Commentary
If Florida Gov. DeSantis wants to oust officials, here’s a list
You probably heard all the hoopla last week about Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis removing — excuse me, “suspending” with extreme prejudice — the outspoken Democratic prosecutor in Hillsborough County, Andrew Warren. He’s not quite fired but he’s on the verge. Usually when officeholders in Florida get pink-slipped by the governor, it’s because they’ve been charged […]
How Trumpy are we, Wisconsin?
Like a summer storm, Donald Trump blew through the Wisconsin Republican primary, propelling his chosen candidate, construction company owner Tim Michels, to victory over the establishment-picked former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. At a rally in Waukesha for Michels last Friday, Trump not only attacked Kleefisch, whom he called “the handpicked candidate of a failed establishment,” but also […]
Your plane landed safely — thank the bureaucrats at the FAA
A faddish phrase on the right is something called “the administrative state,” which refers to the federal workforce deputized by Congress to craft and enforce rules over the environment, banking, health care, product safety, mass communications, the power grid, etc. A recent profile of the Claremont Institute — which has the unenviable task of stitching together an […]
Florida’s python hunt promotes politician, fails to eliminate invading reptiles
My kids frequently drag me to the theaters to see the latest superhero movie. As a result, I have discovered a fondness for what the comic book people call “origin stories.” You know, like how an illegal alien using a phony name became Superman. Or how Batman is just a rich orphan with anger issues […]
Teachers on the front line
In 1987 I began my teaching career. The classroom that I taught in then is now a vestige of the past and we are continuously redefining what the modern school or classroom should look like. Student discipline is a complicated and often uneven process in our schools, with board policies and state laws often failing […]
No guts no glory if Herschel weasels out of Warnock debate
Back in the primary, Herschel Walker wanted nothing to do with a debate against his Republican opponents, but at least he had a lame excuse of an excuse. With polls showing Walker with an insurmountable lead among Republicans, he could shrug off calls for a debate on the grounds that none of his opponents had […]
Talk about ‘fake news’ — a look into FL Power & Light’s covert campaign against the free press
Truth? Overrated. I mean, how the hell do you monetize it? Even worse, what if it gets in the way of the right people having the right power? That’s why a well-ordered country needs a well-ordered media. You know, like in China. Or Turkey. Or Russia. The “free press” thing is a problem. So-called journalists […]
Florida’s next House Speaker is a fossil fuel fool who fears fixing the climate
The 12-step people always say that the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here goes: Hi, I’m Craig, and I’m a civics nerd. As a kid, I fell under the magical spell of the Watergate hearings. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated by government stuff. The “I’m Just A Bill” song is my […]
The impending miseducation of Florida’s schoolchildren
As a great president once asked, “Is our children learning?” Well, is they? It don’t look good, what with government schools forcing them to become communists, hate America, and vote wrong. But never fear: Florida’s governor’s fixed that mess with new rules stopping those union-loving, Toni Morrison-reading, evolution-accepting, comfortable shoe-wearing, foreign movie-watching, gay-coddling teachers indoctrinating […]
Florida can’t move forward on pollution because of places like ‘Dead Shark Acres’
Shark Week, aka “the Week the Discovery Channel Tries to Scare the Bejeezus Out of Its Viewers,” starts next week. Meanwhile the National Geographic Channel, trying to get a jump on the competition, has already launched “SharkFest,” calling it (brace yourself) “Must-Sea TV.” All these shark shows mean a lot to us here in Florida […]
Ohio Republicans’ attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is incredibly sick and disturbed
The first and most important thing to recognize right now is that a heinous, violent crime was committed on a 10-year-old Ohio child, and thankfully justice has now found the alleged perpetrator. A Columbus man was indicted Wednesday in a case that made national and international headlines about a 10-year-old girl who had to travel to Indiana […]
Screwy plan for a new Florida city outrages its rural neighbors
When anyone asks me the weirdest place in our very weird state of Florida, I always say it’s Pasco County. In addition to the usual mix of sketchy politicians and scummy developers, Pasco has the most sinkholes in the state. It’s got more nudist resorts than the rest of the country. The Klan once adopted […]