Musk’s likely acquisition of Twitter raises concerns that the social media platform could decrease its content moderation. Research shows that stronger, not weaker, moderation of the information ecosystem is called for to combat harmful misinformation. It also shows that weaker moderation policies would ironically hurt free speech.
Rights & Liberties
Will Furry Chooses Sleaze. Again.
Will Furry, the candidate for Flagler County School Board in the race he’s contesting against Courtney VandeBunte, is running a sleazy campaign funded by deceptive PACs and rich in lies and fabrications. Yet he calls it his “journey of faith.”
DeSantis Administration Violated Public Records Law With Snub of Migrant Flight Data Request
A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration did not comply with the state’s public-records law after an open-government group sought records about a controversial decision to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Flagler County Voters Will Vote on Whether to Retain 11 Judges, Most of Whom They’ve Never Heard Of
On the Nov. 8 ballot, 11 of the 26 boxes where voters will be asked to fill an oval are retention votes in judicial elections for five Supreme Court and six appeals court judges. They’re not races. Voters are merely asked: should so-and-so “be retained in office” or not. It’s the merit-retention system. In the overwhelming majority of cases, voters have no idea who those names, and the judges are invariably retained.
Top Republicans Are Embracing Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Violent Rhetoric
The lure of violence is not an inherently Republican thing or a Democratic thing; it is a human thing. But at this moment in American history, members of only one party are featuring assault weapons prominently in their campaign ads and even family Christmas cards. Only one party is tolerating and even promoting the likes of Greene, with none daring to condemn her message.
Trump-Appointed Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Muzzling Gender ‘Instruction’ In Schools
Skirting merits of the law by citing lack of standing, U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger refused to block school districts from carrying out a new state law that restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. She rejected arguments by parents, students and a non-profit organization.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Law Banning Payments to Petition Gatherers for Ballot Measures
The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, made it a crime to continue a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. Experts have said the changes doubled the cost of getting initiatives on the ballot.
School Boards Now Required to Out LGBTQ Bathrooms and Muzzle Discussions of Gender and Race
County school boards and charter schools will have to follow new requirements for notifying parents about policies involving access to bathrooms and locker rooms, and teachers could be fired if they violate two controversial new laws muzzling discussion of gender identity and racial matters.
At Flagler Tiger Bay, Bluish State Attorney Aronberg Talks Trump Prosecutions, Death Penalty and Election Predictions
Part stand-up, part roast, part prognosticator, and always the analyst, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, a Democrat, dove right in as he faced a decidedly Republican crowd in his appearance at Flagler Tiger Bay today, talking about Donald Trump and Hunter Biden prosecutions, predictions for the coming election, and his view on the death penalty and the Nicholas Cruz verdict.
DeSantis, Transportation Department and Contractor Sued Over Records on Migrant Flights
The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed a lawsuit last week against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the governor’s office and this week against against the Florida Department of Transportation and a state contractor, alleging they did not comply with public-records requests stemming from controversial flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
seeking to force the release of records relating to