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Weather: Sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 106. South wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 17 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light south after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 18 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:
The Flagler County Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meets at 10 a.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
The Flagler County-Palm Coast Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets at 3 p.m. at the Flagler County Emergency Operations Center, 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Bldg 3, Bunnell
Joint County Commission-Flagler Beach City Commission meeting, 5:30 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, to discuss beach renourishment and other items.
Conversations in Democracy: An open, freewheeling discussion on topics 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 atlanticcoastau@gmail.com or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
Notably: In the preface to The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt wrote: “Whatever the causes for American ascendancy to world power, the deliberate pursuit of a foreign policy leading to it or any claim to global rule are not among them. And the same is probably true for the country’s recent and still tentative steps in the direction of imperialist power politics for which its form of government is less fitted than that of any other country.” She wrote those words in 1967. The book had originally been published in 1951. Would she write those words today after, say, reading these lines in the March 5 New York Times: “Once Mr. Khamenei’s name began to circulate as the favored candidate to succeed his father, the United States said he would not be acceptable and could be eliminated. ‘They are wasting their time,’ President Trump told Axios on Thursday, adding that the former supreme leader’s son is ‘a lightweight’ and an ‘unacceptable’ choice. ‘I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,’ Mr. Trump said, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, the Venezuelan vice president who became interim leader after Washington captured the country’s leader.” We are in an era of post-imperialism as the United States, Russia and China carve out their three spheres, replicating Orwell’s Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia, with the same newspeak, conflicts and ideological fabrications.
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.
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The German, I am profoundly convinced after mingling with him now for many years, is incapable of organizing Europe. His lack of balance, his bullying sadism when he is on top, his constitutional inability to grasp even faintly what is in the minds and hearts of other peoples, his instinctive feeling that relations between two peoples can only be on the basis of master and slave and never on the basis of let-live equality — these characteristics of the German make him and his nation unfit for the leadership in Europe they have always sought and make it certain that, however he may try, he will in the long run fail.
–From William Shirer’s Berlin Diary (1941).
Pogo says
FWIW
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=the+empires+of+world+history+in+chronological+order
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxHclmh4Zck
Dennis C Rathsam says
As the mid-term ellectons grow closer, Democrates hate voter ID. There only hope is illegals voting. NJ,s Mikie Sherrill stated yesterday 6,600 non citizens were registered to vote. Here we go again…. Another jackass governor, tryed to rig the elections! She says she knew nothing, Like all Democrates soon as they get caught they go brain dead! Its time to pass the voter ID. 3/4 of America wants it, because we all know illegals are voting. Sherrill has only been gov for short time, but she’s as crooked as the day is long, & she got caught! Once again TRUMP is right. We need fair elections, with only Americans voting! Who,s country is this? Cheaters never win & winners don’t cheat! Pass the save America act now. Do it for your freedoms as Americans, do it to save your kids!
Laurel says
Dennis, reality is, NJ found it, announced it, and is working to correct it.
It seems that you assume that any fraudulent votes would not be for your Trump. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know?
Answer me this, please: Was the election fair in 2016 (under Obama’s watch), not fair in 2020 (under Trump’s watch), and fair again in 2024 (under Biden’s watch)? Tell me, how does that work?
Ed P says
The Trojan horse’s ass should be tattooed, Democratic Socialists of America and the entrance should be to D.C.
I’m am perplexed by the silence from the Flagler Live community about the DSA platform. The juvenile and impossible task of implementing the points are not the issue, but rather sowing the seeds of misinformation and disinformation to the no/low informed people and churning up unrest.
This is more than a fringe radical bunch of screwballs because people like Bernie Sanders and AOC are fanning the flames of unrest. This could be a controlled burn that could easily spiral out of control
Key points
Abolish Presidency, Senate, and Supreme Court
Close all prisons. Release all those incarcerated
100% amnesty for all illegals. No deportation is warranted or legal. None
Open borders
Defund police and dissolve ICE
Rent control. You don’t even need to work
32 hour work week, no pay cut
No bills to worry about
Take control of key industries and end private enterprise and for profit businesses
To Skibum or anyone else who thinks I’m heading down the path of McCarthyism.
Nope. Just hoping those who are so focused on the dangers of MAGA, keeps one eye open for the DSA.
Jim says
You state: “I’m am perplexed by the silence from the Flagler Live community about the DSA platform.” I think that the reason might be that the DSA isn’t on the top of the list of things to be concerned about right now. Also, I’m really not aware of any articles about the DSA appearing on Flagler Live but I may very well be wrong about that. But, since your perplexed, I’ll take a shot…
Your Key points:
1. Abolish Presidency, Senate, and Supreme Court
According to Wikipedia:
-Electoral reform: Replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote for president, and replacing the two-party system with a multi-party democracy through proportional representation elections.[145]
-Legislative reform: Expanding the number of seats in the House of Representatives and ending the Senate filibuster.[145]
-Judicial reform: Limiting the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review
I don’t see elimination of the Presidency, Congress or Supreme Court.
2. Close all prisons. Release all those incarcerated
Again, per Wikipedia: Ending Mass Incarceration: Abolish mandatory minimums and cash bail. This is not “releasing all those incarcerated”.
3. 100% amnesty for all illegals. No deportation is warranted or legal. None.
Pretty much as you’ve stated.
4. Open borders
They do call for abolishing ICE so that would seem to support an open border policy.
5. Defund police and dissolve ICE
Again, per Wikipedia: They call for “demilitarize police departments” which is not the same as “defund the police. They do call for abolishing ICE.
6. Rent control. You don’t even need to work
Again, per Wikipedia: Housing for All: Establish universal rent control and a right to counsel for all tenants. Build more [Public housing/publicly owned housing] and strict regulations on investment properties. Not sure this translates into “not even needing to work” but maybe it does.
7. 32 hour work week, no pay cut
You are correct on this.
8. No bills to worry about
Again, not sure they are calling for that but I’ll definitely concede that point as I found nothing disputing it.
9. Take control of key industries and end private enterprise and for profit businesses
Again, per Wikipedia: Economic Democracy: Public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries
You didn’t mention this but they also want:
-” Healthcare for All: guaranteeing universal healthcare with no cost to individuals, co-pays, or deductibles, and with guarantees for reproductive and gender-affirming care. ”
-“Universal education: Free public education from pre-kindergarten through college, including tuition-free higher education with no out-of-pocket costs for room and board and cancellation of all student loan debt; universal childcare; and expansive paid family leave for all workers”
-“Labor rights: Strengthening protections for workers’ rights to strike and form a union,…”
So, with that all said, what exactly do you want from the Flagler Live community? I’ll acknowledge there is truly an organization called Democratic Socialists of America. I’ll also acknowledge they have some very unique positions on many political, social and economic issues. I think they are still allowed to have such positions. I acknowledge that they claim to have 120k members at this point. Good for them. I’ll acknowledge there are a small number of elected officials from local (not here, of course), state and federal offices.
I suspect you want them condemned for being ‘anti-American” or maybe as “commies”. Is that what you want?
Well, I can’t give you that. I will say that I do not agree with many of their positions nor do I think the vast majority of Americans do as well. Should we be aware of them? Yes. I’d go so far as to say we certainly better pay more attention to them than we did the rise of the MAGA movement in this country. I think maybe you brought the DSA up in some attempt to distract us from the excellent job Trump and his administration have been doing. Is that it???
So, just so you have something to consider in your free time when you’re not obsessing with a fringe left-wing group….
-Trump said “I will be the anti-war president”. Well, Iran looks like a war to most of us.
-Trump said “The war was over an hour after it started”. And has reiterated that over 38 times since. Yet, here we are in July still fighting a war that started in February.
– Trump criticized Biden’s gas prices. In January 2025, the average price of gas nationwide was $3.08 nationwide. Now it’s $3.79 nationwide. I just paid $3.89 yesterday.
– Trump claims our elections are “rigged”, that immigrants are voting in large numbers and that the 2020 election was “stolen”. Somehow, with all these “rigged elections”, Republicans have majorities in the House, Senate and presidency. You can point to New Jersey’s admission of allowing 6,600 people to register but you must note that they identified this error and are correcting it. And, it’ll take a lot more than 6,600 in each and every state to typically impact elections. Since Republicans have done pretty well in elections, it’s a farce to make such asinine claims.
– Trump is the most corrupt president in USA history. I won’t elaborate. It would take too much time and effort to document here. But you probably think Trump is not corrupt (which is a big part of the USA’s problem right now).
– Trump has alienated almost every ally the USA had and the damage to this country will take decades to reverse, if, indeed it is reversible.
– Trump’s tariffs are a tax on American citizens and a drag on the economy. They were also ruled illegal -not that that matters to you.
There is so much more that could be said about the condition this country is in since Trump assumed power. I wonder if you actually can acknowledge any of that. The DSA isn’t the real threat to the USA at this time. The real threat is the current president and his MAGA faithful. You don’t have to see it; the rest of us do.
Ed P says
Hello Jim,
Did you read their published platform. Do not rely on wiki anything. Garbage in garbage out.
I rarely predict anything, but I am confident that at some juncture down the road, I will be able to say, “ I told you so”
You did an admirable job of explaining why everyone is missing the movement.
I’m not being condescending, or even criticizing your take.
Even politicians like Gavin Newsom and activists like Jon Stewart are missing the reality of the movement and that the DSA could fracture or even destroy the Democratic Party.
Jim says
I didn’t realize you were concerned about the Democratic party. Your comments typically support Trump, his regime and his policies.
Anyway, you can be concerned about the DSA and the Dem party. I’ll focus on the damage and destruction Trump and his cronies continue to do this country.
Laurel says
Jim: “You don’t have to see it; the rest of us do.”
It appears that EdP has given up trying to appeal to the intelligence of the Independent, the midrange, and to the left, and is now targeting directly the amygdala of the maga.
The change in direction is glaring.
Ed P says
Hello Laurel,
Remember that Newton’s third law of motion also applies to politics. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
The DSA ‘s radical stance such as dismantling the military will send voters to more stable positions that will be to the right.
I’ve not shifting anywhere.
The left is too slow in seeing the damage that could befall the Democratic Party if the DSA becomes the face of the party. They are devouring the left from the inside out.
Fracturing or destroying the 2 party system will have consequences.
Laurel says
Good! For the pendulum to swing back to the middle, it would have to swing far left to make up for the crazy shit the far right has come up with, eating dogs and cats, and grabbing ’em by the pussy, Trump’s personal KKK masked *police*, not to mention felonies galore.
This has been the most insane political time I have seen since seeing police escort a little girl into public school because of the melanin in her skin. Apparently, there were those who thought it was contagious, and little girls are dangerous to white adults. McCarthyism was also low level brain farts.
We, as a country, haven’t seen anywhere near as blatant, widespread corruption, or stupidity for that matter, as we are seeing now with the current administration. It is flat out horrific! Dumb with a “b”. Trump is f*cking up like nobody has ever seen, in the history of the world, or the universe…who knew (besides the most of us)?
This is what should bother you:
https://www.us-debt-clock.com/live
Trump wants the military to have more, maybe for rocket scientist Hegseth’s testosterone shots. But we cannot feed hungry children, or have healthcare for all U.S. citizens.
Mark Webb says
ED P,
Let’s not forget MAGA’s Project 2025.
Check it out!
Ed P says
Hello Mark,
Just for shits and giggles, please ask Ai to compare your Project 2025 jab and the DSA 2025-2026 platform.
Once you do, get back to me and then we can discuss which is the biggest threat to capitalism and our democratic republic.
I agree both have some radical underpinning but even a dyed in the wool liberal with a modicum of common sense should be worried about the highly educated downwardly mobile support the DSA is receiving.
I’m perplexed that everyone who has commented and is pushing back at me doesn’t have the foresight to see the depth of the issue. I don’t seem to be able to explain it well enough for you guys to even research it.
We are a stronger country with a robust Democratic Party and Republican Party. It’s been the norm for the last 170 years.
Jim says
You state: “I’m perplexed that everyone who has commented and is pushing back at me doesn’t have the foresight to see the depth of the issue.”
Mark points out MAGA Project 2025 which the Trump administration has whole-heartedly endorsed and is actively ramming as much of it’s content as they can into the government and our personal lives.
So you think we’re failing to see the “depth of the issue”? Really. Respond to Mark about how Project 2025 is not even close to a danger to our democracy while the DSA apparently is suddenly wielding amazing powers against all of us.
I’ll wait…..
Ed P says
Hello Jim,
I admitted that Project 2025 has radical underpinnings.
Did you compare both, side by side? I have.
I’ve read Project 2025 and can see real concern over the 900 page blueprint.
Can you identify anything in the DSA PLATFORM as feasible or possibly implementing without destroying capitalism or our country? I can not see how capitalism and socialism coexist.f
Before you just fire back. Here’s a few positives from the Conservative Project 2025.
-reining in the bureaucracy
– streamlining agencies
-deregulation
-energy production
-tax reform
-border enforcement
-military readiness
-decentralized education
-encourages marriage
-direct child care funding
-compressed work weeks
-cracking down on porn
-reining in Big Tech
-America first Trade
-VA overhaul
I will try one last time to explain the real concern over the DSA, as I see it.
The United States has basically been a 2 party system for the last 170 years.
If the face of the Democratic Party is replaced by the radical concepts of the DSA, it could fracture the party or even destroy it because the Socialists are infringing by using the word Democratic.
The political term is ENTRYISM.
If the Democrats are pulled all the way to the left into socialism, the unaffiliated or “swing” voter will have only one place to shift and that will be right.
The DSA is not forming a third party but infiltrating the Democratic Party.
For example. AOC is currently leading the Democratic 2028 Presidential pack. She is closely aligned with the DSA. Can we know if she’s 100% or 50% on board with their platform?
I’m not trying to trick anyone with slight of hand.
I’m just trying to connect the dots.
For most Americans, the DSA platform in its entirety will be a nonstarter. However, members are now involved in about 35 elections, being endorsed by some prominent Democrats and gaining traction.
The movement is driven by well educated downwardly mobile individuals who received their college degrees, have massive student loans and are working in positions earning less than $60,000 annually. They believe that capitalism has failed them and are looking for a different way forward, other than starting at the bottom and working harder.
Laurel says
The young people today have every right not to trust the system that has let them down. If they find another way, one that works for most people, not just the few white and ultra wealthy, leaving everyone else with nothing, then bless their hearts. I wish them all the best.
Ed P says
Hello Laurel,
Talk about not getting it…
Your Gullible comments make logical responses seem like I’m talking down to you.
I’m not.
Sherry says
Once a pompous jerk, always a pompous jerk!