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Weather: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. West winds around 5 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southwest winds around 5 mph in the evening, becoming light and variable.
- 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:
Flagler County’s Land Acquisition Committee meets at 3:30 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
The Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets at 10 a.m. every first Wednesday of the month at City Hall. For agendas, minutes, and audio access to the meetings, go here. For details about the city’s code enforcement regulations, go here.
The Flagler Beach Parks Ad Hoc Committee meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 105 S 2nd St, Flagler Beach. The Committee’s six members, appointed by the City Commission, provide recommendations related to the maintenance of existing parks and equipment and recommendations for new or replacement equipment and other duties as assigned by the City Commission.
The Flagler Beach Library Book Club meets at 1 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
Separation Chat, Open Discussion: The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion on the topic here in our community, around Florida and throughout the United States, noon to 1 p.m. at Pine Lakes Golf Club Clubhouse Pub & Grillroom (no purchase is necessary), 400 Pine Lakes Pkwy, Palm Coast (0.7 miles from Belle Terre Parkway). Call (386) 445-0852 for best directions. All are welcome! Everyone’s voice is important. For further information email [email protected] or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
The Circle of Light Course in Miracles study group meets at a private residence in Palm Coast every Wednesday at 1:20 PM. There is a $2 love donation that goes to the store for the use of their room. If you have your own book, please bring it. All students of the Course are welcome. There is also an introductory group at 1:00 PM. The group is facilitated by Aynne McAvoy, who can be reached at [email protected] for location and information.
The Flagler County Republican Club holds its monthly meeting starting with a social hour at 5 and the business meeting at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast. The club is the social arm of the Republican Party of Flagler County, which represents over 40,000 registered Republicans. Meetings are open to Republicans only.
Notably: I was reading Tennessee Williams’s “Milk Train” play over the weekend when Mrs. Goforth in a throwaway line mentions singing “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains,” the hymn that once was as popular in McKinley’s America as his genocide in the Philippines, but not so much for a few decades. I am expecting a revival, and not just because of Ubu Roi’s eyes on Greenland, but because of lines like this: “The heathen, in his blindness,/Bows down to wood and stone” and “Can we, whose souls are lighted/With wisdom from on high;/Can we to men benighted/The lamp of life deny?” Ubu Roi is changing the names of seas and memorial building. Isn’t it a matter of time before he adopts a new maga anthem as the nation’s? Here’s it is in full:
From India’s coral strand,
Where Afric’s sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error’s chain.
Blow soft on Ceylon’s isle;
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile;
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen, in his blindness,
Bows down to wood and stone.
With wisdom from on high;
Can we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! O salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learned Messiah’s name.
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till o’er our ransomed nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.
Now this: Too bad they had to slander Bach’s name.
The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
January 2026
East Flagler Mosquito Control District Board Meeting
Nar-Anon Family Group
Palm Coast City Council Meeting
In Court: Angel Marie Sexton Sentencing
Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Food Pantry
In Court: Kristopher Henriqson
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 10-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Flagler Beach Library Writers’ Club
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
Contractor Review Board Meeting
Flagler County’s Technical Review Committee Meeting
Flagler Tiger Bay Club Guest Speaker: Jeff Brandes
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Palm Coast Planning and Land Development Board
For the full calendar, go here.
The consolations I enjoy in my delightful retreat and in the honor of your letters are strong enough to help me bear even greater suffering. I endure my pain very patiently; and although the pain is sometimes long and intense, I am far from considering myself unhappy. It’s not that I’m a Stoic; on the contrary, it’s because I’m very much an Epicurean, because I believe pain is an evil and pleasure a good, and that, all things considered, I find infinitely more sweetness than bitterness in this life.
–From a Voltaire letter to Frederick the Great, May 20, 1738.
Pogo says
@A reminder
“Voltaire: Enlightenment Philosopher and Lottery Scammer
The French government was trying to raise money by running a bond lottery, but a group of intellectuals had other ideas
Kat Eschner
November 21, 2017
Francois-Marie Arouet, better-remembered by his pen name “Voltaire,” was born on this day in 1694. In the course of a relatively long life (he died at the ripe old age of 83) he was a famous philosopher, an aristocrat who mingled with famed writers and theologians as well as politicians–and a lottery scammer. In fact, without the lottery, none of the other stuff might have been possible…”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/voltaire-enlightenment-philosopher-and-lottery-scammer-180967265/
EC: File
Sherry says
IMPORTANT! Take a few minutes to read this. . . straight out of trump’s playbook. . .
PROJECT 2025:
An Analysis of Project 2025’s Global Strategy Paradigm Shift
Chris Westra
Published Feb 27, 2025
Introduction: Evolving Priorities in Global Engagement
The post-World War II international order, anchored by U.S. leadership in multilateral institutions like NATO and the UN, is undergoing a radical transformation. Traditional notions of collective security, democratic solidarity, and rules-based diplomacy are being replaced by a transactional, resource-driven, and economic vision of global engagement. This paradigm shift, epitomized by initiatives specified in Project 2025 executed by the Trump administration, prioritizes unilateral leverage over alliances, economic dominance over shared governance, and sovereignty over systemic stability. While proponents argue this “America First” strategy liberates the U.S. from outdated constraints, critics warn it risks destabilizing the global balance of power, emboldening authoritarian regimes, and undermining decades of diplomatic capital.
Understanding the Fundamental Transformation
Project 2025 represents a profound reconceptualization of America’s role in the world, shifting from the post-WWII model of values-based leadership to a transactional power framework centered on economic and resource interests. This analysis examines how this framework, from values to power, would operate and its strategic implications.
Core Strategic Pillars
The proposed global strategy in Project 2025 centers on several interconnected principles:
1. Resource-Centric Foreign Policy: International relationships would be evaluated primarily based on their potential to secure critical resources for the American economy. This represents a shift from viewing allies through a security or values lens to seeing them as economic assets with quantifiable value (energy resources, raw materials, market access, and logistics).
2. Bilateral Leverage Over Multilateral Institutions: The strategy prioritizes direct nation-to-nation negotiations where America’s economic weight provides maximum advantage. This approach circumvents the consensus-building requirements of institutions like the UN, WTO, or NATO that can dilute American leverage.
3. Economic Sovereignty as National Security: Project 2025 frames economic independence and resource security as fundamental to national security, justifying aggressive measures to secure supply chains and critical materials. This merges economic and security policy in ways that blur traditional distinctions, including the possibility of territorial expansion.
4. Strategic Selectivity in Global Engagement: Rather than maintaining consistent participation in international institutions, the approach advocates for conditional engagement based on immediate American self-interest and benefit calculations.
Implementation Mechanics
The document outlines a multi-phase implementation approach that would operate through:
Phase 1: Asset Identification and Valuation
· Strategic assessment of global resources and their alignment with American economic interests
· Prioritization of countries based on their resource portfolio (energy, minerals, strategic position)
· Development of leverage points for bilateral negotiations
Phase 2: Economic Pressure Application
· Targeted tariffs to create economic vulnerability in resource-rich nations
· Use of economic sanctions as negotiating leverage rather than punishment for behavior
· Strategic withdrawal from multilateral agreements that constrain direct economic leverage
Phase 3: Bilateral Deal-Making
· Direct resource acquisition agreements outside multilateral frameworks
· “Integration” proposals as negotiating tactics to secure favourable terms
· Formation of limited coalitions of aligned nations based on economic interests rather than values
Strategic Implications and Challenges
Potential Advantages
· Supply Chain Security: Could reduce critical vulnerabilities in strategic sectors like rare earth minerals (currently 80% dependent on China)
· Negotiating Efficiency: Bilateral agreements can be secured more quickly than multilateral consensus (USMCA’s 2-year timeline versus EU-Mercosur’s 22-year negotiation)
· Resource Acquisition: Direct focus on securing physical resources could strengthen America’s economic position
Strategic Vulnerabilities
· Power Vacuums: Withdrawal from international institutions creates influence opportunities for competing powers (China’s increased WHO funding share after US withdrawal)
· Coalition Fragmentation: Transactional relationships may prove less stable than values-based alliances during crises
· Soft Power Erosion: Abandonment of values promotion could diminish America’s appeal as a model, particularly in emerging democracies
· Economic Interdependence Reality: Modern supply chains remain deeply integrated (60% of US tech patents depend on Asian manufacturing)
Historical Parallels and Distinctions
The proposed framework bears resemblance to 19th-century Imperialistic power politics with key differences:
· Control Mechanisms: Rather than direct territorial conquest, control operates through economic leverage and technological controls
· Resource Access: Focus on securing supply chains rather than direct colonial extraction
· Global Context: Unlike the 19th century, today’s economic interdependence limits the effectiveness of purely unilateral approaches
Domestic Requirements for Implementation
Successful implementation would require:
1. Media Alignment: Controlling information sources to maintain public support despite economic and social disruptions
2. Institutional Restructuring: Reorienting government institutions toward economic competition rather than values promotion
3. Narrative Shift: Redefining American exceptionalism in terms of economic dominance rather than democratic leadership
Long-Term Strategic Calculation
The approach represents a bet that economic dominance secured through bilateral leverage will yield greater benefits than the stability provided by the post-WWII multilateral order.
This calculation assumes:
1. America’s economic leverage remains strong enough to secure advantageous bilateral deals
2. Competing powers cannot form effective counter-coalitions
3. The costs of institutional instability will be outweighed by resource acquisition benefits
4. Domestic constituencies will tolerate transition disruptions
Conclusion: Strategic Coherence and Challenges
Project 2025’s global strategy offers a coherent alternative to the post-WWII order based on economic primacy rather than values leadership. Its effectiveness depends on whether economic leverage and wealth alone can secure the stability previously maintained through multilateral institutions and shared values. The approach requires accepting significant near-term disruption in pursuit of a fundamentally reorganized international system where power derives primarily from resource control and bilateral economic leverage.
The framework’s success will ultimately be measured by whether it strengthens America’s global position or accelerates a transition to a multipolar system where no single power can effectively impose its will through economic means alone.
Laurel says
A world order written, and desired, by sociopaths. These sociopaths manipulate by pretending to back Christian values, an easy way to control people. They pretend to know what our forefathers really meant. They pretend to know what the law, and the Constitution really means. They push the selfish ideology that the white male is superior to all others. They lie. Some of our people have been buying it for years now, and some still do.
“The phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” reflects the democratic principle that the government is created and operated by its citizens. This concept is foundational to the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing that authority comes from the people and is meant to serve their interests.”
– Search Assist, clingendael.org, Library of Congress
I knew Trump wasn’t smart enough to figure this out himself, the Heritage Foundation, and the Federalists’ Society, threw all those “executive orders” in front of him to sign. They are thrilled that they have an ignorant individual, with Mafia tendencies, who appointed a woefully ignorant cabinet, to pull this off. They are halfway through Project 2025, and have surprised themselves how far they have gotten in one year.
In reality, the Constitution, empathy, values, self direction, allies, and freedoms are being dismembered, bit by bit. Faster now that there is the possibility that Democrats may take over Congress.
We’re truly headed, currently, towards a government of the money, for the money and by the money, and citizens be damned.
Sherry says
The latest “horse shit” from the trump administration. . . this from The Hill:
The White House launched a website Tuesday praising President Trump for his handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, simultaneously blaming Democrats for having “masterfully reversed reality” and saying Trump “corrected a historic wrong” in pardoning those charged with crimes related to the storming of the building.
The website, which became public on the fifth anniversary of the riot, is Trump’s latest defense of Jan. 6, where he told a crowd of his supporters the election was stolen and directed them to march to the Capitol.
At the time, the mob that stormed the Capitol threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence after Trump criticized his running mate for not seeking to block former President Biden’s win in the 2020 race. Trump, who did not respond to the violence at the Capitol for hours, even after lawmakers in both parties were evacuated from the building, still falsely maintains that he won the 2020 election.
The new website blames Democrats for “certifying a fraud-ridden election” and fumes over the work of the House Jan. 6 committee. It also accuses U.S. Capitol Police of escalating tensions.
“With his triumphant return to the White House, President Trump wasted no time righting one of the darkest wrongs in modern American history. On Inauguration Day 2025, he issued sweeping pardons and commutations for the vast majority of January 6 defendants—patriotic citizens who had been viciously overcharged, denied due process, and held as political hostages by a vengeful regime,” the website states.
White House aide Stephen Cheung suggested the site was made as a trolling effort, writing he couldn’t believe media outlets “actually fell for our trap.”
But the site quickly sparked alarm among Democrats.
Laurel says
Again, and again, I’m not a Democrat, but I am amazed at how Trump is able to throw out blatant lies and excuses for people to suck up…and they do. He does it to divide and conquer. A shameful behavior, and detrimental to our country.
What’s really mind blowing is these followers simply do not need facts or any solid information to back up these claims. None. Never. Trump has completely convinced people that facts and truth don’t matter. There is still no evidence of fraud that the election was stolen. He just continues to lie, and lying is perfectly fine with his followers. It’s a very strange psychological state of mind, and a very bad situation for our country. But, he doesn’t give a damn.
Sherry says
Russia said years ago that they would swap their support of Maduro in Venezuela for a “free hand” in Ukraine. . . here is the story from the AP:
Trump’s former Russia adviser says Russia offered US free rein in Venezuela in exchange for Ukraine
By EMMA BURROWS
Updated 1:51 PM PST, January 6, 2026
Russian officials indicated in 2019 that the Kremlin would be willing to back off from its support for Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela in exchange for a free hand in Ukraine, according to Fiona Hill, an adviser to President Donald Trump at the time.
The Russians repeatedly floated the idea of a “very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine,” Hill said during a congressional hearing in 2019. Her comments surfaced again this week and were shared on social media after the U.S. stealth operation to capture Maduro.
Hill said Russia pushed the idea through articles in Russian media that referenced the Monroe Doctrine — a 19th century principle in which the U.S. opposed European meddling in the Western Hemisphere and in return agreed to stay out of European affairs. It was invoked by Trump to justify the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
Even though Russian officials never made a formal offer, Moscow’s then-ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, hinted many times to her that Russia was willing to allow the United States to act as it wished in Venezuela if the U.S. did the same for Russia in Europe, Hill told The Associated Press this week.
Sherry says
trump continues to make our nation a “PARIAH” on the world stage. . . this from the AP:
Edited By CURTIS YEE, MICHAEL WARREN, LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA and CARLEY PETESCH
Updated 4:20 PM PST, January 7, 2026
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies and commissions, including those affiliated with the United Nations, as the country further retreats from global cooperation.
The targets are primarily U.N.-related groups that focus on climate, labor and other issues that the Trump administration has criticized for catering to “woke” initiatives.
The decision to withdraw comes as ongoing U.S. military efforts and threats have rattled allies and adversaries alike, including the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and indications of U.S. intention to take over Greenland.
On Wednesday morning, the Trump administration seized two Venezuela-linked sanctioned petroleum tankers, in its latest move to establish control over the world’s largest proven reserves of crude oil.
Laurel says
Every day is like waking up in the Twilight Zone.
Now, we’re pirates.
This “New world order” is not for our benefit, it is, again, for the benefit of a very few.
Sherry says
By Hook or By Crook! Sniffing out each and every loophole in order to carry out his fascist Project 2025 agenda! AGAIN, corrupt trump tried to illegally circumvent the requirements for the placement of “US Attorneys” requiring requiring Senate Approval!
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge disqualified a Trump administration federal prosecutor from overseeing investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling Thursday that he is not lawfully serving as an acting U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield blocked subpoenas requested by John Sarcone, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. The judge said the Department of Justice did not follow statutory procedure after judges declined to extend Sarcone’s tenure last year.
Schofield joined several other judges across the country who have ruled against top federal prosecutors after maneuvers by the Trump administration to allow them to serve as U.S. attorneys while bypassing the usual process of getting confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority. Subpoenas issued under that authority are invalid. The subpoenas are quashed, and Mr. Sarcone is disqualified from further participation in the underlying investigations,” the judge said in her decision.