Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanJune 26, 2014

There are few things worse than a 24-year-old man seeking sex from a 13-year-old girl, or so it would seem. They should lock him up and throw away the key, or so it would seem. But sometimes, things aren’t what they seem. This is about a young man we’ll call by his initials, JFD. His […]

Martin DyckmanJune 19, 2014

In George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm, the pigs who become tyrants of the barnyard declare that although all animals are equal, “some animals are more equal than others.” He was satirizing communism, but the point applies to our democracy as well. Your “equal” vote may be gerrymandered into uselessness. The politician takes calls from […]

Martin DyckmanMay 27, 2014

Now you know — as if there was ever doubt — why the right wing is desperate to take over the Florida Supreme Court. Why there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot to let Gov. Rick Scott pack the court if he is re-elected. The Supreme Court itself illustrated the reasons late Tuesday afternoon when […]

Daniel TilsonMay 21, 2014

Florida is nearing what could be a major step forward on marriage equality. And we have some ugly reminders that the ignorance, prejudice and downright stupidity that plagued us in a dark past, are still alive and unwell today. A ruling is expected soon in a lawsuit filed in Miami District Court in January. Equality […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 26, 2014

North Carolina, the vacation or retirement home for throngs of Floridians, seems to be competing with the Sunshine State for dishonors. The Tarheel state is winning. North Carolina’s legislature has managed to repeal a century of progress in a single session. Its new voter suppression law is among the nation’s most diabolical. In just one […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 14, 2014

As a fourth generation Floridian, I care deeply about protecting our waterways and environment. I believe that Florida has always had the best expertise and resources to determine how to protect our waters, as does each unique state. Under the current administration, the federal Environmental Protection Agency continually seeks expanded authority to trump state regulation. […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 10, 2014

Where is the outrage? The news that University of South Florida anthropologists found 55 bodies buried on the property of the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna prompted the usual anger from former inmates and relatives of boys who died there. But the silence from our state’s legal and political establishment is disconcerting. Attorney General […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 12, 2014

A political cartoon some years ago depicted a couple of men looking out of the National Press Building at a mushroom cloud boiling up over Washington. “How will this affect the Iowa caucuses?” says one. The same sort of journalistic myopia has characterized much of the Jameis Winston saga. The sports pages obsessed with whether […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 2, 2014

If you go by the headlines in some Florida newspapers, you’d think that there’s a wave of hate crimes being committed across the state. “Hate crimes up 22 percent across Florida,” reads the headline from the Florida Times-Union. “Hate crimes rise in Florida,” blares the Orlando Sentinel. Indeed reported hate crimes increased 22.3 percent in 2012 over the prior year, […]

Bob SparksDecember 2, 2013

On Thursday the Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would legalize medical marijuana in this state. Attorney General Pam Bondi and others are asking the court to throw the amendment off the ballot because the title and summary “do not convey the Amendment’s true […]

Tag: Pam bondi
Aerial photo courtesy Jesse Biter.

Martin Dyckman: Did the police entrap student during sex sting?

Martin Dyckman: In Florida, poor people whose woes are of a civil nature are on their own

Martin Dyckman: Right wing is desperate to control Fla. Supreme Court

Daniel Tilson: Ugly reminders on road to Florida marriage equality

Martin Dyckman: Feds should force Florida to restore right to vote to felons

Pam Bondi: Florida joined suit against EPA to limit federal ‘overreach’

Andrew Skerritt: Where is the outrage over the bodies at Marianna?

Martin Dyckman: Authorities responded poorly in Jameis Winston case

Peter Schorsch: Newspapers overplay the increase in Florida hate crimes

Bob Sparks: Medical marijuana issue now front and center