Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce: Newsletter

Are Democrats stealing ‘America First’?

Axios points out that Democrats are increasingly using the “America First” slogan for their own campaigns. With Trump breaking faith with the G.O.P. over his illegal war of choice in Iran, Dems are seizing the opportunity to turn that back on Republicans.

California Rep. Ro Khanna, weighing a possible presidential campaign, said that it was time to “put America first” when he reintroduced a bill to ban gas exports during periods of high gas prices.

Abdul El-Sayed, a Senate candidate in Michigan, told Axios: “I’m the most America First candidate in the country, proudly. When you keep our money here rather than sending it to some other country’s war machine, that’s America First.”

Dan Osborn, running for Senate in Nebraska as an independent against the Republican incumbent, wrote: "We need to be putting America first, not Israel first."

My opinion: This is smart. Democrats have for too long allowed Republicans to get away with wrapping themselves in the flag, calling their supporters “patriots” as if that makes them different from other Americans. Time to take back the flag and use it.

James Fishback stays on ballot

A judge has rejected a lawsuit seeking to remove Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback from the August ballot over residency requirements.

It was filed by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who is also running in the primary. Both men significantly trail frontrunner U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples.

A candidate must have lived in the state for seven consecutive years to run for governor, and records show that within the past few years, Fishback bought a home and lived in Washington, D.C.

But despite making that his “primary home,” he never abandoned his Florida residency, Fishback claimed, and Circuit Judge David Frank of Tallahassee bought his argument.

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Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk. To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

Currently, Tropic Press is reaching more than 700,000 subscribers in Florida and elsewhere, which is great, but there are literally millions of Florida Democrats and independents we are not reaching yet.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Today’s sponsor: The Strange Files

Alexander Strange wants to get to Florida in the worst way. So, he arrives in a coffin. Chilling in its own right but made more so by the prediction of a New Orleans soothsayer that he soon will face death. Little does he know how true that will be. But he’ll find out soon enough at the Devil’s Millhopper.

Book Two of the Strange Files series takes our favorite weird news reporter on a bizarre scavenger hunt all over the Gunshine State. Join him in his journey here:

Tropic Press Books

Trump, thwarted by lower courts, appeals to the Supremes to allow him to block mail ballots

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 22:10:39 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Donald Trump, who votes by mail, hates vote-by-mail and wants to do away with it.

He hates it because mail-in voting allows more people to vote, and he correctly figures that the more people voting, the less likely things will go his way. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time, after all, so his plan is to make it harder for disbelievers to cast their ballots.

He drapes all this in the mantra of election security, but that’s nonsense. But the owner of Truth Social has never let the truth get in the way.

Now he wants the U.S. Supreme Court to give him a pass to take over elections.

He wants to enforce an executive order that will have the effect of curtailing mail-in voting nationwide.

Presidents have no authority to do that. Voting is the exclusive province of the states. And even if voting procedures were to be federalized, the president—let’s be clear about this even if it upsets Trump—is not a king.

One federal judge has already told him no.

And a federal appeals court has already told him no.

Trump doesn’t like that word, no. So today, Trump asked the Supreme Court to overrule the lower courts and, fundamentally, make him the election czar.

As CNN reports:

Trump’s order would give the US Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security new roles in screening state voter rolls for potential non-citizen voters.
Signed in March, the president’s directive would require states to submit lists of eligible mail voters to the US Postal Service, which would be barred from sending ballots to anyone not on those lists. It would also require states to use individualized ballot tracking barcodes on ballot envelopes. And it would “prioritize” federal prosecution of state election officials who send or receive ballots to non-citizens or others ineligible to vote.

Here’s what the National Vote at Home Institute has to say about all this:

“In 2024, roughly 30 percent of voters voted by mail, and in 2020—at the height of the pandemic—43 percent of voters mailed in their ballots. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) called that election “the most secure in American history.”

“A large majority of Americans support the right to vote by mail, according to the Pew Research Center, and 34 states currently allow vote by mail for any reason. Nine states—Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, California, and the District of Columbia – have instituted “universal vote at home” where everyone automatically gets a ballot mailed to them at home. This convenience means better turnout—a boon for democracy regardless of the result.

“And as for Trump’s claims of fraud? Even the Heritage Foundation can’t find any. Its “database” of election fraud lists just 138 total cases nationwide, virtually none of them involving mail-in ballots. Government watchdogs called the 2020 election—despite the widespread use of mail-in ballots—“the most secure in American history.”

“Trump’s efforts to end vote-by-mail are an extension of his efforts to control the nation’s elections apparatus in advance of the 2026 midterms and to tilt the system in his favor. And if he succeeds, he could disenfranchise the millions of Americans— including seniors and people with disabilities—who depend on vote by mail to participate in elections.”

Read More:

Why Does Trump Hate Vote-By-Mail?

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Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk. To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Florida leans less Republican for the moment

WEEKLY WRAP: As Iran war drags on, Bibi's on his way to the White House; Zelenskyy, too

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 10:02:43 GMT

The Week Ahead

The leaders of two war-torn regions will be traveling to Washington this coming week to meet — separately, we are told — with President Donald Trump, the White House has announced.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with the president on Tuesday to discuss reviving stalled diplomatic talks with Russia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu will also have a confab with Trump on Tuesday, the first time the two of them have met in person since Trump invited Netanyahu to the Situation Room back in February to pitch the idea of going to war with Iran.

And we all know how well that went.

Expect headlines from both of these gatherings. Photo ops, too, as both Zelenskyy and Netanyahu plan to attend a memorial service for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — all on the same day.

That Was The Week That Was

Larry Sabato, the highly regarded prognosticator of political fortunes at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, has a fascinating update for the Sunshine State.

He’s moved the Florida gubernatorial race from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican.”

Why? Because polling suggests that the race is narrowing to single digits.

On August 18, Florida voters will cast their ballots in the Florida primary election, but the likely candidates for governor are already well known.

The frontrunner for the G.O.P. is U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples, a staunch Trump supporter who has won the president’s endorsement.

The almost certain Democratic nominee will be David Jolly, also a former congressman and a Republican-turned-Democrat.

The most recent poll from the University of North Florida shows Donalds ahead by a mere 5 points over Jolly, while the liberal-leaning Change Research poll shows Jolly ahead by 6 points.

The same Crystal Ball report also shows the gubernatorial races in two other states moving toward the Democratic candidates, as you can see in the chart above. Here’s the national outlook:

Is Fishback even qualified?

While Byron Donalds is the clear frontrunner based on polling that shows him well ahead of his nearest Republican rivals in the governor’s race, there are, in fact, other candidates.

You’ll note a hilarious social media meme later in this report from one of those candidates, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who notes that while he was enlisting in the Army, Donalds was busy getting arrested.

Collins has also filed a lawsuit against another rival, James Fishback, who admitted in court last week that within the past seven years he lived in Washington, D.C., and voted there. Florida law requires candidates for governor to have lived in the state for seven years.

The outcome of that suit could determine Fishback’s eligibility to be on the ballot.

Here’s the story from the Orlando Sentinel (it may require a subscription to read), but now you know the gist of it.

BTW, there is no runoff election in Florida’s primary. Donalds’ own internal polling shows him with 53% of the Republican vote. Even if he dropped below 50%, but still had the lead, he’d win.

Crist tries for a comeback

As Politico reported last week, “Charlie Crist has been a U.S. House member, governor, state attorney general, education commissioner and state senator. He has also lost some pretty big races in Florida — including the most recent, his nearly 20-point defeat to Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022. Now he’s looking for another political reset of sorts, asking voters to elect him as the next mayor of St. Petersburg.”

Crist is a Democrat now, but he’s been all over the map when it comes to party affiliations. He’s also been a Republican and an independent.

Guy just can’t stop running for office. Any office, it seems. If he doesn’t win the mayor’s race, I guess we could look forward to his campaign for the Mosquito Board. Or something.

Here’s the full report:

Politico Florida Playbook

Should all voters get to vote in Florida’s primaries?

Last week, we posed this question to Tropic Press readers. Under current Florida law, voters registered as having No Party Affiliation are barred from voting in the major political party primary elections. Here are the results:

While Trump obsesses about his ballroom, Americans worry about the cost of living

Meme of the Week

The Republicans are fighting…

Quote of the Week

“Secretary Hegseth, despite your failure to win this war, you are back now before Congress asking for almost $70 billion in additional funding. You’re asking the American people for a blank check, because once again, the Trump administration’s efforts have been an utter and complete failure to win this war to this point.”

—Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Letters of the Week

Fear is the driving force behind the climate change deniers and the MAGAS. They are so afraid of what is happening that they go all in denying that there are serious threats to our survival as a species and as a democracy in this country. They can’t handle the scientific truths and obvious dismantling of our constitution so they refuse to acknowledge it. Denial is a very powerful defense mechanism when faced with facts that are frightening and or threatening. As a result they seek reassurance from leaders that assuage their fears with the reality that makes them feel safe. My experience has been that the less educated the person is the more they are in denial.

—Eileen Hoffman

Whoever said “you can’t fix stupid” seems to have predicted the end of the human race and most of the rest of the planet. Between climate change and AI both appear to be accelerating us towards Armageddon. The only hope is that perhaps AI might stop us first in a self preservation move. Reading this week’s news about AI “breaking out and hacking another company’s system alerts me to how little we really know about what is happening behind the curtain that the Wizard of OZ hides behind.

—Alan Margulies

Looking Ahead

When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead.

July 27. Today is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day. Conveniently, it’s also Take Your Pants for a Walk Day. Wearing pants while walking with a shrub is probably better than not.

July 28. Buffalo Soldiers Day celebrates the creation of the first peacetime all-Black Army regiment in 1866. Legend has it they got their nickname from Cheyenne and Comanche warriors who likened the soldiers’ fierce fighting spirit and dark, curly hair to the revered American bison. They trained with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in Tampa before heading to Cuba and the charge up San Juan Hill.

July 29. Thunder Moon. It’s July’s full moon, so named because summer—especially here in Florida—brings frequent thunderstorms.

July 30. Paperback Book Day. Take a break from your Kindle or Nook and hold a real book printed on actual paper in your hands. Here’s where you can get some excellent reading material:

The Strange Files

July 31. Spider-Man: Brand New Day: The highly anticipated Marvel blockbuster starring Tom Holland hits theaters worldwide.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

DeSantis drained the state’s emergency funds for Alligator Alcatraz and other boondoggles

‘An Inconvenient Truth’ 20 years later: Inconveniently, too many people still in denial

Major statewide races tighten up as the countdown to the primary election begins

Florida Democrats can win in November because the state is ‘ready for something better’

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk. To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsor…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. I’ll be on the show Monday at 8:15 a.m. Check it out here:

While Trump obsesses about his ballroom, Americans worry about the cost of living

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:02:10 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

While the economy tops voters’ concerns in public opinion polls, Donald Trump seems more fixated on building a magnificent ballroom, remodeling the capital’s Reflecting Pool, and constructing a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

There seems to be a disconnect here between what the country is worried about and what our commander-in-chief spends his time on.

And a majority of people don’t like it, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll released this week.

More than 2,600 people were asked about Trump’s obsessions and how they feel about them. Respondents were asked if they were “Enthusiastic,” “Satisfied,” “Dissatisfied,” or “Upset.”

This will not come as a shock:

Two out of three Americans are either dissatisfied or upset with the president, mirroring overall job approval ratings, which show that 61 percent of Americans give him a thumbs down.

Also unsurprising:

Republicans score Trump higher than Democrats. That said, while nearly 7 in 10 members of the G.O.P. approve of Trump’s vanity projects, 9 out of 10 Democrats do not, reflecting a far more passionate negative reaction.

Maybe a little surprising:

Among Republicans, interestingly, poll respondents identifying themselves as “MAGA” were far less critical than party members overall. While only 11% of MAGA Republicans expressed dissatisfaction, 31 percent of Republicans overall are unhappy. That level of G.O.P. dissent surprised me a little, I confess, seeing as how Republicans usually march in lockstep to Trump’s bidding.

Of course, not everyone polled identifies as a member of either political party, as the number of independent voters has continued to grow. (In Florida, for instance, nearly 25% of voters have no party affiliation.) Among independents in the Post/Ipsos poll, 73% view Trump’s pet projects negatively.

(There’s a link below to the Post’s coverage.)

Thinking about some of Florida’s headline election races, this disdain for Trump’s pet projects should cause some Republican candidates a little heartburn.

For instance, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples, who is running in the Aug. 18 primary for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is heavily dependent on Trump’s coattails for his lead in the polls and fundraising. He owes his standing almost entirely to Trump’s endorsement.

Similarly, Ashley Moody, appointed to fill former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s Senate seat, will face aggressive competition in November from one of two Democratic primary frontrunners—Alex Vindman or Angie Nixon. Moody’s claim to fame hinges on being an obedient Trump sycophant.

Trump in the dumps is not the best news for either candidate.

Meanwhile, according to Gallup polls, ballrooms and arches and reflecting pools are not voters’ top concerns.

Topping the list, to no surprise, are the economy and the cost of living, including gasoline prices, corporate corruption, the trade deficit, and wages.

When asked about non-economic problems, the number one item on a long list was “the government and poor leadership.”

This is just one person’s opinion, of course, but I think it would be fair to say that when the people who voted you into office think you should be paying more attention to the cost of living than gold-plated ballrooms, that could qualify as “poor leadership.”

Gallup: Most important problem

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Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk. To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsors and contributors…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Check it out here:

'An Inconvenient Truth' 20 years later: Inconveniently, too many people still in denial

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:02:36 GMT

Al Gore

By J.C. Bruce

It’s been 20 years since former Vice President Al Gore’s global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, captured the public’s attention with its message about the perils of man-made climate change.

Unfortunately, there’s a difference between “capturing the public’s attention” and actually persuading people to learn.

This comes to mind as a result of an article in The Guardian this week in which a public opinion survey shows a majority of American voters now believe that extreme weather is increasing and that climate change is the cause. And nearly half of all Republicans now say climate change worsens heatwaves.

At first blush, when I read that, I was elated. Finally! People get it, I thought.

However, on closer examination, the root problem hasn’t changed much in the two decades since Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary was released.

While there now does seem to be more acceptance that a warmer climate and extreme weather are linked, a depressing number of people have yet to connect the dots between pollution and why our atmosphere is heating up—that it is caused by man-made activity.

Gore even hinted at why this would be such a challenge during An Inconvenient Truth, which I just rewatched, by quoting Mark Twain:

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

It’s hard to get people to change their beliefs, especially when they are continually spoon-fed misinformation (witness the number of election deniers who still believe Donald Trump was cheated out of the 2020 election).

And Trump, of course, is one of the cheerleaders denying global warming, calling climate change a “con job” and a “hoax.”

I do take some small comfort, at least, in that more people now recognize that extreme weather is increasing. Here are a couple of graphics that show the results from the polling firm Data for Progress, which were shared exclusively with The Guardian:

But recognizing the obvious—yes, it is hotter; yes, the weather seems more extreme lately—is not, sadly, the same as grokking that there’s a connection to human activity—that it is man-made air pollution that makes it harder for heat to leave the atmosphere.

The Pew Research Center has been tracking this for the past two decades, and here’s what their research shows about the public’s attitude:

… Democrats and Republicans have grown further apart in their views, eroding areas of common ground between the parties…
Consider climate change. In 2009, Democrats were already 36 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say climate change is a major threat to the U.S. (61% vs. 25%). But by 2022, that partisan gap had grown to 55 points: 78% of Democrats, but just 23% of Republicans, considered climate change a major threat.
Globally, people in many advanced economies tend to have similar levels of concern to U.S. Democrats. A median of 75% of adults across 19 countries we surveyed in 2022 said climate change is a major threat to their country.

The Guardian spoke to Jennifer Marlon, a senior research scientist at Yale who studies climate communications. She noted:

“This is probably the biggest misconception out there – many Americans still think the warming is due to some kind of natural cycle. But it isn’t…a spring survey from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found 27% of people think that the changes are mostly natural.”

When your president is calling it a hoax and warning that windmills cause cancer, and that coal is “clean and beautiful,” and that scientists are “stupid people,” it isn’t surprising—just sad—that so many Americans still have blinders on.

It’s also dangerous.

As Gore noted on the 20th anniversary of his film:

"It really is insane that we are continuing to use the sky as an open sewer and we're trapping so much heat every day it's equal to the amount that would be released by 800,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding every day on the Earth."

That certainly sounds like it leads to something far worse than mere inconvenience.

‘Scientists were dead right’: Al Gore says on 20th anniversary of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’

How U.S. Public Opinion Has Changed in 20 Years of Our Surveys

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk. To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsors and contributors…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Check it out here:

Support independent journalism. Consider subscribing here:

The Guardian

Major statewide races tighten up as the countdown to the primary election begins

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:01:33 GMT

Jolly and Donalds

By J.C. Bruce

In less than a month, Florida voters will put the finishing touches on who will be on the midterm election ballots in November.

The August 18 primary will almost certainly be a coronation of David Jolly as the Democratic candidate for governor, and Byron Donalds as the Republican nominee.

And new poll numbers show the race surprisingly close, although much can change between now and the Nov. 3 general election.

According to a University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab survey, Donalds only leads Jolly by five points, 46% to 41%, with the remainder undecided or going to other candidates. Which is interesting considering the lopsided margin by which Republicans lead Democrats in the state.

As you can see from the graphic below, there are fully 1.5 million more Republicans than Democrats. That’s a 58% to 42% advantage among the pool of voters registered to the two major parties.

So, why is the Donalds/Jolly margin so much narrower?

Clearly, it’s the influence of Republican voters crossing over, and voters who have either no party affiliation or who are registered to minor political parties. They are leaning against the Republican candidate.

Donalds’ popularity is largely driven by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, but that is a two-edged sword. Candidates running on Trump’s coattails are also enduring Trump’s plummeting popularity in the polls, where barely 37 percent of voters approve of his performance.

If you’re a Democrat like Jolly, this is a cause for optimism.

Similarly, in the other highest-profile statewide race, polling shows a surprisingly tight contest for the U.S. Senate.

Currently, Florida’s Senate seat up for grabs in November does not have an elected incumbent. Former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody was appointed to the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis when Marco Rubio resigned to become Secretary of State.

Moody will face either Alex Vindman, the former Army officer and whistleblower who provided evidence for Trump’s first impeachment, or Angie Nixon, a state representative from Jacksonville.

Both Vindman and Nixon are running close to Moody. In possible matchups, Moody leads Nixon by 8 points and Vindman by 10.

That said, support in the polls for either Nixon or Vindman may be somewhat diluted because of their primary election competition. The question is: Will the victorious primary candidate in this tight race be able to rally the support of Democrats who may have voted for his or her opponent?

Seem likely, which also makes it seem plausible that the winner of the Aug. 18 primary may find they are able to close that gap with Moody even more.

This makes the Nixon/Vindman the most interesting statewide primary race to watch next month. Vindman is vastly outraising Nixon in campaign donations, $16.7 million to $625,000.

“These races are notably closer than we’ve seen in recent election cycles, somewhat unsurprising given that the party that controls the presidency usually struggles in midterm elections,” said the poll’s faculty director, Sean Freeder.

“Despite very different ideological approaches, the two Democratic Senate candidates do about as well as one another, suggesting the party’s internal debate over whether to move left or stay centrist may not much affect the behavior of voters, or at least that they aren’t paying attention yet.”

Getting voters’ attention is where that edge in fundraising could play to Vindman’s advantage.

And about that property tax proposal…

The pollsters also asked respondents how they felt about Amendment 3, which will be on the November ballot. This is the proposal by the Legislature to reduce property taxes by increasing homeowners’ homestead exemptions.

It takes 60% of voters to approve it, and at the moment it is favored, according to the poll, by 61%

However, when poll respondents were informed that the measure would result in a budget shortfall of more than $11 billion, support plummeted to 45%.

The Florida Democratic Party has voted to formally oppose Amendment 3.

“We need real affordability relief, but Amendment 3 would hurt our local communities and cut local services while giving huge tax breaks to billionaires and corporations,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “This is a scam that would either raise other taxes on working families or rob their communities of essential services like public hospitals, EMTs, fire rescue, disaster preparedness, road maintenance, children’s services, libraries and parks.

Candidate information:

David Jolly

Byron Donalds

Alex Vindman

Angie Nixon

Ashley Moody

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk, as you can see from today’s newsletter.

To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsor…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Check it out here:

WEEKLY WRAP: You can't win them all, but Trump still gets a trophy for his Iran war

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:01:14 GMT

The Week Ahead

Voter registration deadline is fast approaching

If you have not yet registered to vote in the upcoming Florida primary election, you still have time. But just barely

The deadline is tomorrow, Monday, July 20. This is also the deadline to change your party affiliation, if you choose to do so, for the August 18 primary.

In Florida, unlike many other states, you must either be registered as a Republican or Democrat to vote for candidates in the major party races. Independents—also known as NPAs or No Party Affiliation—are barred from voting in the two major parties’ primaries even though all Florida taxpayers pay the bill for these elections.

In the Sunshine State, that means 3.3 million NPAs will only be allowed to vote in nonpartisan races, such as judges or school board candidates. There are also nearly half a million other voters registered to minor parties.

To register, check your registration, or change your registration, go to:

RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov.

That Was The Week That Was

Trump wins ‘Participation Trophy’

The war in Iran was over, then it was back on. The Strait of Hormuz was open, then closed. It has been so confusing. But one thing seems clear—at least to many Americans—and that is that Donald Trump lost this unnecessary war.

In his honor, an organization known as Secret Handshake erected a 10-foot-tall “Participation Trophy” on the National Mall. Since then, dozens of other fake trophies mocking the president have been added.

The plaque reads:

“We hereby award President Donald J. Trump this participation trophy for his enthusiastic involvement in the Iran War. While some concern themselves with military strategy, diplomacy, or measurable outcomes, President Trump demonstrated the courage to participate regardless of the final score. As recipient of this prestigious award, President Trump joins the ranks of children everywhere who receive recognition for simply showing up. We join you in celebrating this remarkable achievement.”

Trump acts like he’s the only president snubbed by networks

Trump, angry that so many television networks and news channels did not broadcast his speech to the nation live last week, has threatened to cancel their broadcast licenses.

“Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses,” he declared Thursday.

For the record, it has always been common for networks to determine whether or not to preempt regular programming when a president asks. It depends: Is this an emergency, or is this just politicking?

Clearly, Trump was just propagandizing on Thursday when he rehashed his hurt feelings about losing the presidential election in 2020, and he pretended to have new evidence—which has largely been debunked—that the integrity of our elections is in peril.

Trump acts like he’s being singled out. That is yet another lie.

In 2022, major broadcast networks did not carry President Joe Biden’s prime-time speech that he also timed to deliver right before the midterm elections, just like Trump.

In 2014, for example, the networks also declined to interrupt their regular programming for President Barack Obama. Reagan had similarly been turned down.

That doesn’t mean the threat to broadcasters isn’t real, though. Trump has stacked the Federal Communications Commission with loyalists who have shown no hesitancy to obediently do his bidding.

For a hilarious send-up on all this, check out TikTok influencer Matt Randolph, a.k.a. @MrGlobal, and his take on it here:

Mr. Global

We’ll have to wait for the Todd Blanche vote

The Senate Judiciary Committee held two days of hearings on the nomination of Trump’s former personal attorney to become the nation’s next attorney general.

Todd Blanche has had “acting” before his title ever since he replaced Pam Bondi, who was fired earlier this year.

During his testimony, Blanche referred to himself as still being Trump’s personal lawyer, which was a slip, he said. A Freudian slip, actually.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on July 30.

Fort Lauderdale cops hire psychic consultant

Police in Fort Lauderdale are paying a psychic $1,500 to help them investigate the cold case of a missing 15-year-old girl who disappeared in 2017.

“Psychic profiler and medium” Alejandra Tabor offered her services to see what happened to the girl, and the cops have taken her up on it, hiring her on a 90-day contract, according to the Miami Herald.

Military needs more testosterone

So says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has launched a screening program to ensure that the men and women in the armed services are sufficiently “vigorous.”

Whether from anabolic steroid use or testosterone replacement therapy, too much of the hormone can lead to severe acne, hair loss, sleep apnea, moodiness, blood clots and heart issues.

Fact-checking Trump’s lying diatribe about election security

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

"The Attorney General of the United States is supposed to defend the American people, not the president. Todd Blanche has made his priorities clear—and they are disqualifying."

— Democratic Party official statement

Letter of the Week

If there are enough idiots in this country to be hoodwinked by Donald Trump and his lackeys AGAIN, we, and the world, are truly in Deep Trouble. VOTE, and get everyone you know to vote, as if the life of our democracy depended on it. This time it really may.

— Nancy

Looking Ahead

July 19. The World Cup championship game between Spain and Argentina is today. Game time is 3 p.m. E.D.T.

July 20. Moon Day. It was on this day in 1969 that astronaut Neil Armstrong, having rocketed to space from Florida, became the first person to walk on the moon.

July 21. Invite an Alien to Live With You Day. Neil Armstrong tried to bring one home from the Moon but was intercepted by ICE agents. The whereabouts of the alien are a government secret.

July 22. Ratcatcher’s Day. The Pied Piper of Hamelin used a flute to rid the village of rodents, but, when he wasn’t paid, turned his musical gifts on the town’s children and lured them away forever. Somehow this has turned into a day honoring pest control people.

July 23. Vanilla Ice Cream Day. You’ve heard the expression “plain vanilla.” It’s supposed to mean dull. But true ice cream aficionados know that vanilla is the BEST flavor of ice cream.

July 24. Tell an Old Joke Day. Here’s one: What’s the prize old people can win for aging? Atrophy.

July 25. Threading the Needle Day. This is about the virtues of precision and patience, not pushing a camel through the eye of a needle.

July 26. World Tofu Day. It was invented by the ancient Chinese. However, whipped avocado and tofu’s first sighting on a menu was in Australia in 2015.

July 27. Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day. It’s also Take Your Pants for a Walk Day. I’m combining both into a stroll around the ‘hood.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

If Donald Trump had his way, his new title would sound like ‘Sickness’

Is Trump about to ramp up efforts to undermine our elections?

You have questions, we have answers about Trump’s slush fund a Miami judge just trashed

BREAKING NEWS: Miami federal judge rebukes Trump’s self-dealing slush fund

BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Lindsey Graham is dead at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk, as you can see from today’s newsletter.

To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsor…

Fact-checking Trump's lying diatribe about election security

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:10:00 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Donald Trump began his prime-time speech about election security last night with a statement that actually rang true:

“You have to trust your country because, if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness.”

He then proceeded to lie.

“For many years I've called for bold, swift and decisive action to protect the integrity of America's elections.”

Actually, for many years, he encouraged Russian interference in our elections, tried to overthrow an election, denied the proven results of an election that he lost, and has done everything he can to undercut the nation’s confidence in its elections.

Among his many distortions from last night:

He warned of “China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files” as if this means China has the capability to alter election results.

In fact, lists of registered voters in America are public records accessible to everyone.

Sure, China has a list of voters. So does General Motors and the Republican Party and the Democratic Party and pollsters and marketing firms and online newsletter writers like me.

I have a disk sitting on my desk right now with every single voter in Florida. The Florida Secretary of State gave it to me for free. You can have one too. Just ask. That’s what public records are about.

Having a list of voters is not the same thing as changing election results. Believe me, I can’t change anyone’s vote even if I wanted to. If I could, why would I bother to write this newsletter every morning?

Trump went on to say that the Deep State has been suppressing this frightful “meddling.”

In fact, there is no evidence of China or anyone else “meddling” with election returns.

Nevertheless, Trump asserted that “Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure … including electronic voting machines and ballot counting systems …They’re vulnerable and easily compromised.”

This is nonsense.

Voting machines are not hooked up to the internet. They cannot be hacked that way. Each machine records votes on a separate memory chip and stores a paper record of the votes that are cast for cross-checking purposes.

It would take an army of a million Tom Cruises dangling from the ceilings of thousands of voting locations to snatch those memory cards, and there still would be a paper record as backup.

The government’s own Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency—which works for Trump—has concluded elections are secure and has found no evidence of machine tampering.

One of the safeguards of this system is that our elections are diversified across the 50 states. A genuine vulnerability would be created if all elections were brought under centralized control, which seems to be Trump’s dream.

Trump also asserted there is nearly a quarter million “non-citizens” registered to vote.

In fact, the data he cites is a highly inflated number. The government’s own estimates are a fraction of that. Moreover, the number of non-citizens who actually may have voted is estimated at around 0.04 percent, not enough to alter any national election.

Trump says all these disclosures taken together “reveal an election system so broken and so vulnerable that no one can possibly defend it.”

In fact, experts in his own administration defend it.

And, as so many have warned, these hysterics are all part of a voter-suppression campaign Trump is launching before the midterm elections because he is terrified he is going to lose Republican control of Congress.

Funny, isn’t it, how elections are fine and dandy when Republican win? Trump has won two out of three tries to be elected president, and both houses of Congress are ruled by Republicans. All those election results were on the level, but the only time they aren’t is when Democrats win?

No fair-minded person will swallow that malarky.

As The New York Times reports this morning:

Documents Mr. Trump released to support his claims — and previous assessments from the intelligence community — do not back up his most aggressive statements about election security. In fact, some of the documents reach the opposite conclusion.
They also do not contain significant new revelations about vulnerabilities in election systems. One of the documents posted on the White House website was blunt: “We assess that vote tabulation systems would be difficult to manipulate on a wide enough scale to compromise election results.”

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk, as you can see from today’s newsletter.

To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsor…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Check it out here:

If Donald Trump had his way, his new title would sound like 'Sickness'

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:02:25 GMT

Illustration by Tropic Press and Gemini 3 Pro Image

By J.C. Bruce

So, tonight Donald Trump will lecture us on election integrity.

Perfect.

Maybe next we can hear from Ghislaine Maxwell on youth mentorship, or Jeffrey Dahmer on cooking etiquette, or George Santos on resume writing.

After all, we’re talking about the impeached president who demanded of the Georgia Secretary of State: “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” The lame duck who urged Vice President Mike Pence to disrupt the Electoral College vote count. Who unsuccessfully filed more than 60 lawsuits to block Joe Biden’s election. Who exhorted a mob he rallied to “fight like hell” before they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Who better to discuss voting security? The greatest threat to free and fair elections in American history.

And while he probably won’t say it out loud, what Trump really wants is to throw out the constitutionally mandated way we elect public officials and, directly or indirectly, put himself in charge.

In our country, states run elections. It’s a diversified system that safeguards against the corruption of centralization, just the thing Trump would love.

What does the only known victim of Trump Derangement Syndrome have up his sleeve for tonight’s announcement? My wife, Sandy, asked me that question during our morning walk around our neighborhood. She records these daily strolls on TikTok.

I told her what I thought, but she had a cleverer idea:

“He’s going to announce Trump Voting Machines."

Which I thought was one of the funniest things I’d ever heard. Until I didn’t. Later, as I rolled that idea around in my mind, this imaginary conversation took form:

Trump and Elon Musk are in the Oval Office.

Trump: I need DOGE to fix our elections.
Musk: Jawohl, mein Herr! The system is inefficient. Fifty Secretaries of State; more than 10,000 local election supervisors. We should fire all of them and replace them with one administrator.
Trump: Who?
Musk: You. Your new title will be Commander-in Chief/National Election Supervisor. C-I-C-N-E-S.
Trump: How do you say that?
Musk: Sickness.
Trump: It can’t be “sickness.” I’m the healthiest president of all time. Have I told you about my cognitive test results?
Musk: Five times …Today … So far … But moving on, now that you’ve fired everyone in the Elections Assistance Commission, we can stack it with your loyalists—well, mine, actually. I’ve got a bunch of teenage hackers who need jobs.
Trump: And then what?
Musk: Then the commission will recommend a national standard for voting machines. Imagine it: Trump Voting Machines. We can take all those leftover slot machines from your bankrupted casinos and convert them.
Trump: Would that work?
Musk: Doesn’t matter. We’ll decide in advance what the results are.
Trump: Well, sounds great. But they need to be gold. I love gold.
Musk: No problem. And for anyone to vote, they have to use a gold Trump Coin to activate the machine.
Trump: Oh, we’re going to make a killing on this. I’ll schedule an announcement right away…

Back to reality, Trump’s potential interference in our election system is certainly no laughing matter, of course, and many readers have already weighed in on this issue from yesterday’s newsletter.

Among them:

“(Trump) only believes elections are fraudulent when he or his candidates lose. That’s the true TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome). He and his cult have it. The rest of us don’t.”

—Steve

and this…

“All I can ask intelligent Americans to do is get out there and vote! Vote in whatever ways are available to you, but vote. Tyranny has no place in America and our resolve and our freedom must survive a would be king! Trump is truly unbelievable and a loser in every regard!”

—Catamount

Feel free to add your thoughts to the conversation here:

Also of note:

The U.S. Mint has announced it will soon begin producing a new $1 gold-hued coin with Trump’s face on it to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. The coin’s face features Trump alongside the phrase “In God We Trust.” The flip side of the coin shows an eagle holding arrows in one talon and olive branches in the other.

it is unknown if this coin can be used in place of the gold Trump Coin in the imagined Trump Voting Machines.

Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, claimed, “I’m not an election denier” during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Yet when asked point blank whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election, all he would say is: “Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States.”

Clayton said he’s played no role in Trump’s 9 p.m. address to the nation tonight, but added: “We have substantial work to do in improving our electoral processes. It’s part of national security, and I feel strongly about that.”

So good that Clayton feels strongly about safe and secure elections. Good thing for him, we already have them.

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press. He’s an award-winning journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious adventures. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. In addition to this newsletter and the Tropic Press website, his work can also be found in Florida Weekly, where he writes the Onward Thru The Fog current events column, and you can tune into his weekly conversation with radio host and podcaster Dave Elliott every Friday morning.

NOTE TO READERS: To be clear, the above conversation between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was the product of the author’s imagination. There is no truth to the rumor that Tropic Press has a secret deal with Musk to share the recordings he makes of all Oval Office conversations using the bugs he planted during his reign of terror in the beginning of Trump’s second term.

FOOTNOTE: You can follow along with my wife Sandy and myself most mornings on her TikTok site: Between You and Me by clicking this link.

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk, as you can see from today’s newsletter.

To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

Thanks to today’s sponsor…

Check out YouTube’s newest and newsiest current events podcast, based right here in the Sunshine State. Get your day started every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Check it out here:

Is Trump about to ramp up efforts to undermine our elections?

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:36:01 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Donald Trump has never gotten over losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, and he’s never stopped lying and bellyaching about it.

More lies may be on the way.

He plans a Thursday evening national address in which, surrounded by obedient federal employees who owe their careers to him, he says he will unveil “big news” about voting machines and election integrity, among a potpourri of topics.

The word potpourri, by the way, translates from the French literally as “rotten pot.”

This has the feel of more than the usual midnight rantings of an octogenarian who lacks the courage and good grace to accept the fact that one out of three times he ran for president he lost.

It seems more like the ramp-up of a concerted campaign to undermine our elections, all to lay the groundwork for, perhaps, a federal takeover of some sort, if Trump can get away with it.

In point of fact, there is broad, bipartisan agreement that the United States already has the most secure and fair elections in the world. Trump’s spurious claims of widespread voter fraud were rejected by dozens of judges, many appointed by Trump himself. Indeed, the nation’s cybersecurity watchdog joined other federal, state, and local officials in declaring the vote “the most secure in American history,” according to U.S. News & World Report.

But before you can be the hero putting out a fire, first you have to become an arsonist, if you follow Trump’s playbook.

There simply HAS to have been election fraud in 2020, in Trump’s warped view of reality. What else could possibly explain that the American public chose his opponent over him by 7 million votes, a total of 81.3 million, the most any candidate for president has ever received?

It couldn’t possibly have been they wanted a change, could it?

Which is why he urged a mob to “fight like hell” and how he ended up impeached a second time.

Regarding the integrity of voting machines and any alleged “declassified” information Trump may claim his minions have unearthed, we’ve been here before.

You may recall the $787 million that Fox News had to pay Dominion Voting Systems about the lies the network broadcast on Trump’s behalf about election fraud. It cost Tucker Carlson his job. MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, another Trump mouthpiece, was also sued for defamation. That case was settled earlier this month.

To date, there has been zero credible evidence of meaningful voter fraud or vulnerabilities to our election systems. So, we’ll see what all this newly released top-secret material is about, and if it has any credibility whatsoever.

Even if so, the timing is obviously suspicious.

Trump’s national security team has been burning the midnight oil trying to find something—anything—to satisfy the boss and his obsessive need to prove once and for all he’s not a loser. That includes poring over all the previous claims of foreign election interference, which have up until now been debunked.

It also follows the White House firing of the remaining members of the federal Elections Assistance Commission, which Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia warned, “raises profound concerns about political interference in the institutions that support our elections.”

All while the White House has been trying to increase federal oversight of elections, which, constitutionally, is the responsibility of the individual states. They’ve gone so far, according to some reports, as to circulate a draft declaration of a “national elections emergency,” for which the executive branch has no authority.

So much for states’ rights.

All this, too, while Trump has been expressing his exasperation with Congress for not passing his bogus SAVE American Act, which, theoretically, is designed to stop noncitizens from voting—a nonexistent problem. What it really is, of course, is a not-so-subtle effort to allow the federal government to stick its nose where it doesn’t belong, and wedge its way into influencing election outcomes, in large part by making it harder to vote. Trump hates mail-in voting. It makes it far too easy to vote.

Axios has reported that the strategy is to launch a continuing drumbeat of doubt about elections, as this speech appears designed to do, to undermine the legitimacy of midterm results that are, as of now, leaning in Democrats’ favor.

In Trump’s own words:

“It’s really big news. It’s really, really big news, and our country has to shape up. What we’re going to talk about Thursday, it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country. We’ll be discussing other things too, but it’s going to be a very big announcement.”

But will there be any truth to it? And where will it lead?

Also in the news…

Todd Blanche faces the Senate Judiciary Committee today, which is considering his nomination to take “acting” from his title and become the next attorney general of the United States. Questions about his handling of The Epstein Files, his coddling of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, and his bogus slush fund lawsuit that was shot down last week will be among the questions he’s facing.

As expected, the House overwhelmingly approved permanent Daylight Saving Time yesterday in a 308-117 vote. Next stop, the Senate, where its fate is unclear, although it enjoys Trump’s support. The House vote, by the way, mirrored the results of a poll I published Sunday. Readers of this newsletter approved the Daylight Saving Time proposal by a margin of 63% to 37%.

Trump has paid the writer E. Jean Carroll $5.6 million he owed her for sexually abusing her in a Manhattan department store and then defaming her, according to federal court records. The payment came after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the president’s latest attempt to appeal the verdict. He still owes her another $80-plus million from a second lawsuit.

Please share this post

Our democracy as we’ve known it for 250 years is at risk, as you can see from today’s newsletter.

To save it, we will need a groundswell of support from voters in the coming midterm election.

The purpose of this newsletter—and the accompanying Tropic Press website—is to encourage that engagement.

You can help spread the word.

Please like this post. Comment if you are so inclined. But, please, also take a moment to share it with people you know.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort.

Thanks.

J.C. Bruce

You have questions, we have answers about Trump's slush fund a Miami judge just trashed

J.C. Bruce — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:02:26 GMT

Miami Judge Kathleen Williams and Donald Trump

By J.C. Bruce

BREAKING NEWS: Miami federal judge rebukes Trump’s self-dealing slush fund

We interrupted your email inbox yesterday with the breaking news regarding a Miami federal judge’s decision eviscerating the sweetheart deal Donald Trump and his acting attorney general cooked up to further enrich our 47th president.

There are so many questions about this, we thought we would devote today’s column to sorting some of the larger issues.

Judge Kathleen Williams pretty much said that President Donald Trump and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche conspired to rip off the American people for billions of dollars. That Trump was both the defendant and the plaintiff in his bogus suit against the IRS, and that he was, essentially, suing himself, except the taxpayers would pick up the tab. Can Blanche be disbarred for that, and can Trump be impeached?

Yes, to both questions. Any president can be impeached, of course. Trump has been impeached twice already, although the Republican majority in the Senate refused to convict.

Blanche’s conduct has been referred to the New York Bar. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to the D.C. Bar. And lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar.

There is a possibility that Judge Williams might also impose monetary sanctions and require that the attorney’s fees for those individuals and organizations that argued against this travesty—including dozens of former federal judges— also be picked up.

In her 56-page scorcher of a ruling, Judge Williams trashed Trump’s absurd $1.776 billion slush fund, but how about the immunity from tax audits that his buddy Blanche also ordered?

That bit of absurdity also ended up in the wood chipper, thankfully.

Isn’t Florida Sen. Ashley Moody one of the 12 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will be considering Todd Blanche’s nomination to become the permanent attorney general, and isn’t she just a rubber stamp for his confirmation?

There are 22 members of the Judiciary Committee, 12 Republicans (of which Moody is one) and 10 Democrats. One Republican member of the committee will not be able to make it on account of being unalive—Lindsey Graham.

Moody is not an automatic confirmation vote. She is an automatic vote for whatever Trump tells her to do. If Trump told her to go snorkeling in the Reflecting Pool, she’d do it, no questions asked.

A remote, but nonetheless open, question as this is being written is this: Is there any chance at all that Trump will change his mind about Blanche’s nomination now? Seems unlikely, but who knows what he might post on social media at 4 a.m.

Are there any good arguments at all for Blanche to be confirmed as our next attorney general?

Yes. If you are a Republican looking to keep your job, you don’t want to cross Trump. You will rationalize a vote for Blanche as a vote for supporting Trump’s “agenda,” as if he had one besides grifting his way into further power and riches.

So, what are the arguments against?

Too many to list here, but just the highlights would include:

Not understanding that the attorney general is not the president’s personal lawyer (of course, Blanche WAS Trump’s personal lawyer, but it looks like he never stopped). That would, of course, include his utter lack of morals and judgment in this slush fund debacle.
Arranging a cushy deal for Trump’s close friend and Jeffrey Epstein’s pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, that resulted in her transfer from a Florida prison to a comfy federal encampment with puppy therapy and yoga classes.
Violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Out of respect for Epstein’s victims, several of whom oppose his confirmation.
Weaponizing the Justice Department to go after Trump’s political enemies.
Stripping the Department of Justice of talent—specifically lawyers who would not bend to Trump’s will.
Whitewashing the convictions of the January 6 insurrectionists and cop beaters.

The guy has the morals of a rabid weasel. Isn’t that enough? After all, how low can you go?

We’re talking about Washington, D.C. In the era of Trump. There is no bottom.

Earlier stories:

Could Trump’s slush fund be in trouble? A Miami federal judge could decide

Trump announces brazen $1.7 billion ‘settlement’ through his new Ministry of Grift

Thanks for your support

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the “Free” State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

Like! Comment! Share!

As this newsletter was written, Tropic Press was reaching more than 700,000 subscribers in Florida and elsewhere. But there are literally millions of Florida Democrats and independents we are not reaching yet.

That’s a problem you can help solve.

With mid-term elections on the horizon, the more people we reach, the more effective we can be in helping turn our state and this country around. You can play a vital role in that effort by liking, sharing and commenting on this newsletter.

If you are reading this as an email, simply forward it. Or you can use the link below. Thanks.

BREAKING NEWS: Miami federal judge rebukes Trump's self-dealing slush fund

J.C. Bruce — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 18:31:48 GMT

Could Trump’s slush fund be in trouble? A Miami federal judge could decide

In a scathing 56-page report, Miami federal judge Kathleen Williams eviscerated President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund that he arranged with Todd Blanche—who, in a bit of ironic timing—will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week as it considers his candidacy to become the attorney general.

“The court finds that this matter was brought for an improper purpose—to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a 'settlement' that had no viable basis in law or fact,” Judge Williams wrote.

She added: “Trump did not pursue his claims until he once again occupied the White House and had appointed his former lawyer, and the former lawyer of persons who are putative beneficiaries of the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ to prominent positions."

In other words, it was an inside job.

Judge Williams has ordered sanctions against the lawyers involved.

More details here.

Earlier stories:

Trump announces brazen $1.7 billion ‘settlement’ through his new Ministry of Grift

Thanks for your support

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you are a rational person living in the Free State of Florida, but there are plenty of smart, reasonable people just like you here. The purpose of this newsletter and the Tropic Press website is to provide a source of news and commentary that shines a light through this irrational fog.

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

Share Tropic Press!

That’s a problem you can help solve.

If you are reading this as an email, simply forward it. Or you can use the link below. Thanks.

And the winner(s) of our first Best Comment Contest are now officially revealed

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:01:16 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

During my career as a newspaper editor, I had the opportunity on many occasions to judge writing contests, including the National Journalism Awards and the Pulitzer Prizes.

One of the lessons learned from those experiences was that once you got down to the finalists in any category, all the articles—or series of articles—were prize-worthy.

Not saying they were coin flips, but all were terrific examples of the craft, and making the final calls was always a challenge. It’s one of the reasons why in the Pulitzers, for instance, that being a “Finalist” is nearly as prestigious as the winner.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, then, that when I narrowed down the list of entries for last quarter’s Letters Contest that selecting the winner would be tough.

And that is reflected in the comments I received from readers whom I asked to help judge this. Every entry received at least one nomination. Most, many. Sometimes, nominees were selecting their competitors for the prize—which is very cool.

At one point, I threw my metaphorical hands in the air and said, “I give up. I can’t decide. Give everyone a prize.”

But that seemed to violate the rules I set out when I started this, and I imagined it would be a sure-fire way to upset everyone who might have imagined they’d been cheated out of the top honor.

So, here’s how I resolved this:

I am awarding the top letter writer, as planned. But, also, because I was just so impressed with all the entries, I am creating a new award category—Finalists.

As originally stated, the winner receives an official Miss Mingo coffee mug. But, as a bonus, the winner will also receive a Miss Mingo tee shirt.

All the Finalists also get a tee shirt.

I just had to find some way to recognize everyone’s outstanding efforts, which add so much to this newsletter.

As for the winner, I finally decided to let you decide, and I tabulated all the votes cast. There were no hanging chads. This election was not stolen.

So, without further ado (yes, I’ve buried the lede), the winner of the First Quarter of the 2026 Best Comment Award, by popular vote from all who offered their recommendations, goes to:

Nick Gallup, who wrote:

“I remember being embarrassed by having George W. as president. God, what I would give to have him back. I saw a map yesterday of the states that are actively trying to gerrymander their red states redder. Know what? It was a map of the 1861 Confederacy. It’s not conservatism. It’s racism. Ask a MAGA why he’s for Trump, and he will fumble round and say things like “Trump’s a businessman” or “Trump tells it like it is” but what he really means is “Trump is no longer giving our country away to people of color.”

Finalists are:

Tracy Duba

Richard Bellerose

MPT

George Terranova

Janet Robinson

Robert Kain

Charles G. Masi

Christine Howard

Bruce Nachman

David Fetzer

Tedder 130

Sharon Krueger

Congratulations to Nick and all our Finalists. Please keep writing. Your thoughts and observations make a huge contribution to this effort.

Now, to the details:

In order for me to deliver your awards (Certificate, Miss Mingo mug, and tee shirt to the winner; Certificate and tee shirts to the finalists), I will need from all the entrants:

Your snail mail address

Preferred email address

Your tee shirt size

You can send them directly to my personal email address here:

J. C. Bruce

Thanks for corresponding. Keep those comments coming.

And for everyone else, we’re in a new quarter, and this could be your big chance. Start writing!

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Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’

BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Lindsey Graham is dead at 71 after 'brief and sudden illness'

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:32:32 GMT

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is dead.

The 71-year-old ally and golfing partner of President Donald Trump succumbed to a “brief and sudden” illness Saturday evening, according to his staff.

After serving in the U.S. House, Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2002. He had just fended off a handful of Republican opponents to secure the South Carolina Republican nomination for yet another term.

Who will succeed him as the interim senator will be determined by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, also a Republican. This temporary replacement would then stand for election to a full term during the mid-term election in November, where he or she would face Dr. Annie Andrews, who won the Democratic primary.

While critical of Trump during his run for the presidency in his first term, Graham became a staunch ally. As The New York Times reports:

After a volley of criticism around Mr. Trump’s first presidential run, the two men became close allies, bonding over regular golf outings. While Mr. Graham occasionally voiced disagreements with Mr. Trump, they largely remained in lock step on most policy issues.
“If you want somebody who can go to Washington to help him, I’m your best choice,” Mr. Graham said of Mr. Trump during his recent campaign.

While the cause of death has not thus far been revealed, the Washington Post reported:

Emergency responders were dispatched to a DC address for Graham around 8:30 p.m. for a report of someone suffering from chest pains, according to audio of the dispatch on Broadcastify. The audio indicates someone had called in from Baltimore and was on the way to the home.
The dispatcher said the caller believed the door was unlocked, though emergency responders said it was deadbolted, according to the audio. About 25 minutes later, they reported that CPR was in progress, the audio shows.

More on this story:

Dr. Annie Andrews

WEEKLY WRAP: Congress plans vote on Daylight Saving Time, and Todd Blanche takes the stand

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 10:00:10 GMT

The Week Ahead

By J.C. Bruce

Ex-Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum arrested on drug possession charges

Forget about springing ahead and falling behind.

If a bill before the House this week is approved—and if the Senate concurs—Daylight Saving Time will become how we set our clocks year-round.

Sponsored by a pair of Floridians—Vern Buchanan in the House and Rick Scott in the Senate—the “Sunshine Protection Act” enjoys broad bipartisan support. It is scheduled for a vote in the House this week, although a specific date and time have not yet been set.

President Donald Trump has also endorsed passage of the legislation. But its approval is not certain. As The Hill reports:

Should it pass the House, it could face opposition in the Senate from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who warned it would “push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour” and that “kids would either walk to school in the pitch black or schools would have to push back start times.”

Daylight Saving Time has been observed throughout most of the U.S. since the 1960s, shifting clocks forward one hour from March to November. Only two states don’t engage in the annual clock switching—Arizona and Hawaii.

Will this confusing annual chore finally come to an end? Stay tuned.

And for those worried Republicans like Tom Cotton: No, this does not affect the Sun. It will rise as it always has. It will still be in the sky. It’s about clocks. Just clocks.

But how do you feel? Share your thoughts:

Also this week, stay tuned for the two-day hearing scheduled in the Senate as Trump’s nomination of his former personal attorney, Todd Blanche, testifies in his confirmation hearing to become the next U.S. attorney general.

Blanche took over from Florida’s Pam Bondi after Trump sacked her in April.

In the interim, Blanche has been busy doing Trump’s personal bidding, including arranging a secretive—and likely illegal—lawsuit settlement that promises to give Trump $1.776 billion and immunity on his tax returns.

I’m going to gaze into my crystal ball and predict there could be a few questions about that.

That Was The Week That Was

Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has been arrested on drug possession charges in Alabama after police say they pulled him over for erratic driving and found marijuana and meth in his vehicle.

It’s the latest legal trouble for the ex-Tallahassee mayor, who narrowly lost to Republican Ron DeSantis for governor in 2018 and was once considered a rising star of the Democratic Party.

Gillum, 46, was arrested in the town of Daphne, about 11 miles east of Mobile on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Jail records show he was released on July 3.

Florida lawmakers once again give gas stations and grocery stores a bigger cut of lottery tickets

Here’s something you might not know about Florida’s new state budget: It takes money from Florida high school students — and gives money to Publix Super Markets.

That’s thanks to a provision slipped into the new spending plan by Republican legislative leaders that will give a bigger cut of lottery ticket sales to grocery stores, gas stations and convenience chains, independent journalist Jason Garcia reports.

Property tax cuts could hurt local government credit ratings

A massive overhaul of the state’s property tax structure being pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis would have a sweeping impact on the financial stability of local governments across Florida and place devastating constraints on their ability to borrow money, according to three of the nation’s biggest credit rating agencies, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

If approved by 60% of voters in November, the property tax amendment would take effect Jan. 1. …It would slash a quarter of what local governments currently collect to pay for necessary services and pay off bond debt, an amount Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference estimates could eventually total nearly $12 billion annually.

House District 47 flips blue after judge denies Paula Stark’s lawsuit to get on the ballot

Republican Rep. Paula Stark will not return to the ballot this year after a court decision ended her bid for reinstatement. As a result, House District 47, which she currently represents, will shift to the Democrats without a General Election contest, Florida Politics reports.

Leon Circuit Court Judge Joshua Hawkes denied Stark’s request to be reinstated on the ballot. Stark, a St. Cloud Republican, had failed to qualify last month and subsequently filed suit to challenge her disqualification.

That means the lone candidates qualifying for the ballot in HD 47 are a pair of Democrats, Jorge Figueroa and Anthony Nieves.

It’s time to ‘Drain the Swamp’ to end Washington corruption, and this bill would do just that

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

“Florida’s salary-for-speech rule is a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse in the very places the State’s own statutes recognize as centers of inquiry—classrooms where students are trusted to puzzle through ideas that are good and bad, easy and hard, ideally getting ever closer to the truth.”

—Judge Britt Grant of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

in striking down Florida’s Stop WOKE Act.

Letter of the Week

“It is pathetic that the courts' time and effort is needed to rule on a case this blatantly offensive to the First Amendment. It seems to be the Republican strategy, though, to pack the courts with judges who are either paid or threatened to rule accordingly. Keep throwing garbage against the wall and occasionally, some of it sticks.”

— Joel F. Mooney on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

throwing out portions of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act

Looking Ahead

When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. (Paid subscribers to this newsletter can see the full archive here.) Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead.

July 13. It’s Oxymoron Day. Some of the best: Jumbo shrimp, open secret, deafening silence, and Justice Department.

July 14. Baseball’s 96th annual All-Star Game is tonight. It is also the start of the World Cup semi-final games.

July 15. Todd Blanche’s two-day hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee begins today as the panel considers his nomination to succeed Pam Bondi as the next attorney general. He has “acting” before his title right now.

July 16 is World Snake Day, which, ironically, arrives in the midst of Florida’s annual Python Challenge that began July 10. The point of this holiday is to recognize the importance of snakes in our natural environment. Python hunters beware: While pythons are invasive, Florida is home to more than 44 native snake species, six of which are venomous, including several kinds of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads and coral snakes. You’ll want to avoid those.

July 17 is Yellow Pig Day, a holiday only nerds could love. It’s a whimsical celebration of the number 17, which is the sum of the first four prime numbers (2+3+5+7=17), for which some college math students created a mythical beast, a yellow pig, with 17 toes, 17 teeth, 17 eyelashes and 17 body parts.

July 18. World Listening Day is just what it sounds like (yes, that was intentional)—a day to pay attention to the sounds around us.

July 19. World Cup Championship game starts at 3 p.m.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

In Florida’s most liberal area, a Republican candidate claims you can’t be born gay

A victory for the First Amendment: DeSantis’ pet project--the Stop WOKE Act--is shredded

Florida’s experience with toxic algae blooms can help clear up Reflecting Pool mess

ASK THE BIRD: Can I use my Wi-Fi name to insult the ‘moron’ running for governor?

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J.C. Bruce

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It's time to 'Drain the Swamp' to end Washington corruption, and this bill would do just that

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:03:22 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Report From House Dems: Trump Used 250th Planning to Hide Corruption

A pair of House Democrats has introduced sweeping legislation designed to clean up corruption in the nation’s capital.

Whether it will get the attention it deserves is a huge question mark. Why? Because of corruption in the capital, of course.

U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman of Ohio and Josh Riley of New York say their “Drain the Swamp Act” is necessary because of the “unprecedented, blatant corruption and increasing attacks on our democracy.” They claim it is the most comprehensive anti-corruption legislation in the nation’s history, and when you read through the bullet points below, I think you’ll agree.

Included in the 250-page bill are provisions that would:

Ban the president, vice president, members of Congress and their immediate families from owning or trading stocks.
Ban betting on political events or other government action in prediction markets.
Prohibit presidents, their immediate families and businesses from suing the federal government, as Trump did with his suit against the IRS that resulted in him being promised a $1.776 billion slush fund.
Strengthen the emoluments clause of the Constitution so that in the future when countries want to give presidents multi-million dollar airplanes, it would not be allowed.
Establish 18-year term limits for the Supreme Court and Congress.
Suspend pay for members of Congress during government shutdowns or when the debt limit is reached.
Revoke pensions for Congress, Cabinet officials and former president convicted of felonies.
Establish ethics rules for the Supreme Court (sorry, no more luxury vacations for you, Clarence Thomas.)
Ban partisan gerrymandering (too late to stop Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, unfortunately.)
Overturn Citizens United (corporations wouldn’t be people, after all.)
Eliminate corporate political action committees.
Ban untraceable dark money in campaigns.
End voter suppression.

It’s a great punch list, but the odds of it making its way through the Republican-controlled House before the midterm elections is minuscule. It would have to be refiled when the new Congress convenes in 2027.

But if Democrats regain control of the House, this could be a bill to watch.

In any event, it serves as a list of indictments of sorts, a checklist of abuses that need to be addressed. And we will want to keep a close eye on who steps up to co-sponsor this legislation and, importantly, who does not.

Trump’s reign of grift and graft is without parallel

The Reflecting Pool as a Reflection of Trump’s Corruption and Tin-Potism

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press. He’s an award-winning author and journalist who claims dual citizenship in both the United States of America and his native Florida.

Thanks for your support

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

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In Florida's most liberal area, a Republican candidate claims you can't be born gay

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:21:57 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

candidate: ‘You cannot be born gay.

Living in Florida, we’re used to weirdness, but just as soon as you think you’ve seen it all comes this startling headline in the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Broward Republican congressional

That’s impossible.’

So, a guy running for office in Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale and the state’s biggest liberal stronghold—even after redistricting—thinks it’s smart to come out with an anti-gay position as the secret to getting elected.

A guy who actually said: “Nobody is born gay; that’s impossible biologically.”

His name is Dr. Rodenay Joseph. And when I saw he was a doctor, my first thought was, well, shucks, how did he arrive at this conclusion if he actually studied biology?

Turns out, he’s not that kind of doctor.

He says he has a Ph.D. from Cornerstone University of Florida in Maitland in the field of Diplomacy and International Relations.

What that has to do with biology is a mystery, but it helps to know that Cornerstone is also known as Cornerstone Christian University, and a brief review of its doctoral degree programs includes:

Christian Education

Christian Psychology and Counseling

Christian Leadership and Management

Christian Business Administration

Etcetera, etc., etc.

Perhaps there are also courses in Pre-Christian History, which would explain this quote reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Joseph said sexuality is a preference, not an inherent orientation. “Sexual preference from the Roman Empire to date, it’s always a preference.”

Little did I know. And here I thought it was a result of being bitten by a radioactive spider. Live and learn.

But back to reality, and just for the record, here’s what scientists—with actual degrees in biology—say about this:

A major hypothesis involves the prenatal environment, in particular the organizational effects of hormones on the fetal brain.There is no conclusive evidence that confirms that parenting or early childhood experiences play a significant role in developing a sexual orientation.Scientific research shows that homosexuality is a natural and normal variation in human sexuality…

Said more simply: Some people are born that way. Animal studies show that seems to be a pattern in nature. That’s the current scientific thinking anyway.

But, you know, science, schmience. We live in an era of alternative facts and willful ignorance. And if you find yourself among what seems to be a shrinking population that suffers a bias for reality, you’re not alone. That seems especially so here in Florida.

That said, it is perfectly fine to ask questions about nature versus nurture as forces in human development. We’re born with certain characteristics; others we acquire.

For instance, Doctor Joseph was, to all appearances, born a male. He had no choice in the matter. But that he is a Democrat-turned-Republican is definitely a choice. He has to own that decision. Just as he has to own his choice to run as a Republican in the state’s most heavily Democratic district.

His odds of winning in the general election—even if he secures the Republican nomination—are as remote as the survivability of a snowball on Las Olas Boulevard in August.

The Cook Political Report puts Florida’s Congressional District 20 at D+20, meaning the district is 20 points more Democratic than the national average. It is also home to one of the state’s—and nation’s—largest LGBTQ+ populations.

Which makes choosing such an unpopular stance to campaign on seem self-defeating. The numbers are clearly against you.

Perhaps some remedial training is in order. Maybe a course in Christian Mathematics. After all, the No. 1 rule in politics is this:

Learn to count.

To his credit, and to be fair, though, he also says this about his beliefs:

“My faith teaches me that every person is made in God’s image and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect—no exceptions.”

On that, at least, we can agree.

FOOTNOTE:

One of the problems with the misguided notion that homosexuality is a choice is that it sets the stage for so-called “conversion therapy” — if being gay is a choice, then you can unchoose. It’s a wholly discredited, ineffective and utterly cruel exercise that ultimately amounts to a form of torture.

I would recommend to Doctor Joseph and any others who are still confused—or stubbornly refuse to accept reality—some reading material:

The evidence against “conversion therapy”

The Lies and Dangers of Efforts to Change Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

Conversion Therapy is Sexual Violence

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press. He’s an award-winning author and journalist who claims dual citizenship in both the United States of America and his native Florida.

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A victory for the First Amendment: DeSantis' pet project--the Stop WOKE Act--is shredded

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 13:44:18 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

In a victory for the First Amendment—and sanity—a federal appeals court has struck down Florida’s onerous “Stop WOKE Act” that sought to censor university classrooms from discussing race and gender issues.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit wasn’t timid in its condemnation of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pet project to propagandize students.

The court went further:

It doesn’t matter if DeSantis and the Legislature agree or disagree with the ideas. “Either way, in this context the First Amendment trusts students to ﬁgure it out for themselves.”

In other words, no whitewashing issues that some politicians may find politically inconvenient.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it bears remembering that Florida is a state that still celebrates “heroes” of the Civil War—Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Confederate soldiers. It’s a state that, under former governor and now U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, banned the use of the phrase “climate change.” It’s a state that had the temerity to rename the Gulf of Mexico to appease our mad ruler in Washington. It’s a state famous for its “Don’t Say Gay” laws and aggressive book banning. It’s a Republican-run state that doesn’t hesitate to push “alternative facts”—among them that slavery wasn’t such a bad thing.

So, yes, this court ruling declaring there are limits to how much the state can manipulate what is taught in college classrooms is a huge victory.

It follows earlier court decisions from the same appeals court banning other provisions of the so-called “Stop WOKE Act,” in which Florida tried to prohibit private employers from training that addressed concepts such as racism, bias and privilege. (Yes, that’s right, the same Republicans who ballyhoo free enterprise tried to censor private businesses on how to train their own employees.)

“This ruling sets a strong precedent that higher education cannot be limited to the whims of politicians,” said Leah Watson, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. “All students and educators deserve to have a free and open exchange about ideas without government control. Students can’t fight racial discrimination that they don’t see; training and instruction is key to empowering future leaders to pursue racial justice.”

This most recent ruling comes in Pernell v. Lamb, a lawsuit filed in 2022 on behalf of a group of Florida public university professors who contended their ability to teach had been restricted by this law.

Reaction to the ruling

“We are thrilled the court has stopped the erasure of topics that have real implications for our students, allowing them to learn, discuss, and develop tools for combatting the complex issue of racism in our country without being gagged by those who would dictate that only state-approved thought may be promoted,” said LeRoy Pernell, a Florida A&M University College of Law professor and the named plaintiff in this lawsuit.

“The ‘Stop W.O.K.E Act’ is an egregious example of widespread efforts across the country, most notably in Florida, to force the public higher education system to adopt the viewpoints of those in power. Thankfully, we have a judicial system to protect First Amendment rights and ensure that professors have the academic freedom to foster the type of learning environment where all students can learn and thrive,” said Jin Hee Lee, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Legal Defense Fund.

“It is no coincidence that this state law aimed to censor the perspectives of Black people and LGBTQ+ people, the very same people who are currently under attack. With this decision, the federal appeals court has made clear that Florida cannot actively erase their history of discrimination or their lived experiences without running afoul of our Constitution.”

“By upholding the district court’s ruling, the Eleventh Circuit ensured that our system of higher education is guided by the principle of free speech, not government censorship,” said Carrie McNamara, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “Our classrooms are meant to be rooms of curiosity, creativity, and learning. When we stifle this kind of critical thinking, we risk losing our education system as we know it.”

What the court said

Here’s what Judge Britt Grant, nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, wrote for the majority in a 52-page ruling:

“The State asks us to consider its rules a means of targeting discrimination,” Grant wrote. “But hearing an idea you disagree with is not discrimination; it is an opportunity to come up with a better idea, or maybe even change your mind.”

“Because the government pays the professors’ salaries, Florida says, their speech is the State’s speech. Emphatically no. The Florida defendants cannot ‘put together half a donkey and half a camel, and then ride to victory on the synthetic hybrid’.”

The state attempted to argue it was trying to “protect its ‘most cherished ideals,’” Grant wrote, but the judges didn’t buy that argument.

“Though the government has plenty of ways to promote its own viewpoint, puppeteering every university professor in the state is not one of them.”

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Florida’s Unconstitutional Classroom Censorship Law

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Now it's your turn: Who deserves the honor of the best letter of the quarter?

J.C. Bruce — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:03:42 GMT

A long time ago in a newsletter far, far away—all the way back to the first of April—I announced that each quarter Tropic Press would recognize the Best Letter of the Quarter among the hundreds of contributions that fill the Comments sections.

The idea was this:

I’d collect what I thought were the most clever, unique, funny, or just plain interesting comments, and at the end of the quarter pick out the top ten and let you help decide who should get the prize.

Why?

Well, my motivation was twofold. For one, I wanted to do a little something to encourage this sort of interaction among ourselves, and it was also a way to say thank you. After all, some of the cleverest writing in these newsletters comes from the contributors to the Comments sections (and from the crazy questions Miss Mingo gets each week, although they aren’t included here).

As a way to facilitate this, I began including a “Letter of the Week” in Sunday’s WEEKLY DEBRIEF edition, which I also launched around the same time.

So, the second quarter of the year is up, and it’s time to pick. In addition to the weekly letters featured in the Sunday newsletters, I have included several more that caught my eye. And, I should add, it was a chore narrowing this down as much as I already have. In fact, I couldn’t hold it to ten, as you will see.

The contest rules, as stated when this began, are these:

At the end of each quarter, I’ll offer up my (admittedly subjective) favorites and publish them collectively for everyone to admire and ask for your thoughts on who should be the Quarterly Winner. I’ll weigh the input and make an announcement shortly thereafter.

That lucky and talented individual will receive a genuine, one-of-a-kind Tropic Press Contributor CERTIFICATE and a free Miss Mingo coffee mug.

At the end of the year, we’ll post the top letters of the year—the winners of each quarter—and the Grand Prize Winner will get yet another one-of-a-kind, invaluable CERTIFICATE and a complete autographed set of my six-part Strange Files series of mysterious novels.

Rules (there are always rules):

Comments must be posted using the COMMENTS button accompanying every newsletter. I receive a lot of email directly from readers who simply hit the “reply” button on their email, which is great, but then only I see it. Replies using the COMMENTS button are shared with everyone.
Since I’m starting this in April, there will be only three quarterly winners this year. But that’s good news for the finalists—less competition.
I do not obtain, save, retain, or even read anyone’s personal information other than email addresses. So, if you are a winner, I will need your snail mail address to mail your certificate and other prizes. Or, if that is a concern, I can meet you at the corner of Walk and Don’t Walk or at the nearest mutually convenient tavern (mutually convenient meaning near me). First drink’s on me.

So, now it is your turn to weigh in. Who deserves the honors? Email me here with your vote. Oh, and if you think I’ve overlooked a letter that should have been included, feel free to add it to the list, including one of your own if you like. Send your vote to:

Letter Winner

And here are the contestants:

“There is no ambiguity as to what is happening. The present Supreme Court is the most corrupt court this country has ever seen and will go down in infamy as Trump’s personal law firm.”

—Richard Bellerose

I wonder if Trump will demand that all hurricanes be named after himself. Hurricane Trump 1, Hurricane Trump 2, etc. After all, he is nothing more than an out of control, big blowhard. The corrupt Florida Supreme Court is giving the corrupt Trump-loving Roberts Court a run for its money. So as long as someone is Republican, they can lie to the court? What’s next? Maybe giving Epstein a posthumous pardon…”

— MPT

Trump and his CORRUPTION are making the US the laughingstock of the planet. Enough is enough; this criminal needs to be impeached.

—George Terranova

Trump is trying to kill us by hiring incompetent boobs, and does anyone want to take bets on when he bankrupts America?

—Janet Robinson

— Nick Gallup

In a make-believe world, Trump ideas sound acceptable. In reality, Trump has little concern for the details and responsibilities that accompany ambitious sounding ideas. Could it be that Trump’s many bankruptcy filings in the real world were also caused by poor planning?

— Robert Kain

Traditionally, it takes six nails to close a coffin lid. How many have we banged into the lid on our environment’s coffin so far? Who is wielding the hammer? How many nails are still in his mouth?

—Charles G. Masi

First, thank you for what you do - cutting through the BS of this administration and speaking to truth.

Next, Trump doesn’t have a sense of humor that would be considered funny. His is of the perverted, “I am King and I will f$^k up all who don’t bend to my will.”

He has waged war on seven countries - I don’t think that includes the United States. He wages war on the very people he’s supposed to represent and care for, giving no thought to the lives being destroyed. The list is long, but I’m only mention three:

1. Our military and families

2. Healthcare

3. Free elections

We the people want our civil rights and are willing to fight for them.

--Christine Howard

Funny, in the State of Florida they did away with the Firearm Registration List - so, if you have your weapon stolen, that information is no longer available for Law Enforcement agencies. But Trump wants a Voters Registration List - isn’t that something that smacks of what the Nazi’s and other oppressive tyrants do to control the population????

--Bruce Nachman

He’s not joking when he muses aloud he’s a king. And he’ll do anything to not have to talk himself out of his convenient delusion. His last resort to ensure his perverted vision is to avoid the inconvenience of an election that he’s certain to lose.

The only thing between him and an ermine-clad coronation is SCOTUS. Just this week, the Court threw a mortal fear of failure of further court ventures when they came close to laughing him out of the room to his face in a full court hearing on birthright citizenship.

He’s got a ninth-inning at bat coming up, and he’ll be swinging for the fence. Failing all else, he will not hesitate to sign an executive order cancelling the 2026 election. Otherwise, a Democratic House will impeach him, and a Democratic Senate will convict him.

--David Fetzer

What Trump either doesn’t realize or chooses to violate is the consensus of his owning class that long ago ceased to fear democracy as they discovered they could control public sentiment with ‘advertising’, essentially propaganda for the owning class and subterfuge. Thus, for decades public preferences have had little or no effect on legislation or Presidential whim. On the other hand, many of us believe that his intention is not only to destroy democracy, but the owning class (which he rightly calls ‘The Deep State) as well.

--Tedder 130

When Trump acts like he is kidding it is his way of floating an idea to see who jumps on the band wagon. Just like his accusing the Democrats of election fraud while he goes out and blatantly commits election fraud, well election interference for sure. It is his narcissisms, he cannot control it and it will continue to destroy our country as we knew it before he showed up. We have a mentally ill man at the helm. Maybe we should start treating him like the sociopath he is, if only congress would do their job.

--Sharon Krueger

It’s a bold strategy—ignoring constitutional checks and balances to start an unauthorized war in the Middle East and then threatening another regime change just 90 miles off our coast. Between the endless Defense Department spending and Senate Republicans finally pushing back with War Powers Resolutions, we’re watching taxpayer money get incinerated before sunrise. A masterclass in destroying a country. Maybe that is actually Trump’s intent.

--Tracy Duba

So, thanks for joining in and, again, here’s where to send your thoughts on who should win this quarter’s prize:

Letter Winner

Thanks for your support

Thank you for your support as a subscriber. It is invaluable. This is especially so for those of you who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

J.C. Bruce

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More than 100 new laws come into effect in Florida

WEEKLY DEBRIEF: More than 100 new laws come into effect in Florida, but the flamingo is still not the state bird

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:02:11 GMT

That Was The Week That Was

While the nation roasted last week, frustrating Donald Trump’s big birthday bash on the National Mall, the Supreme Court handed down a batch of rulings that also made him hot under the collar.

Among them, the court refused to hear his appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case. She’s the writer who successfully sued Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. He owes her about $100 million.

The justices also ruled that Trump can’t block the counting of mail-in ballots that are postmarked on time even if they arrive late. They supported birthright citizenship over the president’s objections. And they wouldn’t let Trump fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board.

They did affirm Trump’s right to fire most agency heads, which is a huge disruption to decades of precedent, but that’s a ruling that works both ways. Trump’s successor will also have the ability to clean house when he or she arrives.

In addition to the stories listed later in this report that headlined last week’s Tropic Press newsletters, here are a few more you should be aware of:

More than 200 bills passed by the Florida Legislature earlier this year have now been signed into law, and the majority of them took effect starting July 1.

Among them:

A wide-ranging education bill that requires students to learn cursive writing and for school districts to post pictures of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln at a “conspicuous place” in each public school.
Roads were named for Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump.
Local governments are now banned from enacting so-called net-zero policies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Chiropractors may now charge more than $1,500 in advance payments for treatment.
Sex offenders may not live within 1,000 feet of a public swimming pool,
The state’s flagship has been replaced. It was the schooner Western Union. Now it is the S.S. American Victory.

it should be noted that not among the bills signed into law is one that makes the flamingo the state bird, an egregious oversight.

Read the list of laws

A pro-AI group spent $500K on ads for Byron Donalds

The Miami Herald reports that a pro-AI political committee backed by tech moguls has spent half a million dollars running TV ads promoting Naples U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

The right-leaning PAC, American Mission, spent at least $500,000 on roughly 1,700 TV ad spots promoting Donalds’ endorsement from President Donald Trump and targeting voters in the Tampa Bay and Tallahassee areas in March and April, according to Federal Communications Commission records.

Full Story Here

Florida Is Teaching Children That Slavery Was Better Than Dying

In a Florida classroom, an animated Christopher Columbus is asked about slavery.

“Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no?” Columbus says. “I don’t see the problem.”

This is not a fringe video from the internet. This is state-approved curriculum. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Department of Education made Florida the first state in the country to greenlight PragerU, a self-described conservative media organization, for use in public school classrooms.

Full Story Here

Democrats, Haitian leaders say immigration ruling will hurt Floridians

Haitian American community advocates warn that the Supreme Court decision approving Trump’s efforts to end temporary protected status will inflict pain on people in South Florida.

Community and political leaders warned that the impact would be felt beyond the Haitian community, including by older Floridians who lose their caregivers and as the region loses a significant pool of workers.

“The decision to revoke temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians is more than an immigration issue, it is a moral issue. And it forces us to ask a simple question: How do we treat people who are our co-workers, our caregivers, our taxpayers, and our friends?” said Denise Brown, CEO of LifeNet4Families.

See the South Florida Sun Sentinel Story Here

Breaking News: Supreme Court hands defeats to Trump in three cases

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

"In the world's richest city, the minimum wage shouldn't mean living in poverty. When working people have more money in their pocket, the overall economy thrives."

— New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Letter of the Week

Funny, the U.S. is calmer and more secure when Democrats are in power. I’m tired of being scared and depressed daily. The red does that, so it’s become a theme how they ALL lie.

— Donna Nehrich

Looking Ahead

When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. This week, I’ve written about how July is the hottest month of the year—except near the beach. You should check it out. Here are some snippets from there and elsewhere to help guide your week ahead.

July 5. International Bikini Day. It was on this day in 1946 that French fashion designer Louis Reard introduced the two-piece bathing suit. He named it after the Bikini Atoll, a favorite target for atomic bomb testing.

July 6. International Kissing Day. This holiday started in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s and quickly spread like a contagious disease. It encourages kissing “for connections’ sake.” It’s also a great way to share mononucleosis.

July 7. The National Day of Rock and Roll was created in 2020 to celebrate the genre’s pioneers. Ringo Starr clearly tops that list in my book. What say you?

July 8. Body Painting Day. The best place to see body painting on display on this planet is at Key West’s annual Fantasy Fest, Oct. 16-25. This year’s theme is “Musical Icons and Iconic Musicals.”

July 9. World Cup quarter-finals begin today.

July 10. Florida’s annual Python Challenge begins today. The hunter who captures the most snakes gets $10,000.

July 11. World Population Day is an annual global observance to highlight the importance of family planning, gender equality, maternal health, human rights, and the impacts of human population growth. Snake population growth is addressed the day before.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.

Battle lines for the midterms firming up: Hope for the future versus fear and loathing

America’s richest president ever gets even wealthier while on the job

Breaking News: Trump loses bid before Supreme Court to end birthright citizenship

ICE agents, up to their old habits (pun intended), make an ungodly arrest only Lucifer could love

What price freedom in Florida? Lawsuits test limits of the state’s free speech crackdown

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