LGBTQ advocates decrying it as a “slate of hate,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a suite of bills that will prohibit or limit medical care for transgender people, prevent minors from attending drag shows and impose restrictions on which bathrooms trans people can use.
You Shed Identifiable DNA Everywhere, Raising Ethical Questions About Privacy
There are myriad ethical implications relating to the inadvertent or deliberate collection and analysis of human genetic bycatch. Identifiable information can be extracted from eDNA, and accessing this level of detail about individuals or populations comes with responsibilities relating to consent and confidentiality.
When Prison Is Preferable to Probation: Holly Norris’s Case and How Probationers Must ‘Walk on Water’
The case of Holly Norris, 44, illustrates how long probation terms can unreasonably trip up defendants even for minor violations, preventing them from reintegrating society. That’s why defense attorneys at times ask for prison instead. Norris was sentenced to a two-year prison term and 10 years on probation in the negligent death of her uncle in 2013.
Ban the AR-15, ‘America’s Rifle’
A bipartisan bill was introduced in Texas to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons. It shouldn’t have taken nearly this long for gun-loving Texas to take an action that is supported by a majority of Americans. The slaughter at a suburban shopping mall was the tipping point.
Indian Trails Teacher JaWanda Dove Loses Her Attorney Over Refusal to Settle Discrimination Suit Against District
Almost three years after filing an employment discrimination suit against Flagler County schools, and a few settlement offers that even her attorney implored her to accept, Indian Trails Middle School teacher JaWanda Dove may now head for trial representing herself, as her own attorney asked the court to be relieved of representing her.
FPC Removes 2 Books Under Challenge Without Review, Abruptly Cancelling 2 Committee Meetings
Flagler County’s three book-banners are getting their way the easier way: the books they’re challenging are now getting removed without committee review, even though such a process is set out in district policy. Twice in the last three weeks, Flagler Palm Coast High School abruptly cancelled scheduled challenge-review committee meetings at the last minute, “weeding” the books instead.
DeSantis Signs Most Restrictive Bill Against Undocumented Migrants in the Country
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what both he and his critics agree is the strongest anti-illegal immigration bill passed by any state legislature in the country on Wednesday. Speaking in Jacksonville behind a podium with a sign reading, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” the governor blasted the president for the large influx of undocumented immigrants that has occurred across the U.S.-Mexican border over the past couple of years.
On Flagler’s Ban List: Elana K. Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of, a Review and a Recommendation
“What Girls Are Made Of,” Elana K. Arnold’s deconstruction of a 16-year-old girl’s being and nothingness, is one of 22 titles three Flagler County residents want banned from high school libraries. A Flagler Palm Coast High School committee takes up the challenge on Thursday.
End Language that Dehumanizes Immigrants
Sensationalizing, stigmatizing, and misleading imagery and rhetoric surrounding immigration leads to near-constant use of the term “illegal” or “unlawful” to describe unauthorized crossings. An advocate for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and trafficking is alarmed by the use of this language to describe a migrant’s attempt to survive.
Imagining life in DeSantistan
In Caseytown, Desantistan, it’s Jan. 6, 2028, a year since Ron DeSantis declared himself President for Life, making this country the freest America in America, if not the world. Let’s recap.
FPC Student Vandalizes ‘Offensive’ Civil Rights-Inspired Posters. School Board’s Chong Rallies To His Side.
In response to one parent’s complaint about civil rights era-inspired posters by students, and to the the parent’s son vandalizing posters he found offensive at Flagler Palm Coast High School, School Board member Christy Chong has rallied to the side of the parent and the student and is seeking to revisit policies that address the display of student work in school hallways. Board members Will Furry and Sally Hunt are joining Chong in seeking that discussion.
Bill Banning Books During Challenges and Banning Preferred Pronouns Ready for DeSantis Signature
The bill restricts the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, expands last year’s “don’t say gay” prohibitions to eighth grade, and makes banning books and instructional materials easier, with simpler forms and a requirement that challenged materials to be removed from schools within five days of the objection, until the challenge is resolved.