Yearly Archives: 2014
Flashback Friday: 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
This week marks a sad anniversary, the 86th of the the worst natural disaster in the history of Florida. In 1928, southern Florida was still recovering from the 1926 “Great Miami Hurricane” which adjusted for inflation remains far and away the most expensive Hurricane in this history of the United States. The 1926 storm was […]
Thursday Bookshelf: The Roosevelts
As companions to Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts on PBS the following books, all available on Kindle are highly recommended. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism Theodore Rex Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Florida tax system unfair, says WalletHub
Florida ranks as one of the worst states for tax fairness according to WalletHub . Among the 50 states, Florida ranked third from bottom in terms of tax fairness for the poor, fourth from bottom in the liberalism of the state/local tax system and fifth from bottom in overall tax fairness. The full report can […]
Democrats far from dead in State House races
Our friends at Saint Petersblog citing data from a polling firm we think highly of, St Pete Polls have run a succession of articles showing a strong Republican tide in State House races. They even theorize the GOP should be able to jump above 80 seats in the House (a majority they enjoyed from 2004 […]
Monday Musings: 9/11 Memories, Crist Field and Turnout operation, Who is Leslie Wimes, Orange County, Joe Negron and Home Rule Hypocrisy
On 9/11/01 I was a student at New College of Florida. As you may remember, President George Bush was in Sarasota (where New College is located) and of course the whole campus has organized protests for that morning. I had gone to class and when I came back, one student was sitting out in the […]
Five must watch PBS Documentaries
With the debut of Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts tonight on PBS, we will once again surely see why Public Broadcasting produces and airs better TV documentaries than anybody. Here are five must watch PBS historical documentaries from this admitted PBS junkie. Ken Burns: The Civil War The granddaddy of all TV documentaries came out […]
Guest Column: Campus Vote Project Working to Help Florida Students Vote
By Cici Battle/Campus Vote Project Florida Coordinator People who follow electoral politics often lament the low voter turnout for midterm compared to presidential election years. In a state like Florida, it means that fewer voters turn out to elect a governor than go to the polls to elect a president. College students, in particular, represent […]
Progressive Choice: Where Are They Now?
For months before the primary, the group Progressive Choice made headlines around the state with controversial mailings, radio ads, and a constant stream of Twitter and Facebook attacks on Charlie Crist. Estimates of the spending by this campaign vary, but considering the sheer number of ads, the figures have to be in the seven-figure range […]
Coral Springs Mayor’s race featuring Skip Campbell heating up
We discussed the city of Coral Springs extensively a few months ago. Coral Springs is one of Florida’s 15 largest cities with over 120,000 people, and has a close to two-to-one Democratic registration advantage. Yet the city’s commission is 80% Republican and the lone Democrat is term-limited this year. Coral Springs was long considered one […]
Monday Musings: Support for Scottish Independence, 50 years since the “Daisy Ad,” Florida paces US victory in Prague, ISIS a real threat?, Dennis Baxley, Islamic Caliphate history
I have been derided in both soccer and political circles as an “anglophile,” and it is a label I have come to accept and even embrace after trying to fight it off for years. I have after all spent more time in my life in and around London then in any major American city except […]
The Florida Squeeze 