Martin Dyckman, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanJanuary 13, 2016

Nothing else that government does costs as much as the death penalty in order to accomplish so little. This ought to concern even the most conservative legislators as they cope with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision Tuesday, in Hurst v. Florida, that the state’s capital sentencing process is unconstitutional. The choice now is to […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 5, 2016

Legislation calling on Florida to once again elect a state education commissioner strikes me as the wrong solution to a real problem. There are plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with the state of education in the Sunshine State but none is enough, in my opinion, to enlarge the Cabinet and dilute the responsibility of […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 4, 2016

Legislation calling on Florida to once again elect an education commissioner strikes me as the wrong solution to a real problem. There are plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with the state of education in the Sunshine State but none is enough, in my opinion, to enlarge the Cabinet and dilute the responsibility of the […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 30, 2015

Florida had been a state for less than a century when it came time to honor famous citizens with two statues at the U.S. Capitol, and there were few plausible candidates. Dr. John Gorrie, the physician who invented mechanical refrigeration – imagine modern Florida without it – was an outstanding choice. But from today’s perspective, […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 29, 2015

Florida had been a state for less than a century when it came time to honor famous citizens with two statues at the U.S. Capitol, and there were few plausible candidates. Dr. John Gorrie, the physician who invented mechanical refrigeration – imagine modern Florida without it – was an outstanding choice. But from today’s perspective, […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 23, 2015

Academe would be a dreary place without its occasional kooky professor, but James Tracy of Florida Atlantic University is simply too much. Hired to teach about conspiracy theories, he digressed into peddling his own, beginning with the claim that the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre three years ago was a hoax by the media and by the […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 15, 2015

Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany amidst the anguish of the Great Depression and street violence between his Nazis and the Communists. Upon being appointed chancellor, he had his henchmen burn down the Reichstag building as a pretext to blame the Reds, arrest their representatives in Parliament, and enact a law giving him dictatorial […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 4, 2015

“Another day in the United States of America. Another day of gunfire, panic and fear. This time in the city of San Bernardino in California, where a civic building was apparently under attack.” That is the voice, tinged with sorrow and shock, of a BBC reporter describing yet another day in America. Just another day […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 3, 2015

John Kasich has taken heat for a web ad that subtly compares Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Narrated by a former Vietnam POW, retired Air Force Col. Tom Moe, it paraphrases German pastor Martin Niemoller’s famous statement of regret that he did not speak up for the tyrant’s victims until he became one “and there […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 3, 2015

“Another day in the United States of America. Another day of gunfire, panic and fear. This time in the city of San Bernardino in California, where a civic building was apparently under attack.” That is the voice, tinged with sorrow and shock, of a BBC reporter describing yet another day in America. Just another day […]

Martin Dyckman

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court ruling should prompt Legislature to abolish death penalty

Martin Dyckman: Restoring elected education commissioner won’t fix schools

Martin Dyckman: Restoring elected education commissioner won’t fix schools

Many Floridians of note deserve U.S. Capitol honor

Martin Dyckman: Many Floridians of note deserve U.S. Capitol honor

Martin Dyckman: The kooky, the clueless, and the crooked

Martin Dyckman: Our most serious threat is homegrown

Martin Dyckman: Insanity fueled by fraud keeps on killing

Martin Dyckman: As rhetoric descends, up pops evil

Martin Dyckman: Insanity fueled by fraud keeps on killing