Monthly Archives: April 2020
Claude Kirk: Florida’s Huey Long
In 1966, colforul and flamboyent Claude Kirk became Florida’s first post-Reconstruction Republican Governor while his party surged with increased seats in the legislature. Kirk’s flamboyance and ability the state’s racial backlash allowed him to break Democratic dominance of the state for the first time in a century. The Kirk legacy is covered from head to […]
COVID-19: Florida’s non-diversified economy is in big trouble. What do our readers think should be next?
I’ve recently been hyper-analyzing future airline schedules and have come to a very unfortunate conclusion – major US airlines are looking to ramp up service to a large percentage pre-pandemic levels everywhere in the nation outside of Florida. Part of this is to receive bailout money which comes with strings attached (servicing destinations that might […]
Florida Governors: Key decisions in history
Governor Ron DeSantis has faced a series of tough choices on Coronavirus. In this our 50th episode of The Florida History Podcast we look back at key Gubernatorial crisis decisions of the past. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castro or Pocket Casts. Overcast, Castro, Spotify, Radio Public and Breaker […]
1990: A Walking Legend – The Chiles/MacKay Campaign in film and audio
Below is our Florida Squeeze film on the 1990 Governor’s Race, where the team of Lawton Chiles & Buddy MacKay crushed Bill Nelson in the primary and then incumbent Republican Bob Martinez in the General. Bill Nelson was the leading Democratic contender to take on unpopular incumbent Governor Bob Martinez. Nelson was running in the […]
Florida’s Prohibition era and Rum Runners and Moonshiners of Old Florida
In the latest episode of The Florida History Podcast presented by the Florida Squeeze we discuss the era of prohibition in the state. We look back at the lawlessness and independent streak in the Florida Panhandle as discussed in Rum Runners and Moonshiners of Old Florida as well look at the impact of the prohibition […]
Foundation of Georgia leads to the War of Jenkins Ear for Florida
The following is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming book Albion Florida. The book should be complete later this year. The British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe in 1733 as a buffer state against Spanish Florida. Florida had continued to be a haven for runaway slaves and St Augustine had by this […]
COVID-19 fallout: Why this progressive thinks neoconservatives are needed to help solve the Democrats unprincipled, anti-intellectual and non-ideological drift toward oblivion
I’ve been critical in the past of how easily Trump-era Democrats and its media allies have welcomed Bush-era neoconservatives into the camp with open arms. But the handling of COVID-19 and how messaging has developed in this period has changed my perspectives pretty dramatically. Neoconservative critiques of Trump continue to be spot-on and go directly […]
#Stayathome #quarantinereading suggestions: Pandemic and Climate Change histories in Rome
No nation in history resembles the United States IMO more than Imperial Rome. A vast empire that “Romanized” all it governed from Syria to Egypt to Spain to Greece, Rome was the greatest empire in the history of the planet. Commerce, engineering and science were more advanced at the height of Roman rule than they […]
1992 Hope and Truth – Bill Clinton
Our new Florida Squeeze Documentary on the 1992 campaign which culminated in Bill Clinton’s victory is now available.
Spirit Airlines trims Florida service to a bone during #Coronavirus crisis
South Florida-based Spirit Airlines has temporarily cut domestic service in April to only 28 route pairs, all of which touch the airline’s main bases of Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas/Fort Worth and Orlando. All service to Los Angeles and New York has been temporarily suspended. April Spirit domestic route pairs from Florida is […]
The Florida Squeeze 