Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Julie DelegalDecember 7, 2014

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, something obscene happened in Jacksonville. The indecency I’m talking about didn’t have anything to do with the photography exhibit at Jacksonville’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). A nude photograph of a relaxed pregnant woman enjoying the sunbeams caught the attention of Jacksonville City Councilman Clay Yarborough, who deemed it pornographic […]

Martin DyckmanNovember 30, 2014

Many years ago, a Union County jury spared the life of an inmate who had killed the Florida State Prison’s deputy warden during an escape attempt. Raiford was the governmental version of a company town, so how did the killer get second-degree murder instead of a ticket to the electric chair? The reason, as an […]

Marc YachtNovember 25, 2014

As an old movie buff, I seek out good science fiction. There are a number of movies that capture the current atmosphere in America and that mood is dark. Quickly coming to mind are “Roller Ball,” “Escape from New York,” “V for Vendetta,” and the very recent series, “The Hunger Games.” There are other movies […]

Julie DelegalOctober 26, 2014

Ferguson. Sanford. Tallahassee. What do these three cities have in common? It’s not what you might think. It has nothing to do with perceived arch-villains such as Darren Wilson, George Zimmerman, or Jameis Winston. I don’t believe in arch-villains. I do believe, though, in the predictability of human nature. Sometimes, human beings behave badly. And […]

Guest AuthorOctober 14, 2014

Historically, Florida has been a hellish place to live for black men. But don’t take my word for it: look up the Groveland Boys. The state may be turning a corner. Here’s why some optimism is warranted: Last week, a jury in Jacksonville concluded that it is not OK to kill a black male merely […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 3, 2014

Does our president really play too much golf these days. That’s the question being debated lately after questions were raised about President Obama’s commitment toward dealing with foreign policy problems in the Middle East and the Ukraine and racial tensions in Ferguson, Mo. Obama was accused of being out of bounds for hitting the links […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 2, 2014

Seeing a number of young black men in my English composition class this week, I was reminded that when Michael Brown died so did his dream of attending Vatterott College. His seat in the Class of 2018 will forever remain vacant. Since the recent high school graduate was shot by a Ferguson, Mo. police officer, […]

Daniel TilsonAugust 25, 2014

Here in August 2014, 50 years after the historic “Mississippi Summer of 1964” helped propel America forward in search of Civil Rights progress, I’m literally brought to tears by what has happened in Ferguson, Mo. They’re tears of both grief and rage, just like they were 50 years ago. My first cousin Karen (now a […]

Guest AuthorAugust 24, 2014

Florida was lucky that Trayvon Martin’s killing in Sanford in February 2012 did not trigger a riot. But if we consider the anatomy of a riot, we’ll know that it wasn’t simply dumb luck — but the absence of destructive forces. First, the entire country, both black and white, grieved for Trayvon. Apart from some loony […]

Guest AuthorAugust 19, 2014

Ferguson is Florida redux. In Miami, in 1980, after four white police officers were acquitted by an all-male, all-white jury of killing Arthur McDuffie, an African-American, some of the worst race riots in America occurred. The violence that erupted went beyond the perceived injustice of the verdict and the particulars of the incident. (At trial, […]

Tag: Ferguson

Julie Delegal: The REAL obscenity: GOP leaders should know it when they see it

Martin Dyckman: Ferguson prosecutor should have recused himself because of his police ties

Marc Yacht: Ferguson trouble represents a much larger problem

Julie Delegal: Police make serious mistakes when they impose their own justice

Chris Timmons: Jacksonville verdict, Ocala council decision are cause for hope

Steve Kurlander: We should encourage Obama to play more golf, not less

Andrew Skerritt: Who takes Michael Brown’s vacant seat in college?

Daniel Tilson: Ferguson shows how far we’ve come — in wrong direction

Rachel Patron: Ferguson, Missouri: The anatomy of a riot

Stephen Goldstein: Will Florida be another Ferguson?