It’s no secret that the lunatics have already overtaken the asylum known as the White House. Nor should it come as any surprise that there would be a learning curve for a sociopath sporting a curriculum vitae that smells of cheap musk and oppression. Nor, we should note, is it any surprise that Democrats pulled an all-nighter to attempt to block President Donald Trump’s appointment of a novice with a terribly rich pedigree to the highest public education post in the United States, because his cabinet already reads like a punch line from the back of a Scooby Doo van.
And this is just after the first three weeks. In short, Trump has unleashed the corner dwellers and given them permission – whether in suit-and-tie or jean shorts – to go to town on all of the beliefs we hold sacred.
But to come into Florida’s bedraggled borders and to pull the terrorism card is just plain tasteless.
“ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland, as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino and all across Europe,” Trump trumpeted at a Feb. 6 appearance in Tampa at the MacDill Air Force Base.
Even worse, though – if there is indeed a worse – is the subsequent release from his administration of a list of 78 “terrorist” attacks that Trump deemed “underreported” – as if we should be surprised, among that list was the mass murder of 49 people in Orlando and the 53 others who were injured on June 12, 2016.
I’m going to break code here for a minute and speak to this so-called underreporting, considering that myself and other Watermark staffers – not to mention city and county officials, representatives of the federal government, victims, families of victims, police, hospital officials and media across the world – were there on that Sunday morning after and the weeks and months that followed, keeping this story alive on national television, global networks, in print and online, because we couldn’t keep our family and friends alive. It was the least we could do. And it is, even with traumatized sensibilities, that we remain vigilant in reporting this story and keeping the memory of the 49 present, important.
If the mission of this administration is absolute intimidation and reckless lies to which you assign your political machinations, then don’t count on it, Trump. Just because Kellyanne Conway could come on TV and create a Bowling Green Massacre out of her lying face – ostensibly the reason for these ridiculous comments and that list – that doesn’t mean that you get a pass. Your lies only make us stronger, better, smarter. And this revolution will be televised.
For the governor
Everybody’s favorite billboard Santa and personal injury attorney John Morgan has been making some noise of late. That particular foghorn (leghorn!) tone has been an apparent set-up for Morgan to get himself in line to replace Gov. Rick Scott in November, of course. Morgan, who is very wealthy, played a huge part in Gov. Charlie Crist’s gubernatorial and congressional campaigns. Morgan, who is based in Orlando, most recently went on a “talking tour” across the state, because Morgan talks quite a bit. He also generally speaks the truth.
Among the ideas being floated is a minimum-wage increase. As the Tampa Bay Times acknowledges, this initiative could be a sticky wicket for the Florida business lobby. The governor is already trying to fight a living wage ordinance in South Florida. Business interests will have to cough up their potential donations to fight Morgan while Scott pushes his snake-oil to U.S. Senate voters.
The seventh sign
Reverberations from President Donald Trump’s ambitious – and presently “stopped” – immigration ban on people from seven countries he is not currently doing business with are popping up everywhere: from airports to political offices. On Feb. 6, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, nearly 50 people showed up at the Sarasota office of Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan.
Naturally, Buchanan wasn’t present – he was en route to Washington, D.C. – but a spokesman was at the ready to ignore a 12-minute presentation by activists. The activists, however, weren’t buying the fear mongering presented by Buchanan’s press secretary, who said, “Vern’s highest priority is protecting Americans. That’s why we need to enforce federal immigration laws, and ensure we aren’t opening our borders to individuals who want to harm Americans.”
“We need to stop looking at refugees as a political issue and start looking at them as fellow human beings,” one told the paper. Indeed.
Resistance silenced
The city of Ft. Lauderdale is a lot of things, but apparently having tolerance toward public opinion – no matter from whom it comes – is not one of them. For the past few years, a battle has been brewing between a gay homeless man and the city’s commission. At 63, Ray Cox is likely what you would expect from somebody who lives on the streets and wants life to be better. He antagonizes the city council dais regularly, something that has earned him a trespassing arrest dating back to 2015. Mayor Jack Seiler led the charge against Cox, who, it was suggested, would make meetings last too long. He had an incident with police officer, for which he apologized, but was still forced into a court appearance in January.
On Jan. 18, Cox accepted a plea deal of relative silence – he would not show up for any public hearings for one year – while the mayor went ahead with his move to limit public input in public hearings for the sake of expediency. This is what democracy looks like.
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