Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bob SparksJuly 2, 2015

For all of Charleston, S.C.’s attractiveness, history will always record that the Civil War began there 154 years ago when rebels fired on Fort Sumter. The institution of slavery was the foundation of the conflict. History will also record that on June 17, 2015, a young gunman slaughtered nine good people in a racially motivated […]

Martin DyckmanJune 1, 2015

With all the horrors continuing to occur in the world, notably including the massacres perpetrated by Boko Haram in Africa and ISIS in the Middle East, the evangelist Franklin Graham has not exactly overlooked them. But it’s to some other crisis that he has been devoting most of his public preaching lately. He’s been praying […]

Guest AuthorMay 18, 2015

Anonymity and pseudonymity have been key threads in the fabric of American life since the Colonial era. From arts to politics, from the Revolutionary era-tracts known as Cato’s Letters to the street art of the elusive Banksy, there is a long tradition, respected in practice and protected by the First Amendment, of publishing or distributing […]

Guest AuthorMay 5, 2015

Testing the First Amendment’s limits has always been an important act in ensuring democratic rule in this country. Today, there are very few limits on free speech; the only justification for censorship is protecting national security or preventing violent or dangerous behavior. As a result, we live in a society where almost any words or […]

Martin DyckmanApril 6, 2015

The original Religious Freedom Restoration Act – RFRA for short – was intended to protect faith-based practices from unnecessary government interference. That’s the opposite of trying to use it to justify faith-based discrimination against others. But of course irony and hypocrisy are hardly strangers to politics. Congress enacted RFRA in 1993 in response to the […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 8, 2015

If you need to go to court, do you want the judge wondering, as a politician might, why your lawyer didn’t contribute to her campaign? Or didn’t give enough? That’s the crux of a Florida case to be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20. Yanell Williams-Yulee, a Tampa lawyer, is appealing a […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 8, 2015

If you need to go to court, do you want the judge wondering, as a politician might, why your lawyer didn’t contribute to her campaign? Or didn’t give enough? That’s the crux of a Florida case to be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20. Yanell Williams-Yulee, a Tampa lawyer, is appealing a […]

Guest AuthorNovember 18, 2014

“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” Those sweeping words of the First Amendment are the crown jewels of our Bill of Rights, the equivalent of “Let freedom ring,” the bedrock of our Republic. If Americans cherish anything, it is their constitutional protection to speak their minds. But however […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 9, 2014

De facto, the United States has devolved into a theocracy. Religion — or, more exactly what a relative handful of schemers has perpetrated in the name of religion — has trashed the Constitution. The Founders would be appalled. But, either because they are afraid of burning in hell or, more importantly, not getting or staying […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 2, 2014

Post-primary punditry about low voter turnout in Florida (especially in Democrat-rich Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) is as predictable and prolific as it is paltry. Adding up the numbers, analysts–I use the term loosely–have come to the unremarkable conclusion that Charlie Crist’s chances of defeating Rick Scott are in doubt. Henny Penny’s sky is […]

Tag: First Amendment

Bob Sparks: People have the right to fly the Confederate flag — on private property

Martin Dyckman: Franklin Graham praying for destruction of the U.S. Constitution

R.J. Lehmann: Copyright lobby seeks new hammer to pound free speech in Florida

Steven Kurlander: Dissing Muhammad – Pamela Geller and the deadly art of being a hateful skank

Martin Dyckman: Religious freedom isn't license to discriminate

Martin Dyckman: Will U.S. Supreme Court listen to Florida on campaign financing and judicial integrity?

Martin Dyckman: Will U.S. Supreme Court listen to Florida on campaign financing and judicial integrity?

Stephen Goldstein: Democrats must become better liars than Republicans

Stephen Goldstein: Don’t oppose same-sex marriage in God’s name, or she’ll get even

Stephen Goldstein: Voters aren’t apathetic; They’re sick of political lies