Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorOctober 14, 2015

Many of Florida’s public officials must be enjoying the slow death of the state’s once powerful newspapers. In the 1990s, a skeptical reporter would be asking exasperating questions every time a politician or bureaucrat made a controversial decision. The painful shrinking of Florida’s papers continues, though. Last week Tribune Publishing offered another round of buyouts. […]

Melissa RossOctober 14, 2015

It’s a shocking portrait of the man who formed the modern-day CIA. In “The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, The C.I.A. and the Rise of America’s Secret Government,” author David Talbot, the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times bestseller “Brothers,” makes perhaps the most compelling case yet that Allen Dulles was linked to JFK’s assassination Nov. […]

Mitch PerryOctober 14, 2015

Good morning from the Motel 6 on Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee. OK, let’s get right into discussing Tuesday night’s Democratic rumble in Las Vegas. Experience matters. Although it’s been more than seven years since she last engaged in a presidential debate, Hillary Clinton did battle it out with Barack Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden and […]

Guest AuthorOctober 13, 2015

As the 21st century finds its rhythm, and the 2016 presidential contest begins to take up most of our public space, it seems clear to me that we have two political parties in the United States, but they are both thoroughly Hamiltonian. We have what might be called the “greater Hamiltonian Party” and the “lesser […]

Sally SwartzOctober 13, 2015

A retired licensed practical nurse, who recently spent a week as a patient at Martin Medical Center in Stuart, confirms that I’m not the only one who’s noticed the hospital is dirty — really dirty. It could use a housekeeper like Downton Abbey’s Mrs. Hughes to oversee its cleaning staff. Two years ago, I complained […]

Shannon NickinsonOctober 13, 2015

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that poor children benefited from the academic boost that the state voluntary prekindergarten program gave them. But the benefit didn’t last when they moved through elementary school. The researchers who conducted the five-year $6 million study had conclusions about why poor kids who got a boost from VPK didn’t […]

Guest AuthorOctober 13, 2015

The Holocaust must never be forgotten. “For the dead and the living we must bear witness,” said Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel. Fewer and fewer survivors are left to tell the story. Now the children and grandchildren who heard their accounts directly from them must leave a permanent memorial, not simply for the survivors, […]

Guest AuthorOctober 13, 2015

At the annual black bear festival near Central Florida’s Ocala National Forest, there’s a children’s activity called “Come be a bear.” Kids put on little black bear costumes and learn what Florida bears do in their forest homes. No one, though, would want to “Come be a bear” in Florida this fall, thanks to the […]

Guest AuthorOctober 13, 2015

Wars never end. The bullets may stop but the hatreds continue. Any family that’s lost a son, daughter, wife or husband will never end their anguish or forget those responsible for their loss. Both sides remember. That’s why the march to war must be carefully considered with all alternatives on the table. Such was not […]

Mitch PerryOctober 13, 2015

So, after the Republicans (led by Donald Trump) have seized the country’s attention with their presidential contest so far in 2015, the five Democrats (sans Joe Biden) running for president get their shot in a two-hour debate from Las Vegas on CNN at 9 p.m. Eastern. There will be some intriguing things to watch for – […]

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Border Patrol personnel deploy tear gas during a demonstration over the dozens detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities a day earlier, in Paramount, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Tom O’Hara: Floridians lose when struggling newspapers reduce staff

“The Devil’s Chessboard” draws CIA connection to JFK assassination

Mitch Perry Report for 10.14.15 – Hilliary Clinton says she’s a progressive who can win

Clay S. Jenkinson: Restoring the American republic, beginning in Tallahassee

Sally Swartz: In this case, hospital clean is filthy

Shannon Nickinson: Kids need more than pre-K to overcome poverty's obstacles

Steve Uhlfelder: Permanent Holocaust memorial needed in Florida’s Capitol

Kate MacFall: State’s bear hunt plans defy facts, logic

Dr. Marc J. Yacht: Continuing hatreds embody true cost of war

Mitch Perry Report for 10.13.15 – Martin O’Malley’s moment?