Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanJuly 28, 2015

There hasn’t been a presidential candidate as fat-headed, obnoxious and unqualified as Donald Trump. Yet more Republicans seem to favor him than any of the others. That says as much about them as about him. H. L. Mencken, who coined the term “booboisie” for voters with similar tastes, had an explanation for such phenomena. “I […]

Guest AuthorJuly 8, 2015

Much was recently made about President Barack Obama uttering “n—-r” during a Los Angeles interview Discussions on racism in America these days tend to much more visceral than intellectual in nature. The recent killings of churchgoers by a white supremacist in Charleston, S.C., not only shocked Americans, but provided the president, and the left, with […]

Julie DelegalJune 26, 2015

Let there be no doubt: The individual responsible for murdering a church pastor and eight parishioners in Charleston, S.C., is a white supremacist. Stating that fact does not politicize the horror, nor does it diminish our sense of mourning for the people who were lost. To the contrary, getting justice for the victims demands that […]

Julie DelegalJune 24, 2015

The murder of a pastor and eight parishioners in their historic Charleston church this past Wednesday was swiftly answered by law enforcement the next day, when police arrested 21-year-old Dylann Roof. Roof has expressed ideological kinship with the Council of Conservative Citizens, one of numerous hate groups whose poison is available with a few clicks […]

Shannon NickinsonJune 16, 2015

Can we tell your future from your ZIP code? To hear Rick Harper tell it, those five numbers may be the closest thing to a crystal ball that we are likely to get for the moment. Harper, the University of West Florida’s assistant vice president for Economic Development and senior fellow of the Studer Community […]

Ryan RayFebruary 26, 2015

The polygamy of 2012’s Republican presidential primary — where big-money donors hedged their bets as almost every candidate in the field took their turn as the frontrunner — will not be brooked by Jeb Bush in 2016. In fact, according to Michael Barbaro and Maggie Haberman in The New York Times, Jeb’s pitch to donors includes a […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 4, 2014

As if American students don’t already face enough standardized tests, here comes another. Legislatures in eight states are considering adding success on a civics test to the requirements for high school graduation. Florida isn’t one of them, but it can’t be long before test-happy Tallahassee adopts the idea, which surfaced most recently in North Dakota. […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 3, 2014

As if American students don’t already face enough standardized tests, here comes another. Legislatures in eight states are considering adding success on a civics test to the requirements for high school graduation. Florida isn’t one of them, but it can’t be long before test-happy Tallahassee adopts the idea, which surfaced most recently in North Dakota. […]

Martin DyckmanOctober 30, 2014

You’re the victim of a bad business deal, a drunken driver, a home improvement fraud, or a big bad check. So you call your lawyer. Nothing happens. The other guy’s lawyer has gotten to yours. They go partying together and he contributes money to your lawyer’s political campaign fund. If this happened in private life, […]

Guest AuthorAugust 19, 2014

That snarky putdown headlined an opinion piece in The New York Times last week. Written by Pamela Druckerman, a former Miamian transplanted to Paris, where she gained notoriety with a book on the superiority of French mothers, the essay wrote Miami off as a vapid, anti-intellectual backwater. The piece was filled with half-true generalizations based […]

Tag: The New York Times

Martin Dyckman: Does Donald Trump rising portend GOP fall?

Steven Kurlander: Words and flags aside, we are not a racist nation

Julie Delegal: Harvest of Thorns: We won’t be rid of racism until elected leaders stop using it

Julie Delegal: Southern Poverty Law Center keeps tabs on hate groups

Shannon Nickinson: The tough nut of Pensacola’s renewal

Jeb Bush takes no prisoners — or wafflers

Martin Dyckman: Watch for yet another standardized test — this one on civics

Martin Dyckman: Watch for yet another standardized test — this one on civics

Martin Dyckman: Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly has been lobbied out of representing the people of Florida

Doug Clifton: The headline said, ‘Miami Grows Up. A Little’