Commentary

COMMENTARY

Mangrove massacre wipes out Florida angler’s joy

BY: - June 8, 2023

Florida likes to call itself the Fishing Capital of the World — and not because we’ve got so many fishy business folks operating here. According to the tourism promoters at Visit Florida, we rank at No. 1 in angling excellence in part because we’ve got “more than 7,700 lakes, 10,550 miles of rivers, and 2,276 […]

COMMENTARY

GOP presidential campaign messaging needs a reality check

BY: - June 6, 2023

It’s been a while since I attended an Iowa caucus cattle call. After spending most of Saturday at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride event at the Iowa State fairgrounds, featuring eight GOP presidential candidates, I was most surprised by how little things change. In a lot of ways, it could have been the summer […]

COMMENTARY

If Dr. Frank-N-Furter isn’t safe, nobody is

BY: - June 5, 2023

LONDON — The lips appear first, full, outrageously pouty, fire truck red. Then the pearls, reminiscent of the ones Barbara Bush wore. Then the black bustier, the fishnet stockings, and the high heels. He raises an eyebrow, cocks a hip, and sings, “I’m just a sweet transvestite from TransSEXual Transylvaniaaaaa!” “The Rocky Horror Show,” the […]

COMMENTARY

Happy Pride Month. Creepy, bully Republican lawmakers are fixated on assaulting our community

BY: - June 3, 2023

Happy Pride Month, America, where LGBTQ+ people are under constant assault by bully Republican lawmakers who are weirdly obsessed with our community, especially the transgender members of it. Transgender people — especially transgender people of color — have been leading the activist charge toward LGBTQ+ human rights and equality since the beginning, literally throwing the […]

COMMENTARY

DeSantis again backs developers over what’s good for Florida

BY: - June 1, 2023

I don’t know if you noticed, but Gov. Ron “I Can Finally Stop Pretending I’m Not a Presidential Candidate!” DeSantis had a big week last week. Not necessarily a good week, mind you. But a big one. He launched his presidential run with an assist from Elon “Check Out My Big Brain” Musk. But all […]

COMMENTARY

Who cut your pork chop, Governor DeSantis?

BY: - May 31, 2023

Ron DeSantis was railing on about illegal immigration while grilling pork chops at the annual picnic May 13 in deep-red Sioux Center hosted by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull. The crowd cheered him on, knowing full well that immigrants cut the chops and work the dairy barns around Northwest Iowa. It’s an open secret that the […]

COMMENTARY

America’s baleful exports to the United Kingdom: xenophobia, censorship, racism

BY: - May 30, 2023

LONDON — The British have long enjoyed complaining about American cultural imperialism. Blue jeans, beer in cans, saying “French fries” instead of “chips,” or “elevator” instead of “lift,” and other assaults on the mother tongue. Then again, Americans fuss about British shows all over HBO and PBS, and British actors playing Americans in beloved entertainments […]

COMMENTARY

New Florida study says recycling can help combat climate change

BY: - May 25, 2023

Every two weeks, I do the Blue Bin Shuffle. This is not some hot new dance craze featured on a viral TikTok video. It’s just part of adulting in the Sunshine State, like making sure you wear your good flip-flops when you go to church. Every other Monday, I shuffle outside to wheel our blue […]

COMMENTARY

We aren’t supposed to imply that the Founders (slaveholders) weren’t always paragons of virtue

BY: - May 22, 2023

LONDON–In 2022, the Prince and Princess of Wales (you know them as William and Kate) toured the Commonwealth countries of the Caribbean, former slave colonies. They made a bit of a mess. At one event the royal couple were supposed to meet a bunch of children, but found themselves separated from the kids by a […]

COMMENTARY

The Fox-MAGA Florida government cannot handle the truth

BY: - May 15, 2023

Let me get this straight: it’s okay for Florida students to be exposed to the non-stop violence on the screen and regular reports of mass shootings at schools and malls, but a book with a gay kid, an analysis of socialism, or mention of the Black Lives Matter movement in class will damage their tender […]

COMMENTARY

The AR-15 is ‘America’s Rifle.’ Ban it

BY: - May 13, 2023

How many dead children does it take to finally move to restrict access to high-powered weapons of war? Lawmakers in Texas provided us with an answer this week, as a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers voted to advance a bill raising the minimum age to purchase assault weapons, The New York Times reported. “It was the […]

COMMENTARY

Florida’s fertilizer addiction leads to ban on sales bans, roads that glow

BY: - May 11, 2023

Hey everybody, good news! We can all come out of the storm shelters! The Legislature left! The two-month session ended last week with the traditional declaration of “sine die,” which is Latin for “good riddance.” As the lawmakers departed, they left behind teams of lobbyists gleefully tallying their clients’ per-hour charges as a handful of […]