The proposal in the Florida Legislature would have eliminated a 5-year waiting period for lawful immigrants to qualify for the subsidized insurance program that serves children from low- and moderate-income families.
Rights & Liberties
That Other American Exceptionalism:
Right-Wing Terrorism
For all the wasted blood spilled on ISIS and al-Qaeda, the real terrorist threat is neither far away nor foreign. It speaks English. It’s white. It’s American. And it’s sanctified by the NRA’s liturgy of guns today, guns tomorrow, guns forever.
Taxpayers’ Tab in Gov. Scott’s Losing Drug-Testing Lawsuits: $1.5 Million
The $1.5 million in legal fees, including nearly $1 million to civil-rights lawyers, are because of Gov. Scott’s failed push to force welfare applicants and tens of thousands of state workers to submit to suspicionless drug tests.
Quit Turning Your Backs on Desperate Migrants. Help Them Instead.
Like Americans’ ancestors, migrants are fleeing poverty, war, or oppression, or are searching for a better life in a new land. Blocking that flow, argues Kofi Anann, is bound to fail, with disastrous consequences for human lives.
Flagler Court Clerk Throws a Switch, and Mass of Criminal and Civil Records Becomes Accessible Online
Flagler County court records, from arrest affidavits to civil, criminal, county and probate court are now all available online, 24 hours a day, in a vast improvement of public record access ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.
ACLU and Women’s Health Center Sue Florida Over 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
The lawsuit contends that for women — especially low-income women who must arrange for child care, time off work and overnight travel — the law can push them past the time it is legal to have abortions.
News-Journal Employees File Charges of Unfair Labor Practices Against New Owner GateHouse Media
The press room union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board on June 3, charging that GateHouse Media illegally abrogated their collective bargaining agreement and is trying to bust the union.
Stupid Pot Busts
The conviction for pot smoking of a Palm Coast resident who’d never had so much as a traffic ticket illustrates the sickness of a police and judicial system’s wrongheaded marijuana fixation.
Flagler Schools Will Settle Civil Rights Lawsuit And Appoint Disciplinary Oversight Council
The lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center had targeted Flagler schools’ disproportionate punishment of black students. The disciplinary oversight coalition will meet quarterly and publicly, reviewing disciplinary data and making recommendations to the superintendent.
Palm Coast Wants Protection From Extortionist Lawsuits Over Public Record Requests
Palm Coast and the Florida League of Cities are seeking a change in law that would protect local governments from opportunistic groups more individuals who sue governments and companies over public record violations.
The Fundamentalists Next Door
It is up to the citizens of Flagler County–no matter your political persuasion or your party affiliation, your social views and religious beliefs–not to allow the voices of ignorance and intolerance decide what information you are permitted to consume.
Assisted Suicide In Your Back Yard: More Prevalent Than You Think
People don’t talk about it, but assisted suicide happens in states where it’s not legal. Just over 3 percent of U.S. doctors said they have written a prescription for life-ending medication, and almost 5 percent reported giving a patient a lethal injection.
If Violence Isn’t the Answer, Someone Should Clue In the Police
Nobody wants to see people hurt, businesses burned, or innocent lives disrupted by violence in their communities. But you can’t understand urban unrest in isolation from the violence residents face at the hands of their own government.
Online Voter Registration in Florida Is Now Law, Over Resistance By Gov. Scott and Detzner
Florida must now develop an online voter registration system by October 2017, joining 20 other states that already provide the service. Gov. Scott was reluctant to sign the measure into law.
When Liberal Democracy Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
The puzzle is not why democracy so often turns out to be illiberal. It is that liberal democracy can ever emerge.
Gov. Reubin Askew, Sallye B. Mathis and Edward Daniel Davis Inducted Into Civil Rights Hall
Reubin Askew was named to the hall of fame in part because of his support for desegregation and his appointments of top black officials, including the first black justice on the Florida Supreme Court.
Fifteen Years For Sex on the Beach? Seriously?
Federal prisons are full of white collar criminals who won’t serve a day over five years, criminals who destroyed companies and bilked citizens out of their life savings. Yet Elissa Alvarez and Jose Caballero face 15 years for “lewd and lascivious” sex on the beach, a ridiculous excess, argues Nancy Smith.
Employers Not Required to Have Defibrillators or CPR-Ready Personnel to Prevent Death, Florida Court Rules
In a case stemming from the fatal heart attack of a CSX railroad employee in Clay County, the 1st District Court of Appeal found CSX not to have been negligent by either lacking defibrillators, not providing CPR training to employees or not responding in time to the incident.
This Latina Liberal Is Not Kidding: Ronald Reagan’s Big Gift to Immigrant Families
As a progressive young Latina from a working-class background, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico without papers, Cecilia Velasco is actually thankful for something Ronald Reagan did.
In a Surprise, U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Florida Ban on Judicial Candidates’ Fundraising
The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice Roberts, upholds a ban in a case started by Lanell Williams-Yulee, who in 2009 sent out a mass mailing asking for campaign contributions during her bid for a Hillsborough County judgeship.
The FBI’s Hairy Evidence Sends Floridians to Prison on Unscientific Testimony
At least 42 Floridians have gone to prison on tainted FBI evidence, including one who was executed and as many as nine who remain on death row, after trials in which FBI “experts” gave testimony that the agency concedes to have been unscientific.
As Pro-Choice Republicans See It: Abortion Decisions Don’t Belong on a Legislative Agenda
Doctors and patients, not politicians, should determine the course of medical treatment, even when the treatment is abortion, writes Nancy Smith, a card-carrying member of the Republican Majority for Choice.
Florida Senate Votes 26-13 For Abortion Waiting period, Sending Bill to Gov. Scott
Lawmakers earlier this week approved adding exceptions for victims of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking to the bill. However, those victims could only get waivers of the 24-hour waiting period if they can produce police reports, restraining orders, medical records or other documentation.
Cage-Free Parenting: I Let My Boys Walk Home Alone. Go Ahead, Cuff Me.
Until she heard about parents getting arrested for letting their children roam free, Catherine Robinson had never let her children walk home alone. That just changed.
Gov. Scott Ends Worker Drug-Testing Crusade, Restricting Tests to Limited Job Classes
Monday’s agreement, which still requires court approval, identified more than 100 job classes that Scott can test for drug or alcohol use. Workers in most of the positions deal with vulnerable children or adults, handle heavy equipment or are already required to undergo medical tests for other reasons.
Enough Abuse: Close Seaworld
Nothing justifies Seaworld’s confinement of killer whales and Seaworld’s abusive treatment of the animals by way of exploitative shows and inhumane conditions. To treat orcas that way for human entertainment should elicit repugnance, not the buying of $75 tickets.
Rep. Jason Brodeur: My Religious Freedom Bill Will Encourage More Adoptions
Rep. Jason Brodeur, the Sanford Republican, sponsored the controversial bill that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate in their decisions on whom to place where, even on behalf of the state’s foster system. Brodeur defends his bill.
Florida Lawmakers Float Measure to Regulate Drones Amid Buzz of Privacy Concerns
The proposals prohibit the use of aerial drones to capture images that could infringe on the privacy of property owners or occupants but also give police some authority to use drones.
Will Florida Senate Recognize That Every Child Has the Right To Be Loved?
The choice is not whether church-sponsored agencies have a right to practice their religion. Of course they do. The issue is whether they have a right to enforce their beliefs against others when acting as agents of the state. They do not.
Florida House Advances ‘Conscience Protection’ Bill That Discriminates Against Gay Adoptions
Three hours of debate and numerous attempts to diminish the ability of private, religious adoption agencies to deny placement among gay couples failed as the bill now appears headed for approval Thursday.
Florida Senate Calls For Police Policies on Body Cameras, Addressing Privacy and Data
Body cams are worn by deputies at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Jim Manfre instituted the practice when he took office in 2013 and has been an ardent defender of the cameras.
Indiana and Arkansas Retreat From Hate Laws. Florida Plows Ahead.
Between Sen. Frank Artiles’ war on transgender people and a House bill protecting discrimination against gay parents, Florida verges on making bigotry state policy again, harkening back to Jim Crow days, but against the LGBT community.
Florida Lawmakers OK Discriminating Against Gay Adoptions on “Religious” Grounds
Despite warnings that Florida would follow Indiana into a controversy with statewide economic implications, the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
Guilty of Being Poor: Across the Nation, Courts Shake Down the Destitute
From fines targeting the poor to civil asset forfeiture, courts have mounted odious means of seizing cash and property from people not charged with any crime and who can’t afford legal defense.
My Surprise Visit From FDLE
FDLE interprets Beatles lyrics as a threat on Gov. Rick Scott, and Daniel Tilson, the columnist, gets a call investigating his intentions. He wonders if this is the way FDLE operates under Rick Swearingen, Scott’s hand-picked replacement of Gerald Bailey.
Yes, It’s Retroactive: Florida Supreme Court Rules All Lifers Sentenced as Juveniles Must Be Resentenced
The justices ordered lower Florida courts to apply a 2014 law to inmates who, as juveniles, were sentenced in the past either to life in prison or to terms that would have effectively kept them behind bars until they die. Two of the inmates were convicted of murder.
Bill Targeting Transgenders in Public Bathrooms Clears 2nd House Committee, 7-4
The 7-4 vote of the Florida House Government Operations Subcommittee included one dissent from a Republican, though as the bill advances, its chances of becoming law increase.
Will U.S. Supreme Court Rule Florida’s Cavalier Death Penalty Unconstitutional?
In 27 of the 31 death penalty states, the jury’s decision to impose life imprisonment is final and may not be disturbed by the trial judge under any circumstances. But not in Florida.
24-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion Clears Florida House Panel in Partisan 9-4 Vote
Under the bill, a woman seeking an abortion would be required to meet with a physician to get information and then wait at least 24 hours before the procedure could be performed.
Why Black America Fears the Police
When shots were fired as a group of black friends walked along the beach, there was no rush to call 911. They feared what could happen if police came rushing into a group of people who, by virtue of their skin color, might be mistaken for suspects.
FDLE Arrests 15 Floridians For Running Human-Trafficking Ring in Five Counties
Women were forced to work as commercial sex slaves, performing sex acts on 25 to 45 men a day, six days a week. Victims ranged in age from 25 to 35. The investigation began in 2013 after the Collier County Sheriff’s Office discovered a human trafficking victim during a traffic stop.
After Spending $300,000 in State Funds, Gov. Scott Quits Fight to Drug-Test Welfare Recipients
The ACLU, which filed the challenge on behalf of single father and Navy veteran Luis Lebron, hailed the end of the drawn-out legal battle over the drug tests, an issue Scott campaigned on during his first bid for governor in 2010.
Bill Forbidding Local Government Protection for Transgenders In Public Bathrooms Advances
A bill by Florida Rep. Frank Artiles that would overturn local government ordinances protecting transgender use of single-sex bathrooms passed 8-3 on a party-line vote Wednesday after an impassioned discussion in a House subcommittee.
I Am A Throw-Away Piece Of Trash In This Country of Freedom and Liberty and Respect
Cindy Robert Sullivan, a transgender man transitioning to a woman, addressed Rep. Frank Artiles and a House committee before a 9-4 vote approving a bill forbidding certain protections for transgender people.
Bill Would Allow Gun-Carrying Without Concealed-Weapons Permit During Evacuations
An NRA-supported measure that failed last year now has sheriffs’ backing, and would allow legal gun owners to carry their guns without licenses in the first 48 hours after emergency evacuation orders are given.
Bi-Partisan Lawmakers Looking to Expunge Criminal Records of Non-Violent Juveniles
An Orlando Senator is sponsoring a bill that would allow the expunging of records for minors who commit nonviolent misdemeanors and go on to complete diversion programs.
As FAA Issues Rules, New Palm Coast Drone Company Beguiles Realtors and Others
CAVU Aerial Photography, a drone company in Palm Coast since August, has been showing Realtors, communications companies and others the many uses of drone technology, which is expected to boom with the FAA’s new, more permissive rules.
When Your Armed Neighbor Comes
Knocking: Guns and Muslims in Chapel Hill
What kind of country do we live in, where it’s legal for a man to bring a weapon to a noise complaint? Or a parking dispute? Mitchell Zimmerman confronts the Chapel Hill killings of three Muslims.
Lily Sara, Humanitarian and Founder of
La Voix de La Femme Libanaise, 1929-2014
Lily Sara, one of Lebanon’s leading humanitarians and founder of La Voix de La Femme Libanaise–the Voice of the Lebanese Woman–died in Beirut on Dec. 10, 2014. Testimonies and eulogies were offered on Dec. 13.
Appeal Court Upholds Florida’s Ban on Open-Carry, But Case Appears Headed For Supremes
Dale Norman, a resident of St. Lucie County, was arrested at gunpoint for carrying an openly visible handgun in a holster, on his hip. Florida Carry Inc. took his case and has been fighting his conviction since.