Monthly Archives: February 2017
Advocacy, fandom and the failure of objective journalism
Never has the media been more under the gun or scrutinized than today – the proliferation of advocacy blogs (like this one) as well as social media combined with the obsessive nature of 24-hour cable news channels has made media watchers and critics of us all. But it’s also turned us into cheerleaders and advocates […]
What we are reading: Rubio on skipping town halls: Activists will ‘heckle and scream at me
From Politico’s Marc Caputo, Senator Marco Rubio is unsurprisingly skipping doing town halls. In fairness, Rubio has been more accessible than most Florida-based GOP officeholders in the past but his failed Presidential campaign and the advent of the Trump era seems to have weakened his willingness to face his constituents.
Florida history made: Three Florida schools in Men’s Basketball AP Top 25 for the first time ever
Florida history was made earlier today as Florida, Florida State and Miami were all ranked in the AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball poll. It’s the first time in history all three schools have been ranked in the top 25 in the same week. Florida and Florida State have spent most of the season ranked while […]
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies hit Florida 1948-1955
One of my more out-of-the-box interests is in the “golden age” of American animation which lasted from the late 1920’s until the late 1960’s. Of particular focus for me in this hobby is a borderline obsession with Warner Brothers Cartoons of the period. I’m working on a list of my favorite 50 Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies […]
The Mackle Brothers – makers of modern Florida?
Florida’s growth spurt after World War II, which really intensified in the 1960’s and 1970’s transformed the state from sleepy backwater to largely urbanized mega-state. Elliot, Robert and Frank Mackle and the General Development Corporation are often forgotten today for whatever reason, but before Walt Disney seriously contemplated placing an amusement park in the state the […]
Marc Caputo tweet nails it – Florida Democrats should understand
I’ve joked for years that we have two political parties in Florida – the Republicans in power and those seeking power. Florida’s Democrats painful as it might sound have long been completely irrelevant in terms of political power in state government. On Wednesday, Politico’s Marc Caputo tweeted something that is spot on, yet difficult for […]
What we are reading and watching: Richard Nixon and George Wallace instruct us about Trump
The first forty days of the Trump Presidency may seem like the apocalypse for some younger liberal activists but we’ve been here before – and it’s been much worse believe it or not. The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics was a book recommended […]
Poll: Democratic dynasties – Clinton’s and Obama’s in 2020?
It’s no secret the Democrats lack a deep bench of Presidential hopefuls or even younger fresher-faced leaders at all levels nationally. With this in mind and the dynastic nature of American politics which has just gotten stronger over the last 50 years, would you favor an outside-the-box Chelsea Clinton or Michelle Obama candidacy in […]
A brief history of political racism in Florida
Yesterday we discussed the parallels in antisemitic rhetoric between President Trump and President Nixon. Since so much has been made of President Trump’s purported racism, a political history here in Florida is in order. At least a twentieth century history. In 1916, Sidney Catts was elected Governor of Florida after being denied the Democratic nomination in […]
Trump’s Nixonian populist antisemitism is an old playbook page
Donald Trump personally is not antisemitic we are told over and over again. I accept that as a statement of fact – but George Wallace wasn’t a racist personally and yet he conjured up racist anger not just in Alabama but eventually throughout the nation. The result of Wallace’s rhetoric was violence and disharmony, and […]
The Florida Squeeze 