The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, December 15, 2024

Clay Jones polio — From Clay Jones, who writes: “Don’t get too excited because I haven’t heard any actual news about the Trump administration (sic) promising to bring back the McRib. But there is an effort to bring back polio despite the fact vaccines WORK! Polio is a disease that causes paralysis and death, especially in children. After vaccines for polio were introduced in the 1950s, polio decreased rapidly. There were 350,000 cases worldwide in 1988. In 2022, there were only 30. Vaccines WORK! Wild cases of poliovirus are only endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Donald Trump, with the help of his nominee to be Secretary of Health, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and through his medical advisor, a lawyer, wants to add us to the list Pakistan and Afghanistan are on despite the fact vaccines WORK!” Read more at Substack, where you can subscribe to Jones’s newsletter.

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Weather: Mostly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers. Highs in the mid 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
Drought conditions here. (What is the Keetch-Byram drought index?).
Check today’s tides in Daytona Beach (a few minutes off from Flagler Beach) here.
Tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.

Today at a Glance:

Note: This Briefing was prepared under the influence of half a growler of Kentucky Maple Barrel Stout, tapped this week at Brown Dog and worth every one of its 12 percent. Thank you Stacy and Ken, and of course this one’s for you Bob. (Cheryl got the other half, alas.)

ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students: 9:30 to 10:25 a.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church, 1225 Royal Palms Parkway, Palm Coast. Improve your English skills while study

Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village: The city’s only farmers’ market is open every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at European Village, 101 Palm Harbor Pkwy, Palm Coast. With fruit, veggies, other goodies and live music. For Vendor Information email [email protected]

The Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade is scheduled for 6 p.m., presented by the Palm Coast Yacht Club. With scores of boats, the parade is set to maintain its record as Florida’s largest community boat parade. Reel Freedom,” a 46-foot Ocean Yacht Sportfish, will serve as the Parade’s lead boat. The vessel is owned and captained by Palm Coast resident Justin Wilmot and will carry the Grand Marshalls for the Parade including Sheriff Rick Staly, and Commissioner Randy Stapleford, Commissioner of the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND). FIND is providing a major grant to the Parade to support advertising. Honoree Megan Burton will also serve as a Grand Marshall. For the sixth year the event will be broadcast live by Flagler Broadcasting on KOOL-FM, 100.9. Sponsor for the live broadcast is The Palm Coast Marina.

A Christmas Carol at Athens Theatre, 124 North Florida Avenue, DeLand, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Adult $30, Senior $28, Student/Child $12; Groups of 8 or more, $25 per ticket. A $5 per ticket processing charge is added to all purchases. As the historic Athens Theatre does not have an elevator, the balcony is not accessible to anyone with a wheelchair or walker. Get ready to unwrap the true spirit of the holidays in an unforgettable experience with A Christmas Carol, a musical adorned with original enchanting melodies by the maestro Milton Granger and performed by a live band. This festive explosion of joy and redemption promises to transport you into the heart of Dickens’ timeless tale. With a live band providing the soul-stirring soundtrack, this production transforms into a captivating celebration of the season, weaving together the magic of music and the power of Dickens’ iconic story. Join the festivities as you embark on Scrooge’s transformative journey.

Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center: Nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. at Palm Coast’s Central Park, with 55 lighted displays you can enjoy with a leisurely stroll around the pond in the park. Admission to Fantasy Lights is free, but donations to support Rotary’s service work are gladly accepted. Holiday music will pipe through the speaker system throughout the park, Santa’s Village, which has several elf houses for the kids to explore, will be open, with Santa’s Merry Train Ride nightly (weather permitting), and Santa will be there every Sunday night until Christmas, plus snow on weekends! On certain nights, live musical performances will be held on the stage.

Grace Community Food Pantry, 245 Education Way, Bunnell, drive-thru open today from noon to 3 p.m. The food pantry is organized by Pastor Charles Silano and Grace Community Food Pantry, a Disaster Relief Agency in Flagler County. Feeding Northeast Florida helps local children and families, seniors and active and retired military members who struggle to put food on the table. Working with local grocery stores, manufacturers, and farms we rescue high-quality food that would normally be wasted and transform it into meals for those in need. The Flagler County School District provides space for much of the food pantry storage and operations. Call 386-586-2653 to help, volunteer or donate.

Al-Anon Family Groups: Help and hope for families and friends of alcoholics. Meetings are every Sunday at Silver Dollar II Club, Suite 707, 2729 E Moody Blvd., Bunnell, and on zoom. More local meetings available and online too. Call 904-315-0233 or see the list of Flagler, Volusia, Putnam and St. Johns County meetings here.

Notably: I have appreciated Rad Assal’s tweets correcting New York Times headlines, which are too often written by editors who drink too much Heineken. Here are a few.

If you’re not writing the truth about crimes against humanity, you’re culpable in them. pic.twitter.com/uJKrqObcPy

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) May 8, 2021

Who is killing the doctors in Gaza? pic.twitter.com/8pPNLoDmzh

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) December 14, 2024

“Will stay” like it’s a vacation. pic.twitter.com/0kKuRY4aDW

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) December 12, 2024

The NYT calls Israel’s invasion and relentless attacks on Syria—violating its sovereignty—an “opportunity” to be “capitalized on.”

This is not journalism. pic.twitter.com/2TJLFsMkXU

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) December 11, 2024

“Enters” pic.twitter.com/5ZKKi31ZZD

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) December 8, 2024

And of course this:

https://x.com/AssalRad/status/1867829367713485163

—P.T.

Now this: We are starting early with our annual Christmas splurge of Bach.

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