Less than 48 hours after insulting Commissioner Greg Hansen at a County Commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Mullins unleashed another string of worse abuse on Hansen, to his face–at an event commemorating the death of 3,000 victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. But Commissioners Sullivan and O’Brien are resisting saying whether they’d censure him.
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Joe Mullins Fires Demeaning Personal Insults at Commissioners in a Meeting, Repeating ‘Dangerous’ Pattern
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins called fellow-Commissioner Greg Hansen a “fat sonofabitch” and Charlie Ericksen a “useless old man” at a meeting Wednesday just months after Ericksen had felt so threatened by Mullins that he called on Sheriff Staly for help.
Heroes
If Flagler County had a Nobel Prize, Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder and Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director there, would have won it this year for their management of the coronavirus pandemic, absurd claims against them notwithstanding.
Flagler Schools’ Sophie’s Choice
Flagler County and Florida schools are reopening not because it’s safe, but because ideological debauchery or anti-science vigilantism are forcing them to, even though alternatives are in place for safe and effective education.
Beirut’s Object Lesson of Weaponized Incompetence
The blast that leveled huge swaths of Beirut Tuesday was the result of years of criminal negligence and serves as an object lesson in government incompetence and indifference to public safety–not just in Lebanon.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: On Misogyny, Impunity and Decency
“In using that language in front of the press,” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Rep. Ted Yoho’s misogynistic insult, “he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable.
Supreme Court Refuses to Clear the Way for Felon Voting Rights in Florida
Hundreds of thousands of Florida felons won’t be able to cast ballots in next month’s primary elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to vacate an appellate court’s order in a closely watched legal battle over voting rights.
Sheriff Issues Desist Letter to Ex-COP Featuring Lynching Symbol and FCSO Patrol Car on Facebook
The man, whose Facebook page name is Scott van Ostran, was never a sheriff’s deputy, Sheriff Rick Staly said, but may have been a volunteer with the department’s C.O.P., or Citizens on Patrol, program several years ago.
Make Masks Mandatory Anywhere Public
As Covid-19 infections continue to surge, Palm Coast, Flagler County and all other local governments should do what Orange and Osceola counties have already done: make masks mandatory anywhere public, including shops and restaurants.
Jim Tager’s and Janet McDonald’s Tweets Bisected the Flagler School Board. McDonald Won.
If School Superintendent Jim Tager left this week, it’s not because he had to–he amassed an excellent record–but because the School Board let just one of its members–Janet McDonald–drive him out. It’s an unsettling precedent.
A Confederate Flag Is Spray-Painted on a Gym Wall At Matanzas High School
The Confederate flag graffiti, left at Matanzas High School over the weekend, stands in aberration to the more civil and conciliatory atmosphere of the last few days in the county.
The “Chinese Virus” Slur
Calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus” has nothing to do with geographical correctness and everything to do with ideological motives tapping into a century and a half of anti-Asian bigotry.
Battling a Pandemic of Bigotry
Donald Trump fanned the flames of anti-Asian hostility by repeatedly calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus” while the National Republican Senatorial Committee advised candidates to “attack China” as a mainstay of their campaign messaging.
A Perfectly Legal Lynching in Georgia?
Killings of black men by whites are 8.5 times more likely to be ruled “justified.” That’s the reality behind a South Georgia prosecutor who’d said there was insufficient evidence to arrest two white men involved in the fatal shooting of black runner Ahmaud Arbery.
Flagler Beach and County Commissioners Call Out Joe Mullins Over a Baseless, Inflammatory Claim
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins over the weekend made unsubstantiated accusations that unnamed Flagler Beach officials are hurting business and tourism in the city with their “stay on your side of the bridge mentality.” City commissioners corrected him.
Rumor Control is Critical and Time-Consuming for States, With No Help From Trump or His Likes
In addition to battling the coronavirus, states and localities are spending time and increased effort batting down rumors and myths — everything from President Donald Trump’s suggestion last week that injecting poisonous disinfectants might help to rumors that National Guard troops are enforcing stay-at-home orders at gunpoint.
American Carnage: How Donald Trump Is Killing Us
The coronavirus has mutated into ideological variants. We are moving from a natural disaster to a man-made one, from statistically unavoidable deaths to deaths willed by indifference, ignorance, selfishness, and the political calculations of a single man. The consequences will compound rather than mitigate the pandemic.
Florida House Speeding Toward Proposal to Allow Stadium-Wide Prayers at High School Games
Amid a long-running legal battle, the Florida House on Friday moved forward with a proposal that could allow schools to offer prayers over public-address systems before events such as high-school championship football games.
Hearts and Rainbows v. Satan and Lies as LGBTQ Advocates and Opponents Hold Neighboring Demonstrations
The two demonstrations by advocates and opponents of LGBTQ rights outside the Government Services Building in Bunnell preceded the Flagler County School Board meeting Tuesday night, which again was dominated by transgender rights issues.
The School Board’s Proposed Decorum Rules Are a Pretext to Silence Critical Information
The Flagler County School Board is considering speech restrictions at its meetings that include comment cards before a person can speak and prohibiting references to staff, students or anyone in the district.
Religious Leaders Defend Parochial Schools’ Shunning of LGBTQ Students on Taxpayers’ Dime
Religious leaders and some black lawmakers on Tuesday escalated a fiery debate over anti-LGBTQ policies at private schools that receive state-funded scholarships, fueling discussions of religious freedom, discrimination and politics.
Rubio Derides as ‘Publicity Stunt’ Banks’ Funding Halt to Vouchers Underwriting Anti-Gay Schools
An investigation found at least 156 Florida private schools that took state-funded scholarships had anti-gay views or policies, and 83 of the schools refused to admit LGBTQ students or could expel them if their sexual orientations or gender identities were disclosed.
Girl Who Threatened to Kill FPC Teacher in Racist Screed Gets Probation, and Must Write Essay on Hate Speech
The 17-year-old former Flagler Palm Coast High School girl last December was found guilty of terrorist threats to kill her English teacher through racist-laced electronic messages with another student in December 2018.
Joe Mullins Again Blistered for Divisive Attacks, and Commission Again Refuses to Intervene
Flagler County Commissioner was again harshly criticized by residents at a County Commission meeting for claiming not to represent those who don’t support President Trump and bullying liberals on his social media account, but the commission refused to intervene.
The Florida Lottery Exploits a Racist Stereotype
The Florida Lottery just issued a 30-second television spot that exploits a bigoted stereotype–the African-American with oversized lips–themed around making the black patient’s teeth “100 times whiter.”
No, Joe Mullins, Flagler Is Not a ‘Trump County.’ It Is an American County.
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins followed his call on liberals to love Flagler County or leave with suggestions of putting them on trains and buses, which brings to mind a different period of history, Christopher Goodfellow points out in an open letter to the commissioner.
Beyond Transgender Student’s Transfer Out of Matanzas, Calls on School Board to Take LGBTQ Safety Seriously
A throng of students, faculty members and parents asked the Flagler County School Board Tuesday to support more explicit procedures protecting LGBTQ students as Charlene Cothran, a Palm Coast pastor, again attacked the a transgender student and ridiculed LGBTQ rights.
Florida Senate Panel Backs Reparations for Descendants of Ocoee Massacre Victims at White Mob’s Hands
Some 60 to 70 black residents of Ocoee were murdered during the massacre in the Central Florida town. The reparation funding levels were modeled, in part, on a 1994 decision by the Legislature to compensate African-American families up to $150,000 for damages in the Rosewood Massacre of 1923.
For Seven Days, Flagler Sees Florida’s Broken Death Penalty Machinery in Action
Though David Snelgrove was finally sentenced to life in prison rather than death this week, his trial shows how the 20-year ordeal in court could have been avoided with the same result two decades ago, had capital punishment not been on the table.
How Wealthy Towns Keep People With Section 8 Housing Vouchers Out
Section 8 vouchers should give low-income people the opportunity to live outside poor communities. But discriminatory landlords, exclusionary zoning and the federal government’s hands-off approach leave recipients with few places to call home.
What You Need to Know About How Section 8 Really Works
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is a form of government rent assistance. In 2018, upwards of 5 million people across the country lived in a household that used a voucher to help pay some or all of their rent.
American Impotence: Trump’s Assassination of Suleimani Masks Broad Retreat
All is not well: Donald Trump’s assassination of Iran’s Suleimani masks how far American power has been forced into retreat across the Middle East, and will only accelerate strategic losses that endanger American lives and interests.
Flagler School Board Lets a Pastor Insult a Transgender Student at a Meeting, In His Presence
Rev. Charlene Cothran of Palm Coast called a transgender student “mentally ill” and his father “confused” and “intimidated” in both their presence during a Flagler County School Board meeting this week, with pushback only from Colleen Conklin.
Amicus Curiae: The 16-Year-Old FPC Girl Was Racist. She Was Stupid. She Was Not Criminal.
In the case of an FPC girl who wrote bigoted threats about her teacher last December, the prosecution is making outlandish claims that it was act of terrorism, stretching the meaning of a 2018 law passed after the Parkland massacre. The law does not apply, as even the prosecution acknowledged the case’s weaknesses.
A Plea From the Middle, Against Extremism
No matter what side Americans fall on politically, most hold many common beliefs and convictions in common, placing them far closer to a shared middle than the extremes of our current political discourse, argues former sheriff Jim Manfre.
Lawsuit Over Banned Use of Loudspeaker for Christian Prayer Before School’s Game Is Back On
A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit about whether the Florida High School Athletic Association improperly prevented Christian schools from offering a prayer over the stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 state championship football game.
Matanzas Student, 17, Faces Felony Charge after Racist Threats of Violence on Another Student for “Snitching”
The 17-year-old student took a video of himself making the threats and ridiculing a sheriff’s deputy’s presence at the alleged victim’s home at the same time, as he drove by.
Gender Traitors: Fired While Gay
The Supreme Court will decide three cases that ask a question you should be offended to hear still asked today: may an employer fire a worker for being gay? The answer in most states, including Florida, is yes.
Rabbi Shapiro Makes Legal Case Against Flagler School Board Reviving Invocations at Meetings
Palm Coast’s Merrill Shapiro, a member of the national board of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, presented legal arguments at a talk Thursday against the Flagler County School Board’s potential return to starting meetings with invocations.
Disagreements Persist About Flagler School Board’s Religious Invocations Past and Future
A divided Flagler County School Board has yet to decide whether and how to conduct invocations at the start of its meetings following Chairman Janet McDonald’s out-of-order introduction of a pastor and her invocation at the August meeting.
Search for Bodies Will Continue at Dozier Reform School, Site of 55 Graves So Far
Forensic experts are gearing up to conduct a high-tech sweep of the grounds at a notorious Northwest Florida reform school where survivors remain convinced bodies of long-lost boys are still concealed.
See Something, Say Something? 3 Flagler School Board Members Say Not If It’s Cancer.
Opposition to the Flagler Health Department’s proposal to offer the HPV vaccine in schools is driven by three board members echoing the rhetoric of vaccine denialism though various irrational pretexts.
Flagler Health Department Chief Calls School Board Member ‘Anti-Science’ in Vaccine Clash
Flagler Health Department Administrator Robert Snyder in a live show on WNZF today accused School Board member Maria Barbosa of being “anti-science” and “anti-vaccines,” in a discussion on making the HPV vaccine available to students in schools.
Christian Prayer at Flagler School Board Breaks 5-Decade Precedent, Without Most Board Members’ Consent
School Board Chair Janet McDonald’s decision to start Tuesday’s meeting with a prayer by a pastor had not been approved by the board nor placed on the agenda, a violation of board procedures and a break with a nearly 50-year precedent.
Of Course Guns Have Nothing To Do With It
Mountains of evidence link America’s mass killings to the massive amount of guns in circulation, but let’s go ahead and pretend that guns have nothing to do with it, nor the absence of sensible gun control.
Florida Senate Will Study White Nationalism and Other Factors in Mass Violence
In the run-up to the 2020 legislative session, the Florida Senate will review acts of mass violence such as the deadly shootings this weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, along with factors such as white nationalism.
I’d Like to Stop Writing About Innocents Killed by Guns
So far, as hard as we try, every time it happens again we apparently have not stood up in sufficient numbers or shouted loud enough to make the massacres stop. What does it take? The story keeps repeating.
Three University Students Pose With Guns In Front of Shot-Up Emmett Till Memorial
Three students were suspended from their fraternity house, Kappa Alpha, after we shared an Instagram photo one of the men posted that was taken in front of a sign commemorating the murder of the 14-year-old black youth in 1955.
Siding With Local Governments, Judge Strikes Law Penalizing Officials Who Pass Gun Rules Stricter Than State’s
In 2011, Florida lawmakers approved a series of penalties that local governments and officials could face if they violated the prohibition on gun laws that are stricter than the state’s.
Coming Out in Rural America
“I came out to my parents via email the same week I figured it out myself because it’s no big deal in our family. Others aren’t as lucky; some people’s families still disown them.”