Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce: Newsletter

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a newsletter and website reaching more than 700,000 Floridians daily. He is an award-winning journalist and author, a native Miamian, and an alum of the University of South Florida among other institutions of higher learning where he served time.

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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.

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J.C. Bruce

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Since he's a Florida resident, could Donald Trump be Baker Acted?

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:03:51 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Do you know someone who may be having mental health issues—perhaps a friend, or family member, or elected official?

If so, are you curious how you can get them the help they may need?

Well, if you are in Florida where I live, you may be in luck. We have this law called the Baker Act, and it allows cops or judges, or medical professionals to detain individuals who show evidence of mental infirmity under certain circumstances.

For instance, what if you knew of someone who was prone to murdering people on the high seas, sneaking into foreign countries and kidnapping their leaders, threatening to invade his neighbors, or who hallucinated that he was being applauded at a Knicks game when, in reality, he was being booed by thousands of people?

Would that be enough to Baker Act him?

Let’s see if we can sort this out. According to the law, a person who claims Florida as his official residence can be detained if:

There is reason to believe the person has a mental illness.
The person with a mental illness refuses to be examined so his illness can be diagnosed.
Without care or treatment, the person is likely to suffer from severe neglect or pose a serious threat of harm to themselves or others.

Of course, we’re talking about Donald Trump. This rumination is prompted by a letter from a reader this week suggesting that the president’s displays of derangement are becoming so severe—while he’s awake, anyway—that he needs to be Baker Acted.

Snatching someone from their home—unless they are, say, the president of Venezuela—requires that those previously mentioned criteria be met. It’s a high bar.

Trump certainly qualifies as a Florida resident.

He is unquestionably a threat to others. Remember, this is the guy who just launched a war in the Mideast in which the first round of attacks killed more than 100 schoolchildren. And he’s bragged about the big red button on his desk that would allow him to launch the nation’s more than 3,000 nuclear warheads, likely ending all life on Earth.

His own niece, Mary Trump, a psychologist, says her uncle meets all nine diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder and that his condition goes “far beyond garden-variety narcissism.”

That said, she hasn’t actually examined him.

Has anyone? Well, yes.

Trump claims to have aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment by being able to repeat the words: Person. Woman, Man. Camera. TV. However, the Montreal test is not a test for sanity, or IQ, for that matter, even if Trump asserts that he is a “stable genius.” It’s a test for early signs of Alzheimer’s.

But going back to our criteria for being Baker Acted, it appears that Trump has, indeed, volunteered to at least be seen by physicians who have administered some tests, so that alone would likely disqualify him for detainment, even though there is reason to believe he may have personality disorders and is clearly threatening.

Clever idea. But just too easy.

No, for his own sake and the sake of the country, and to ensure that he is no longer a danger to others, he needs to be removed through impeachment or the implementation of the 25th Amendment.

That latter approach requires the cooperation of his sycophantic Cabinet. So, it is unlikely.

Impeachment is certainly possible. After all, he was impeached twice in his previous term of office, although never convicted.

That won’t happen this term either unless Democrats regain the House and Senate.

And that is in all of our hands. Forget the Baker Act.

Vote.

J.C. Bruce, the founder of Tropic Press, is an award-winning author and journalist who holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida.

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Trump's mind seems evidence-free. Where are the responsible adults?

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:02:08 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

By now, you’ve likely seen Donald Trump’s temper tantrum on NBC’s Meet the Press, how he ripped off his microphone and stormed off camera when the moderator, Kristen Welker, tried to fact-check his lies.

I’ve just finished reading the entire transcript of the interview, and it is an eye-opener. And I have to say, I actually think that Trump believes part of the nonsense he was spouting.

Let’s jump into the final minutes when Welker is challenging Trump on some of his claims about the $1.776 billion so-called “anti-weaponization” slush fund he and his acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, concocted behind closed doors.

Trump was arguing that the money was justified to pay the poor, innocent tourists who just happened to be wandering around the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and were assaulted by “crooked” cops. Then it morphed into his delusional mantra that his re-election loss in 2020 was “rigged.”

Trump: “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the weaponization fund. I love the idea, because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s going on, but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.”
Welker: “Just to be very clear, there’s no evidence of what you’re saying …”
Trump: “There’s a lot of evidence … Listen to me … There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence.”
Welker: “Well, it’s not been presented in a court of law.”
Trump: “The election was rigged. It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again right now in California.”
Welker: “Do you have evidence to support that?”
Trump: “All I have to do is look.”
Welker: “But that’s not evidence.”
Trump: “And I listen. And I listen to people…”

All he has to do is look. All he has to do is listen when his sycophantic friends tell him what he wants to hear.

That’s all the evidence he needs.

Documents, testimony, hard evidence? The actual real-world truth? Unnecessary. If he believes it, it’s true.

And I believe that he believes that. It’s what malignant narcissists do, psychologists say.

In summary:

Malignant narcissists frequently believe their own fabrications because they have a distorted psychological filter that reshapes reality to protect their ego. While they do engage in conscious, strategic lying, their minds heavily rely on primitive defense mechanisms that warp their actual perception of the truth. This means they can completely believe a false narrative in the moment simply because it aligns with what they want or need to be true.

In other words, they’re crazy.

And this crazy person is the president of the United States with direct control over the largest military on Earth, including its 3,700 active nuclear warheads.

I don’t blame Trump for being nuts. It’s not his fault.

But I do blame those who are empowered by our Constitution to be the guardrails of our democracy who are supposed to intervene when we discover that our commander-in-chief is out to lunch.

It’s why Congress can impeach the president and remove him from office.

It’s why the 25th Amendment to the Constitution gives the vice president and the Cabinet the power to step in and disempower a president who cannot perform his duties.

We may—or we may not—slog our way through the next few years with Trump at the helm, but if it all goes to hell, we know who history will call to account: The so-called adults in the room who put their personal interests ahead of their duty to the country.

Meet the Press Transcript

You can read the full Meet the Press transcript here:

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J.C. Bruce

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Florida governor's race narrows as Democrat David Jolly is now virtually uncontested, and Byron Donalds dominates the G.O.P.

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 10:00:29 GMT

David Jolly and Byron Donalds

By J.C. Bruce

The race to determine who will be Florida’s next governor has been disrupted by the news that one of the top two contenders for the Democratic nomination is dropping out.

And there are rumors that the frontrunner among Republicans has such a huge lead in money and popularity that the G.O.P. may cancel a scheduled debate among the party’s candidates.

Jerry Demings, the well-known Democratic mayor of Orange County, announced last week that he is suspending his campaign and withdrawing from the race to focus on “health issues.” He revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

That leaves David Jolly, a former Pinellas County Republican congressman, now turned Democrat, as the all-but-certain nominee for the Democratic Party in the midterm election. There are a handful of other declared candidates listed on the Secretary of State’s website, but none can be considered serious contenders, although Jolly may still face one or more of them in the August 18 primary.

The week-long period in which candidates must qualify to run begins today and ends June 12, at which time we’ll know what the primary lineup will be.

Both Jolly and Demings had polled within single digits of the also all-but-certain Republican nominee, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples. While Donalds faces several challengers for the Republican nomination, he has been outdistancing everyone—including Jolly—in fundraising and is the clear leader in the G.O.P. contest.

In fact, Politico published an article last week entitled “Sunshine State Letdown?” in which they speculated that a scheduled debate between the Republican candidates entitled “Sunshine State Showdown’” may not happen . Why? Because Donalds’ two main opponents may not qualify for lack of polling numbers and financing.

They are former House Speaker Paul Renner and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.

Said Donalds of his competitors: “When you’re talking about debates, I mean, you actually have to have a campaign.”

Ouch.

Jolly was more sympathetic to his erstwhile opponent:

“Jerry has dedicated his life to public service, fighting with passion, mettle, and faith. I know he’ll bring that same spirit to this new chapter,” Jolly said. “Laura and I wish him a full recovery as we personally pray for Jerry and his family.”

Newsweek magazine asked the question that’s now on many people’s minds: Who gains the most from Demings leaving the race? Their answer:

Demings’ exit affects multiple groups. For Democrats, it forces a recalibration of strategy and messaging, especially in Central Florida, where Demings had strong name recognition. For independents, many of whom were undecided in (recent) polls, the race now presents a different set of choices. For Donalds, the departure removes a challenger who had polled slightly better than Jolly—though both Democrats kept the race within single digits.
Demings’ decision also underscores the uncertainty of a race still months away from Election Day. While Republicans maintain structural advantages, Democrats remain within striking distance, and the absence of Demings introduces new variables into a contest that was already more competitive than expected.

The June 12 qualifying deadline mentioned earlier also applies to candidates for the state Legislature, where volunteer groups have been working feverishly to round up Democrats to run so that Republicans don’t get a free ride with no opponents on the ballot.

Those efforts, including those of Project 140, which I’ve written about previously, have been successful in lining up people willing to run. Now, they are in a race to find the funds needed to qualify—about $1,800 per candidate.

If you’d like to help ensure that no Republican gets a free pass, and maybe even help bust up the G.O.P.’s supermajority in the Legislature, you can do so by donating here:

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

Alligator Alcatraz prisoners say guards deny them food and water

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WEEKLY DEBRIEF: Both Florida senators fail to stop sleepy Trump's slush fund

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:26:12 GMT

That Was The Week That Was

Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody could have put an end to President Donald Trump’s outrageous $1.776 billion slush fund with their votes this past week. But they didn’t.

During debate, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered an amendment to a budget bill that would have permanently outlawed the so-called “anti-weaponization” fund for MAGA allies.

It was a close vote, losing 49-50. Only one more vote in favor of the amendment would have scuttled Trump’s outrageous self-enrichment scheme that he cooked up with his former personal lawyer and now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

While three Republicans joined Democrats, Scott and Moody were not among them. Had either of them stepped up, the vote would have been flipped 50-49 and the slush fund would be dead.

Scott will not be up for re-election until 2030, but Moody faces voters this year.

She is in the Senate only because Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed her to fill in for Marco Rubio when he resigned his Senate seat to become Trump’s secretary of state. Moody now must run in a November special election to keep her job, and her vote to support the taxpayer giveaway handed her Democratic opponent in the midterm election a radioactive issue to use against her.

That candidate will either be retired Army Col. Alex Vindman or state Rep. Angie Nixon.

Detainees at Florida’s notorious Alligator Alcatraz immigration jail said guards were denying them food and fresh water until they signed documents presented to them in English that they did not understand.

In an audio recording of a telephone call to an immigration advocacy group heard by The Guardian, more than half a dozen detainees alleged that the water given to them over the last three days was “rotten” and containing mosquito larvae, in an apparent attempt to pressure them to sign.

“They took all the water, and they don’t want to give us water,” one detainee said in the call to a representative of the Workers Circle, an advocacy group that has acted as a liaison between detainees and their families.

You can read the full report here:

The Guardian

How DeSantis signed away a billion dollars for his gulags

Speaking of Alligator Alcatraz, the Miami Herald reports that DeSantis has approved at least 55 contracts over the past year worth $1 billion for state-run concentration camps, including the Everglades boondoggle.

The bulk of the money went to Alligator Alcatraz, even though the facility will soon be shuttered. The rest to the so-called Deportation Depot. According to the newspaper:

DeSantis administration officials have always known the price tag for the projects would be enormous, telling the Federal Emergency Management Agency in September that it would cost more than $1.7 billion to operate the two facilities over a two-year period. FEMA agreed to reimburse the state a maximum of $608 million across both facilities.
But the full extent to which the state continued to sign expensive contracts without competitive bidding processes — even as it became clear much of the costs would not be reimbursed by the federal government — has not been previously reported.
The Herald traced about five dozen private vendor contracts worth $991 million directly to the maintenance and operation of the two state-run detention facilities, most of which the state hasn’t yet paid out. More than $824 million was intended for Alligator Alcatraz.

You can read the full Miami Herald report here (it may require a subscription):

Alligator Alcatraz

Dozing Donald conks out again

Trump once again passed out during a meeting in the Oval Office this week, marking at least the 13th time he’s fallen asleep in public gatherings, according to news sources.

The White House does not agree with this, as you would expect. They say he is only “resting his eyes” or blinking.

The truth: During a Thursday meeting, he was filmed with his eyes fully closed, repeatedly tilting forward and slumping slightly to his side.

Most of us call that napping.

It pays to donate to Trump’s ballroom—biggly

More than half of the identified donors to Trump’s White House ballroom have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion during the past six months, according to a report released this week.

Fourteen of the 27 known corporate donors to the $400 million project, which would replace the demolished East Wing, have seen their government business grow in that time frame, according to the report from Public Citizen.

As it turns out, most of those same companies are also facing federal enforcement actions over alleged wrongdoing or have had such actions suspended by the Trump administration since the start of Trump’s second term, the nonprofit revealed.

See the full report from Public Citizen here:

Ballroom Billions

Good doggie

Trump gave Gov. Ron DeSantis a pat on the head this week for naming Palm Beach’s airport after him.

As the Florida Phoenix reported:

Gov. Ron DeSantis is “very good” and has bestowed a “great honor” upon Donald Trump by renaming the airport neighboring Mar-a-Lago after him, the 47th president said.
Trump’s praise for the Florida governor — previously rare for his former presidential opponent — comes one week after state lawmakers agreed to spend $2.75 million to rebrand the Palm Beach International Airport.
“Ron’s good. He’s a friend of mine. He just named an airport after me,” Trump told the New York Post. “They named the Palm Beach International Airport the Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
“That’s a great honor,” he added.

There’s speculation that if Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is not confirmed by the Senate—and that is possible—DeSantis could be in the running for that job. He’ll need to find work somewhere. The lame-duck governor’s term of office is up at the end of the year.

Has Trump stopped taking hair-loss meds and, if so, what’s that about?

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work, and then they get elected and prove it.”

—P.J. O’Rourke

Letter of the Week

Since 2016, the GOP has been on a campaign to reverse the result of the Civil War and the subsequent Reconstruction. Except for the reunification of the Union, the MAGA agenda aims to reverse all successes of Reconstruction. They are busy nullifying the 14th and 15th Amendments and, effectively, the so-called Treaty of Appomattox. Essentially, we are now re-litigating the Civil War. If you haven’t noticed that fact, you just haven’t been paying attention.

Charles G. Masi

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.

June 7. Spain’s famous “Baby Jumping Festival” is today. In the streets of the town of Castrillo de Murcia, infants born in the previous year are placed on mattresses, then grown male adults dressed in colorful clothes run and leap over the babies to scare the devil out of them. Try that here and you’d be arrested. Even in Florida.

June 8. It’s National Upsy Daisy Day, a time to not let small annoyances of everyday life stop you from enjoying the moment—you know, irritations such as knowing your state celebrates the lives of Confederate traitors and the Florida Legislature has still not named the flamingo the state bird.

June 9 is Donald Duck Day, a huge holiday in Florida, celebrating the birthday of the world’s most famous duck, who, oddly, wears a hat and jacket but no pants. There are other famous ducks, but they all have to good taste to wear trousers.

June 10. Ballpoint Pen Day, an important holiday for scribblers.

June 11. The 2026 World Cup games begin, the first at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Game time is 3 p.m. (EDT).

June 12 is the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre. On this day in 2016, 49 people were murdered and another 58 wounded in the downtown Orlando night spot, the majority gay and of Latino descent.

June 12 is also the deadline for Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the Kennedy Center, and it is the deadline set by Miami Federal Judge Kathleen Williams for Trump and his AG, Todd Blanche, to respond to allegations of fraud in the now infamous creation of a $1.8 billion slush fund.

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.

Democratic candidates for Florida Legislature need our help. Here’s how to do it

Today in Florida we celebrate Jefferson Davis’ birthday -- and other atrocities in the news

UPDATE: Legislature OKs property tax cuts; now it will go to the voters

Welcome to hurricane season. Because of a Super El Niño, there should be fewer storms--unless there aren’t

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

Share Tropic Press!

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

This is how we make a difference

There are 140 Florida House and Senate seats up for grabs in the midterm elections, and Democrats have been recruited from all over the state to step up and run against the Republican supermajority that dominates state government. These candidates need our help. Specifically, each of them is facing a June 12 deadline to pay their qualifying fees to get on the ballot. You can make a difference by pitching in. Here’s where to do it:

Has Trump stopped taking hair-loss meds and, if so, what's that about?

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:11:31 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Has Donald Trump stopped taking hair-loss medicine, and, if so, is it because of the possible side effects?

Those are the questions people are pondering following a Washington Post report that during Trump’s first term of office his doctors routinely listed the hair-loss medication finasteride (marketed as Propecia) in his medical records.

But now, it’s missing from those same reports.

How come?

Has he gotten over his vanity regarding his voluminous comb-over?

Or has he been suffering from some of the rare, but nonetheless real, possible side effects of the drug?

The White House isn’t talking, which leaves us to fill in the blanks.

First, let’s look at what the drug’s known possible side effects are. They include:

Decreased libido and erectile dysfunction.
Depression, anxiety or irritability.
So-called brain fog.
Enlarged and tender breasts.

While we are not privy to whether Trump is suffering from E.D. or tender breasts (and, frankly, we’d rather not even think about those things), brain fog fits given how he seems to doze off at the drop of a MAGA hat.

And, let’s be honest, the guy always seems irritable. How else to explain those dozens of middle-of-the-night rage posts on social media?

But we just don’t know.

It is also important— in fairness to the wealthy pharmaceutical company that makes the drug (Organon & Co.) and its legions of litigators—that there are physical and psychiatric conditions that are NOT known side effects of the drug.

For instance, no hair loss medication, according to my research, has ever been accused of causing someone to:

Suffer from malignant narcissism.
Insist on naming things after himself, such as performing arts centers, airports, battleships, and government institutions.
Plaster his arrest mugshot everywhere —on currency, passports, visas, etc.
Attack another country, blow it up, wreck his own economy in the process and his standing in the polls, and then just shrug his shoulders and claim, “No big deal.”
Whine endlessly that the election he lost was somehow “stolen.”
Sue himself, settle the suit with himself, then try to get the U.S. Treasury to pay him $1.8 billion.
Hide classified documents in his bathroom.
Foment an insurrection to overthrow the government.
Repeatedly show up in The Epstein Files.
Paint everything in sight gold.
Lie constantly, including that Mexico would pay for a border wall, that his inauguration crowd (barely visible in aerial photos) was the biggest ever, that COVID-19 would “go away with the heat,” or, perhaps the biggest lie of all…
Claim that he is a “stable genius.”

Nope, can’t blame hair-loss preventatives for any of that.

So, then, is he still taking the drug or not? When the Post inquired, they got the standard Washington non-denial denial:

“The current report reflects all medications deemed clinically relevant to disclose at this time. No additional undisclosed conditions or procedures materially affecting his health status were omitted from this report.”

Which leaves us to wonder: What else is this soon-to-be 80 year-old not telling us about his mental and physical health?

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

This is how we make a difference

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Democratic candidates for Florida Legislature need our help. Here's how to do it

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:03:02 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

During the past half-dozen years, the Florida Democratic Party has seen a precipitous decline in registered voters.

While newcomers may find this hard to believe, as late as 2020, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in this state — 5.3 million to 5.2 million. Contrast that to today, where Republicans dominate with 5.5 million registered voters versus 4 million for the Dems.

What’s so concerning about those numbers to me isn’t just that Republicans surged ahead, but that both Democrats and independent voters lost actual numbers by the hundreds of thousands, all while Florida’s population was booming, gaining about 2 million new residents.

Indeed, over that period, the total number of Floridians registered to vote dropped by 1.2 million overall, according to figures posted by Secretary of State’s office (below). And it looks like, in balance, Democrats and independents were the ones suffering the decline, while in real numbers Republicans gained.

There are a host of factors that have played into this, including voter suppression laws passed by Republicans that especially impacted Democrats and independents, purging from voter rolls about a million people who had not voted in recent years. Then there are demographic shifts with newcomers to the state bringing their party loyalties with them.

Even so, were we to look at this in, admittedly, oversimplified terms, and examine the fortunes of the state’s political parties as, say, businesses, it’s clear that the G.O.P.’s stock has been rising while the Democrats have been tanking.

While that’s gloomy, there’s a sense that the momentum may be shifting. Dems are touting local wins, like the Miami mayoral race and a few legislative special elections. And with the Republican Party’s standard-bearer, Donald Trump, plummeting in the polls, there’s newfound optimism about the midterm elections.

But number are numbers. To overcome Republicans’ voter registration lead, Democrats will need the support of independents and voters registered to minor parties (whose numbers, interestingly, have doubled over the past few years).

Given the fix the party finds itself in, it seems fair to ask—notwithstanding factors outside the party’s control—how well it is facing these challenges.

The last time the Democratic Party was leading was during the tenure of former party Chair Terrie Rizzo in 2020. Since then, that seat has been filled by Manny Diaz, the former mayor of Miami, and now, Nikki Fried, the state’s former agriculture commissioner, who presides over a gaping voter deficit.

Is enough being done to reverse this downward trend?

This concern is prompted, in part, by a recent story published by the USA Today network noting friction between the party’s established leaders and volunteers who have been recruiting candidates for office.

One example cited was that of U.S. Navy veteran Brian Nathan, who won a special election in Senate District 14 by half a percentage point:

Nathan … said he didn’t have the support of the state Democratic Party. “They wanted me to replace my staff. They wanted to review every single contract I had. They wanted to control the campaign, essentially,” he said. “I was happy to be a partner and work with them, but I was not willing to turn over the keys to my campaign to them.”

And it seems like it was a good thing he didn’t.

Frustration with the state party organization was also discussed by volunteers such as Margie Stein, the leader of Project 140, who has successfully recruited dozens of candidates in the past few months to run for either the state House or Senate.

For her efforts, Fried accused Stein of not being a “team player” because she would not release the names of people she was trying to recruit.

Why?

“She wanted to know who we were talking to,” Stein said. “I don’t understand what she would want them for. If the Florida party was doing what it should be doing, we wouldn’t have to be doing what we’re doing. Her charge is ridiculous.”

As she told USA Today: “Grassroots groups like ours are the future of politics. How do you win elections if you don’t participate? And why would you just hand the keys to the kingdom to the Republicans without a fight?”

So, is Stein’s political committee, Blue Florida: Project 140, in competition with the party?

“I don’t profess to be the competition. I’m filling a gap. There’s a hole in the system.”

The good news is that the hole is being filled. Stein says that most of the legislative seats that only a few months ago had no Democratic candidates now have volunteers ready to sign their qualifying papers. The deadline is June 12.

But it takes about $1,800 per candidate to register.

“We need about $40,000,” Stein said, money to bridge the gap between what the candidates have on hand and what they need.

As noted in this space before, Project 140 derives its name from the number of state House and Senate seats up for grabs in the November election.

By finding Democratic candidates for these seats, it “keeps Republicans busy” and forces them to campaign more vigorously in their own districts rather than helping out in statewide elections such as for U.S. Senate and governor, Stein says.

“They get nervous as soon as they get an opponent. We want them nervous.”

If Democrats can add just a few seats to the House and Senate this year, they can take away the Republicans’ supermajority status in the Legislature. Why is that important? Because right now, the Republicans have the numbers to override any veto by the governor. Take that away, and they would be forced to come to the table and negotiate. And if the Democrats are successful in electing a governor, this would be a game-changer.

You can help with that by pitching in so Democratic candidates reach their fundraising goals to qualify to run.

That might just be the spark the Democratic Party needs to turn its fortunes around. Every small donation adds up.

Here’s where to do it:

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

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.

Today in Florida we celebrate Jefferson Davis' birthday -- and other atrocities in the news

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:15:04 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

So many atrocities, so little space. But we’ll do our best this morning to give you a quick overview, starting with the fact that today, here in the so-called “free” state of Florida, we celebrate a notorious slave owner, Jefferson Davis.

It’s his birthday and an official state holiday.

But his is not the only Confederacy-themed holiday we recognize here in the Gunshine State. Earlier this year, we commemorated Robert E. Lee’s birthday (January 19), and we also celebrated Confederate Memorial Day on April 26. And, yes, they are official state holidays, too.

For those who may not recall, Davis was a United States senator who, in 1861, resigned his Senate seat to return to Mississippi, where he assumed the presidency of the newly christened Confederate States of America. He served in that post through the Civil War until he was captured, indicted for treason and imprisoned for two years.

And why, you might ask, would we ever celebrate a traitor and convicted felon? And why do we have holidays for Lee and Confederates at all?

There are two things to note:

One is that these holidays are not days off for state employees and even Gov. Ron DeSantis is not brazen enough to actually sponsor any ceremonies in their honor. But they are on the books.

The other notable is that there have been numerous attempts over the years to eliminate these embarrassments, but the Republican-controlled Legislature has refused because—get this!—they say it would amount to cancel culture.

I have a full column about this in Florida Weekly, and you can read it for free here:

Florida Weekly

That is atrocious, but this is blatantly hypocritical.

CBS News has announced that it is firing 60 Minutes stalwart Scott Pelley because he had the temerity to “ambush” his new boss in the staff meeting where he accused the new head of CBS News of “murdering” 60 Minutes.

New executive producer Nick Bilton, a guy with threadbare credentials to run an investigative news program, said it was a “profound disappointment” that Pelley spoke his mind and confronted him during a staff confab.

Has Bilton ever even watched 60 Minutes? Ambushing people is the show’s actual brand. It’s why people tune in every Sunday—or at least why historically they did. The future seems cloudy now.

CBS has been taken over by a conglomerate in bed with Donald Trump and the MAGA crowd and has been hacking apart the storied news division for weeks now. Originally named the Columbia Broadcasting System, I think it’s fair that we rename it in honor of the theme they are now instituting:

The Confederate Broadcast System.

Here’s a full story on Pelley’s firing and a link to the actual letter Pelley received so you can read all the details for yourself.

Adding to today’s atrocity report, we note that acting Attorney General and Donald Trump’s theoretically-former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, said yesterday that because of all the heat and bad P.R. Trump’s so-called settlement has boiled up that the Justice Department would not be creating the $1.776 billion slush fund that we’ve all been reading about.

But Blanche said he wouldn’t put it in writing. And that while the slush fund wouldn’t be created, the portion of the “settlement” of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS that grants him endless immunity from prosecution for his tax issues remains intact.

We’ll see.

Miami Federal District Court Judge Kathleen Williams may have something to say about that as she investigates whether the lawsuit was ever legitimate. If not, then it would seem any portion of it, including Trump’s sweetheart immunity deal, would be invalid, too.

This will be fascinating to watch.

Oh, a final note:

Under Florida law it is illegal to burn the Confederate flag. It’s unenforceable, of course, because it would violate our First Amendment rights of free expression. But it is still on the books.

Just like all the other Confederate holidays.

Make a difference

Are you sick and tired of the Republican-dominated state Legislature failing to look out for the interests of ordinary Floridians? You can make a difference. Project 140 has rounded up enough candidates to ensure that most Republicans don’t get to run in November unopposed. But Democratic candidates who have volunteered to step up and challenge the G.O.P. supermajority need our help. The deadline for filing their paperwork to run is June 12. It costs about $1,800 per candidate, and they need our financial support to get on the ballot. Here’s where you can donate:

Thanks for your support

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J.C. Bruce

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UPDATE: Legislature OKs property tax cuts; now it will go to the voters

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:32:40 GMT

Florida Legislature. Photo courtesy of WUSF

By J.C. Bruce

Local government advocate says property tax proposal would make Florida ‘more unaffordable’

Update

Shortly after this morning’s newsletter was sent out, a supermajority of Republicans in the state Legislature—and even a few Democrats—pushed through a ballot proposal that would slash property taxes for homeowners.

Florida voters will ultimately decide the fate of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tax-cut plan on Nov. 3. It will take 60% voting yes to approve it.

Win or lose, it won’t be up to DeSantis to manage as his term of office expires on Jan. 5, 2027.

As the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported minutes ago:

State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, said lawmakers were given a “Frankenstein bill” that would be the ultimate “defunding of police.” It would leave out many essential services and “eliminates a loadbearing wall of state government” that would put local communities in a “financial straitjacket.”
“This is why we should not be completely reforming our tax structure in the state of Florida in special session, which we have three days to do,” Smith said.
The move was opposed by state Democratic lawmakers and a handful of Republicans, as well as most city and county officials, who said it would “bankrupt” most local governments. They came to Tallahassee in droves Monday to warn about the harm it would cause and the services that would be cut if approved. Rows of committee hearing rooms were filled with firefighters in uniform, who warned of a 25% cut in services if the resolution is approved.

The legislation passed anyway.

Earlier today

Lame duck Gov. Ron DeSantis has called the Florida Legislature back into special session to approve his property tax-cut scheme that could go before voters in November.

While everyone loves the idea of lower taxes, the question haunting the proposal is obvious: At what cost?

What services—schools, police, firefighting—would be jeopardized? Wouldn’t this result in a power shift away from cities and counties to the state? How do we feel about that?

And while Florida’s increasing cost of living is the hot-button issue right now, is this the most thoughtful way to address it?

Democrats—who are utterly outnumbered in the Legislature—argue that, ultimately, DeSantis’ plan would make the state even more unaffordable.

Others argue that this scheme—way too short on details of how essential services would be funded—is part of an ongoing project moving power away from communities to Tallahassee.

Here are summaries of several articles that flesh out these concerns with links to the full reports courtesy of the Florida Phoenix, the Florida Trident, and the Miami Herald:

City and county governments would face major reductions in revenues for essential services if Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to substantially cut homeowners’ property taxes is approved by lawmakers and then 60% of the public as a constitutional amendment later this year.

Advocates for local governments in Florida held emergency “webinars” Monday morning ahead of this week’s special session on the topic to provide as much information as possible to their members on a plan unveiled five days ago, and which the Legislature is expected to approve (or reject) by Wednesday.

Under a proposed joint resolution filed in the Senate last week, homeowners who are permanent Florida residents by the end of 2026 would be eligible to receive a $150,000 homestead exemption in 2027 and a $250,000 exemption beginning in 2028.

The $250,000 exemption alone would cost counties an average $4.8 billion annually, or $8.65 billion with full elimination of homestead taxes by fiscal year 2030-31, according to the Florida Policy Institute. The Florida Association of Counties (FAC) said it would cost counties $4.6 billion by fiscal year 2028-29.

“We know this is a tax shift,” said Jeff Scala, deputy director with FAC in a webinar with members. “They’re framing this as a tax cut, but there are small businesses, all businesses, they’re going to feel the pain. Renters — they’re not going to get an exemption. This proposal makes Florida more unaffordable.”

Read the full report by Florida Phoenix reporter Mitch Perry here:

Florida Phoenix

The property tax blast radius nobody is talking about: Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing one of the largest transfers of financial responsibility in modern Florida history

Everyone is talking about property taxes. Almost nobody is talking about power.

That’s strange because power, not taxes, is what this debate is really about. The sales pitch is simple: property taxes are unpopular, homeowners are angry, government has grown, and cutting tax bills will provide relief. Who doesn’t like that? But there is a difference between cutting taxes and changing who controls government. Florida is not debating a tax cut. Florida is debating a fundamental redesign of how local government is financed.

For more than half a century, Florida has embraced home rule. The idea was simple: Local communities should make local decisions. If a city council spends too much, voters can replace it. If a county commission raises taxes, voters can replace it. The people making spending decisions are accountable to the people paying the bills. That system is imperfect, but it is transparent. If your local government fails, you know exactly where to direct your frustration and exactly who to vote against.

Now imagine a different system. Imagine counties and cities that can no longer fund themselves. Imagine local officials traveling to Tallahassee not to seek a grant for a new project, but to keep deputies on patrol, firefighters in stations, and ambulances on the road. At that point, who is really running local government? The answer is not the county commission. The answer is not the city council.

The answer is whoever controls the money.

Read the complete commentary by Jeff Brandes, writing for the Florida Trident, here:

DeSantis property tax cut plan faces many questions

The Editorial Board of the Miami Herald also has questions about DeSantis’ plan. Here’s a quick summary:

His scheme was hastily prepared and lacks any public study of how it would impact schools, counties and cities.
Such a study was earlier proposed by the Legislature and DeSantis vetoed it.
As designed, DeSantis’ plan would be a boon to billionaires, capping the property tax exposure for the likes of Miami’s Mark Zuckerberg and his $170 million mansion.
Public schools would lose millions of dollars of revenue. The same for counties with cuts that would be “catastrophic” for parks, libraries, fire rescue and public hospitals.
To read the complete editorial, click the link below (although it may require a paid subscription):

Miami Herald

A final thought:

Property tax reduction sounds great, but, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. During the Legislature’s regular session, this idea went nowhere. Now it is being rushed during a brief special session—after the state budget has already been passed.

It appears ill-considered, primed for unintended consequences we may regret.

The only real winner appears to be DeSantis, who can claim he lowered taxes while someone else will be stuck with figuring out how to make the scheme work when he’s gone in six months.

This feels like a train wreck in the making. It hasn’t received the study it deserves, and the concerns of local communities should be seriously considered.

Just because this is something DeSantis wants doesn’t mean the Legislature has to give it to him. And it shouldn’t.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This story is republished with their permission. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:

The Florida Trident is a publication of the Florida Center for Government Accountability. To support the Trident and the Center’s work, you can subscribe and donate here:

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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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.

Cutting property taxes sounds great--until you dig into the details

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:18:26 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Local government advocate says property tax proposal would make Florida ‘more unaffordable’

Lame duck Gov. Ron DeSantis has called the Florida Legislature back into special session to approve his property tax-cut scheme that could go before voters in November.

While everyone loves the idea of lower taxes, the question haunting the proposal is obvious: At what cost?

What services—schools, police, firefighting—would be jeopardized? Wouldn’t this result in a power shift away from cities and counties to the state? How do we feel about that?

And while Florida’s increasing cost of living is the hot-button issue right now, is this the most thoughtful way to address it?

Democrats—who are utterly outnumbered in the Legislature—argue that, ultimately, DeSantis’ plan would make the state even more unaffordable.

Others argue that this scheme—way too short on details of how essential services would be funded—is part of an ongoing project moving power away from communities to Tallahassee.

Here are summaries of several articles that flesh out these concerns with links to the full reports courtesy of the Florida Phoenix, the Florida Trident, and the Miami Herald:

Read the full report by Florida Phoenix reporter Mitch Perry here:

Florida Phoenix

The property tax blast radius nobody is talking about: Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing one of the largest transfers of financial responsibility in modern Florida history

Everyone is talking about property taxes. Almost nobody is talking about power.

The answer is whoever controls the money.

Read the complete commentary by Jeff Brandes, writing for the Florida Trident, here:

DeSantis property tax cut plan faces many questions

The Editorial Board of the Miami Herald also has questions about DeSantis’ plan. Here’s a quick summary:

His scheme was hastily prepared and lacks any public study of how it would impact schools, counties and cities.
Such a study was earlier proposed by the Legislature and DeSantis vetoed it.
As designed, DeSantis’ plan would be a boon to billionaires, capping the property tax exposure for the likes of Miami’s Mark Zuckerberg and his $170 million mansion.
Public schools would lose millions of dollars of revenue. The same for counties with cuts that would be “catastrophic” for parks, libraries, fire rescue and public hospitals.
To read the complete editorial, click the link below (although it may require a paid subscription):

Miami Herald

A final thought:

It appears ill-considered, primed for unintended consequences we may regret.

The only real winner appears to be DeSantis, who can claim he lowered taxes while someone else will be stuck with figuring out how to make the scheme work when he’s gone in six months.

This feels like a train wreck in the making. It hasn’t received the study it deserves, and the concerns of local communities should be seriously considered.

Just because this is something DeSantis wants doesn’t mean the Legislature has to give it to him. And it shouldn’t.

The Florida Trident is a publication of the Florida Center for Government Accountability. To support the Trident and the Center’s work, you can subscribe and donate here:

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

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.

Welcome to hurricane season. Because of a Super El Niño, there should be fewer storms--unless there aren't

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:02:22 GMT

Hurricane Andrew approaches Florida in 1992

By J.C. Bruce

Weather experts are predicting that the 2026 hurricane season, which starts today, should have fewer storms than usual because of a Super El Niño.

Which, naturally, raises the question: What the heck is an El Niño, let alone a super one?

Which we will get to shortly, but first this word of caution:

No matter how many hurricanes we experience this year, even if below average, it only takes one Cat. 5 blowing through your neighborhood to ruin your day. So, the need for hurricane preparedness remains.

This is especially true for communities on the Gulf of Mexico, because even in a down year, hurricanes that spin up in the Gulf are often less affected by El Niño and they don’t give as much warning as those storms later in the year lumbering across the Atlantic from Africa.

(For any Republicans out there, this caution also applies to the Gulf of America, wherever that is.)

Now, to El Niño.

As I recently wrote in my Florida Weekly column, El Niño, translated from the Spanish, literally means: The Child.

As in the Christ Child.

It is a weather pattern first noticed by fishermen in the 1600s when the waters off the coast of Peru sometimes were unusually warm in December, around Christmastime.

They called the phenomenon El Niño de Navidad, the Christ Child, which later got shortened to simply El Niño.

Why the fishermen thought warm water had anything to do with the arrival of Santa Claus is a mystery, but, hey, they didn’t have the best weather satellites in the 1600s, and they likely didn’t know that the Earth was tilted on its axis by 23 degrees, which causes our seasons.

Over time, though, actual climate scientists — the people who study climate change, which, for the record, is real—noticed that this warming of the Pacific waters sometimes becomes more severe, and that it can disrupt normal weather patterns, so they kept using El Niño to describe it.

The upshot for us is that we are not only about to enter yet another El Niño weather cycle, but it will also be – hold on to your umbrella – a SUPER El Niño with ocean temperatures soaring more than 5 degrees above average.

This will result in extreme weather events around the globe, but for us, there may be fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic basin this year.

This is because the warmer water causes a shift in atmospheric circulation patterns making it more challenging for tropical storms to form.

It’s very technical, involving Kelvin Waves making their way across the Pacific, wind shear, and other factors far too complicated for the average reader to understand, so I won’t go into those details because that would require me to understand them first, and that ain’t gonna happen.

The first tropical storm of the year will be named Arthur, and the list of names goes on to Wilfred. I checked, and there is no Hurricane Donald or Tropical Storm Trump on the schedule, which seems like an oversight since our Narcissist-in-Chief seems intent on naming everything else after himself.

But, again, don’t let this sliver of good news keep you from being ready just in case an unwelcome tropical storm by whatever name shows up. While below average, the hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University say we can expect 13 named storms with six becoming hurricanes and two of those being major hurricanes.

So, preparedness is all.

Which is why at my house we’re already stocking up on bottled water and batteries.

However, I’m holding off on buying gasoline for my portable generator because, frankly, I can barely afford gas for my car right now.

Most costly and deadliest hurricanes

The most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history are typically ranked either by total financial damages (adjusted for inflation) or overall loss of life.

The following are the top five most destructive U.S. hurricanes by cost:

Hurricane Katrina (2005): $210 billion. Devastating the Gulf Coast and causing the catastrophic failure of the New Orleans levee system, it remains the costliest and one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Hurricane Harvey (2017): $160 billion. Caused unprecedented, catastrophic flooding across southeastern Texas and the Houston metropolitan area.
Hurricane Ian (2022): $119.6 billion. Struck southwestern Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, bringing catastrophic storm surge and widespread structural damage.
Hurricane Maria (2017): $115.2 billion. Devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, causing an island-wide power grid collapse.
Hurricane Sandy (2012): $88.5 billion. Caused widespread destruction across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States.

When ranked by fatalities, the deadliest storms in U.S. history are significantly older because of improvements in our ability to track storms:

The Great Galveston Hurricane (1900): Estimated 8,000 to 12,000 deaths. A Category 4 storm that completely leveled the city of Galveston, Texas.
Lake Okeechobee Hurricane (1928): Approximately 2,500 deaths. Triggered a massive storm surge that breached the lake’s levees in Florida.
Hurricane Maria (2017): Estimated 2,982 deaths.
Hurricane Katrina (2005): Approximately 1,833 deaths.
Cheniere Caminanda (1893): Estimated 1,100 to 1,400 deaths. A powerful Louisiana hurricane that wiped out entire coastal communities
2026 Atlantic Hurricane Names

Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo
Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Leah
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paulette
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

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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WEEKLY DEBRIEF: While Trump gets smacked down by the courts, his minions plant his face on new passports and a planned $250 bill

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 31 May 2026 13:49:06 GMT

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shows off his proposed new $250 bill

A Miami federal judge demands answers

That Was The Week That Was

The furious pace of the news got even more chaotic in the past few days as we learned that …

After 35 former federal judges petitioned the court that settled Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS—resulting in the creation of a $1.7 billion slush fund and an immunity agreement for Trump—Miami District Court Judge Kathleen Williams ordered Trump to respond.

The question to be reviewed: Was there ever really a legitimate lawsuit in the first place that resulted in this sham “settlement,” and did Trump and his henchman in the Justice Department, Todd Blanche, mislead the court?

Meanwhile, another federal judge, Leonie Brinkema of Virginia, ordered Trump officials to stop setting up the slush fund’s pool of cash to “ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed.”

Trump’s face will be on $250 bill

The narcissism never stops.

Trump’s Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, rolled out plans for a new $250 bill that will have Trump’s mugshot plastered on the front even though federal law states that no living president can appear on currency.

They’re banking on a compliant Congress to continue being the lapdogs that Trump demands and pass legislation to allow it.

Meanwhile …

Trump’s mug to be on new passports

Apparently, it’s not enough to be on the nation’s money, Trump also wants his face on passports.

The government has confirmed that a limited number of new passports will feature Trump’s mugshot. They say it’s part of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

We can only imagine what Thomas Jefferson, who dedicated his life to ensuring that tyrants did not rule this land, would think of this.

The Post Office wants to only deliver “approved” mail-in ballots

The U.S. Postal Service has proposed new rules that would require states to provide voter-level data on mail-in ballots in federal elections, one day after a federal judge declined to immediately block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening mail-in voting rules.

The proposal would require states to submit to the Postal Service the names and addresses of voters receiving mail-in or absentee ballots, along with unique barcodes tied to each voter’s outbound and return ballot envelopes.

The rule would apply to general, special and runoff federal elections, but not primaries or ballots sent to military and overseas voters.

Bondi has thyroid cancer

Shortly before her appearance before the House Oversight Committee, in which she was grilled on her dismal performance in releasing the Epstein Files, former Attorney General Pam Bondi disclosed she is suffering from thyroid cancer.

Bondi said she is undergoing treatment, including having surgery a few weeks ago. Bondi tells CNN she is still recovering and “doing well, though.”

President Donald Trump fired Bondi as attorney general in early April.

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

Meme of the Week

Quote of the Week

“In the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century, President Donald J. Trump has created a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.”

— Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges in their lawsuit against Trump’s slush fund. Dunn is a retired U.S. Capitol police officer; Hodges a Metropolitan Police Department officer.

Letter of the Week

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

—George Terranova

Looking Ahead

May 31. National Mystery Month ends today. So, if you haven’t hit the bookstore or Amazon to order a mystery to read, this is your last chance until next year. And if you need any help in your selection process, check out the Tropic Press Bookstore.

June 1. Today officially begins hurricane season. And if you’ve been wondering what El Nino is all about, I’ll have more on that in my June 1 newsletter.

June 2 is Leave the Office Early Day. And if you do, it could also be Find a New Job Day. Life is all about choices.

June 3. The first game of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs tips off at 8:30 p.m. (EDT).

June 4 is National Moonshine Day, celebrating the homemade spirits popularized during Prohibition when the United States tried and failed to ban alcoholic beverages. That idea was never going to work in Florida with its proximity to the Bahamas and Cuba, which became a “rum runners paradise.”

June 5 is World Environment Day, a celebration created by the United Nations in 1972 designed to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the health of our air, water and natural resources. The Earth is our spaceship. We need to protect it.

June 6 is the anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Europe in 1941 as the Allies fought back against the fascist forces of Adolph Hitler’s Germany. More than 70,000 Americans were joined by Brits, Canadians, Australians and other allies in this daring crossing. It marked the beginning of the end of Hitler. These guys were the original antifa.

Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines

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

DeSantis’ property tax cuts could smack schools, health care and public safety

RIDE SALLY RIDE

David Jolly proposes Office of Civil Rights in the governor’s office if elected

Florida’s new ‘dummymandered’ congressional map is still in play

Note to readers:

If you noticed that Miss Mingo’s usual weekend column was missing this week, do not despair. She will be back soon. She was feeling a little under the weather. Well, actually, she had a nervous breakdown fretting that war may break out between Cuba and the U.S. and that her home in Key West could be attacked by drones. She’s adjusted her blood pressure medication and is doing better now.

Meanwhile, she asks that I send her thanks to all of you for your support, especially those who have chosen to upgrade to paid subscriptions. Your contributions are making this possible.

Thank you,

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.

Today’s sponsor

Today’s report is brought to you by Tropic Press Books, home of The Strange Files. The six-book series makes the perfect gift for the mystery fans in your life. You can find more information about these hilarious stories here.

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

Thu, 28 May 2026 12:50:14 GMT

Judge Kathleen Williams

By J.C. Bruce

A federal judge in Miami could throw a monkey wrench into Donald Trump’s corrupt plans to raid the Treasury for nearly $2 billion and grant himself immunity from tax audits.

If you’re Trump, it was a sweet deal and it even came with a formal apology from his own government.

Sweet for Trump. A bitter pill for taxpayers. Or justice.

And now dozens of former federal judges, looking at the so-called settlement Trump got for, essentially, suing himself, are crying foul and have filed a motion to have the case reopened.

Why?

Because when Miami District Judge Kathleen Williams dismissed Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, “the court was deceived.”

Trump’s “settlement”—a deal he concocted with his former lawyer and appointed attorney general, Todd Blanche—“is a product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the Court,” the former judges wrote in their motion.

They ask Judge Williams to “set aside its order ending the case,” which would allow the court “to commence an inquiry into whether the Court was deceived…”

As we all know, Trump had sued his own IRS for the preposterous amount of $10 billion because during his first term as president—and while he actually presided over the IRS — a contractor for the agency leaked his—and others’—tax returns.

When that lawsuit landed in Judge Williams’ courtroom, she had questions, not the least of which was how is it that the president—as he himself acknowledged—could, in effect, sue himself?

Under the law, before you can have a valid suit, there have to be parties in disagreement. Where was the dispute if Trump was both the plaintiff and the defendant, she asked.

She set a deadline for both Trump and Blanche to answer that question, but hours before their reply was due, they asked the court to dismiss the case.

Williams did, although she noted that no “settlement” details had been provided.

Well, shortly thereafter, Trump announced his way-too-cute $1.776 billion slush fund that would enrich his loyalists at taxpayers’ expense, a deal that included immunity for him and his family and businesses.

Will Williams reopen the case?

The former federal judges—both Republicans and Democrats—say she can and she should.

Stay tuned.

Here’s a story summarizing what’s happened so far.

Who is Judge Kathleen Williams?

Previous coverage on Tropic Press.

Help make the midterms competitive

Not happy with the news coming out of Tallahassee? Do something about it.

The upcoming midterm elections provide a generational opportunity to change the complexion of Florida’s political makeup. But for that to happen, Republican candidates for the state Legislature must face opponents on the ballot.

Currently, there are still seats where Republicans are running unopposed. You can change that. You can decide to run. In which case, Project 140 can help you. Or you can pitch in and help fund those candidates who have already volunteered.

Run or Donate or Both

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

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.

Florida's new 'dummymandered' congressional map is still in play

Wed, 27 May 2026 13:32:48 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

You have to look very closely at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redrawn map of Florida’s congressional districts to find even the tiniest speck of blue.

And that was the point.

DeSantis and the Republicans controlling the state Legislature, which approved the redistricting, made no bones about it—the entire point was to wipe out as many Democrats representing Florida in Congress as possible.

There’s a reason why DeSantis paraded his creation on Fox News before even showing it to state legislators who would ultimately approve it: He was looking for a pat on the back from Donald Trump, who has insisted Republican-dominated states like Florida improve the odds of his party’s control of Congress in the midterm elections.

Never mind that in the split between Republicans and Democrats in Florida, were the map reflective of those proportions, there would be at least 11 so-called “safe” Democratic seats instead of the four that DeSantis, try as he might, couldn’t quite erase.

Obviously, it is a political stunt. And, just as obviously, it is a violation of the Fair Districts amendments to the state’s Constitution enacted to thwart these sorts of shenanigans.

Which is why immediately after DeSantis signed his atrocious map into law, lawsuits were filed,

Those ended up in the court of a DeSantis appointee, Circuit Judge Joshua M. Hawkes, who, after more than a week following the initial hearing, finally got around to ruling against putting the new map on hold.

His argument: He had to weigh “the lesser of two evils.”

The previous map, in which Democrats managed to scrape out eight of the state’s 28 districts, was unconstitutional because it was designed to allow minorities to have a voice in the House of Representatives, the state argued.

Can’t have that.

The new map, while indisputably partisan, was, in Hawkes’ mind, the lesser evil.

The clock is ticking. Candidates for Congress can begin filing their qualifying paperwork in just a few days with a final deadline of June 12. So, time is running short for an appeal, which the plaintiffs say is coming.

“Because Floridians of all political backgrounds are so clearly against partisan gerrymandering, we will exhaust all legal options to make sure a map this partisan does not last the rest of this decade,” Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Even if we are stuck with these new districts because the clock runs out, there’s hope this could backfire on Republicans—here in Florida and elsewhere.

As House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries noted:

“If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummymander, the Florida Republicans are going to find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans, who are on the run right now ... The Republicans are dummymandering their way into the minority before a single vote is cast.”

Meaning that DeSantis, in his zealousness, may have sufficiently weakened what were once Republican strongholds during his map-making to the point they are no longer assured of victory.

Nice thought.

Meanwhile, don’t strain your eyes trying to find those blue dots on the map.

Legislature reconvenes and aims to gut Democrats’ representation in Congress

Resources:

Judge Joshua M. Hawkes

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RIDE SALLY RIDE

Tue, 26 May 2026 10:03:34 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

It’s Sally Ride Day, celebrating the birth of the first American woman to fly into space.

Since her pioneering launch aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, she has been followed by nearly 60 other women joining the more than 300 men who have “slipped the surly bonds of Earth.”

Sally Ride would have turned 75 today had pancreatic cancer not claimed her a little more than a decade ago.

Americans have been launching into orbit or to the Moon for decades now, starting with Alan B. Shepard Jr.’s suborbital flight in 1961. So, it’s not surprising that after all these years, the list of astronauts who have left us has grown, including 17 who died in the line of duty during spaceflight missions or direct pre-flight testing, most of them aboard Space Shuttles.

Among those tragically killed were the seven astronauts aboard the Challenger three years after Ride’s historic launch, a crew that included two other women, Judith Resnik and Christa McAuliffe.

All of which is to state the obvious that every launch is a perilous business, and when Ride climbed aboard the Challenger, there was more than the usual anxiety because no other American woman had been given the chance to take that risk before her.

I was the managing editor of a newspaper in Texas on that day, and we all cheered when the Shuttle lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral on June 18, 1983.

I had this great idea for a headline:

RIDE, SALLY, RIDE

It was a line lifted from the popular song “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett, which included the line:

“All you want to do is ride around, Sally (Ride, Sally, ride).”

I thought it was a terrific idea. My copy desk chief felt otherwise.

“Hey, wait a minute. Why are we just using her first name? Because she’s a woman? You wouldn’t have just called John Glenn, John, would you?”

She was referring to Glenn’s historic launch aboard Friendship 7 in 1962, when he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

What I didn’t know at the time my copy desk chief and I were debating is that 15 years later I would be at the Cape reporting on John Glenn’s return to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. But to her point, history shows we did not just use Glenn’s first name in a headline then, either.

The problem was that when you put in the commas, as in RIDE, SALLY, RIDE we were just using her first name.

So, I suggested we drop the commas and make it RIDE SALLY RIDE. That way people could read it any way they wanted.

Nobody liked that either. Part of the problem was how the public and the media had been treating Ride prior to the launch. She’d been getting sexist questions such as “would she cry in space” or “would she wear makeup” or how the flight might hurt her ability to have children.

Still, to this day I think it would have been the best headline ever, and I want to believe Sally Ride would have loved it.

I honestly don’t recall what headline we ended up with, but, as I wrote in a recent Florida Weekly column, any chance of winning the Pulitzer Prize for headline writing (which does not exist) had just passed me by.

I did get my way, eventually, however. In a scene I set in my novel The Strange Files, my protagonist walks into a newspaper-themed bar, and there on the wall along with a collection of other front pages was my headline. Minus all commas.

Almost as good.

For the record, I wasn’t alone in thinking it was a cool idea.

A little history from the never-wrong internet:

In Wilson Pickett’s classic 1966 hit “Mustang Sally,” the line “Ride, Sally, ride” simply refers to a woman cruising around town in her car.
The lyric actually began as a nod to the traditional nursery rhyme “Little Sally Walker” (which features the lyric “Rise Sally Rise”). Singer Aretha Franklin suggested changing it to “Ride, Sally, ride” and helped rename the song from its original title, “Mustang Mama.”
The song later gained an iconic cultural connection in 1983 when astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. During her Space Shuttle Challenger mission, crowds and fans famously wore shirts printed with the phrase “Ride, Sally, Ride” as a play on the song’s lyric.

So, happy birthday, Sally Ride. Godspeed, wherever in the universe you are.

High Flight: Slipping the surly bonds of Earth

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A victory for free speech in Florida

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WEEKLY DEBRIEF: She was fired for a post on Charlie Kirk; now Florida taxpayers owe her nearly half a million dollars

J.C. Bruce — Sun, 24 May 2026 10:01:31 GMT

Biologist Brittney Brown

That Was The Week That Was

A biologist working for the state who was fired for her social media post about Charlie Kirk will be paid nearly half a million dollars. Florida taxpayers will foot the bill.

Facing a June federal court trial date, Florida Fish and Wildlife Executive Director Roger Young agreed last week to settle a lawsuit filed in September by former FWC biologist Brittney Brown for $485,000.

Brown had reposted to her private Instagram a parody of how a whale might see the world:

“The whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of charlie kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as charlie kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.”

For that, Brown was fired, prompting the lawsuit alleging retaliation and viewpoint discrimination violating her First Amendment rights.

Brown will receive $275,000, $40,000 of which represents back wages. An additional $210,000 is for attorneys’ fees and costs.

Florida Phoenix has all the details here:

Florida Phoenix

Americans express dismay at the state of the economy

It’s the economy, stupid.

And Americans believe the way Donald Trump is managing the nation is stupid, indeed.

According to a new Gallup Poll, confidence in the economy has hit a nearly four-year low, undercutting Trump’s campaign promise to make life in these United States more affordable.

A mere 16 percent of U.S. adults rate the economy “excellent” or “good,” according to the poll. An additional 34 percent rate the economy as “only fair,” while 49 percent say it is “poor.”

Economic confidence has declined steadily in recent months with three out of four Americans saying economic conditions are getting worse.

Vector-borne diseases thrive in South Florida

Concern surrounding vector borne illnesses, pathogens transmitted by blood-feeding bugs, is growing among South Florida residents, according to a report in The Miami Hurricane.

South Florida’s warm, rainy climate and uniquely flat landscape create a near-perfect environment for mosquitoes to thrive year-round. This combination makes the region particularly vulnerable to these diseases that can be spread by insects like mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.

The area is home to nearly 90 species of mosquitoes and certain species, like Aedes aegypti, presenting significant health risks to residents, including diseases like dengue, Zika and yellow fever.

According to Dr. John C. Beier, a professor of public health sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, dengue fever is particularly prevalent in South Florida.

“Dengue is more common,” Beier said. “There are imported cases, a lot from Cuba. There are also locally transmitted cases, about 20 last year.”

See Miami Hurricane Report here

Young Republican voters sound off on GOP betrayal: ‘We got screwed’

President Donald Trump and his allies spent more than $30 million to defeat Rep. Thomas Massie in the Kentucky Republican primary election, but there are two takeaways to take heart from:

Even with record-breaking amounts spent to beat him, Trump-critic Massie still got 45 percent of the vote.
Many of those were younger voters with Massie capturing more under-45 voters than his opponent by 30 points.

As one disaffected 28 year old told The Independent: "There’s this sense of entitlement among the establishment on the right. ‘Well, I’m better than the alternative.’ Well, sure, but a stomach flu is preferable to stomach cancer. I’d rather have neither."

Trump shares his classless reaction to Colbert’s last show

Demonstrating once again how little class he has, Donald Trump had this to offer about Stephen Colbert’s final broadcast on The Late Show, a program Trump used his influence to scuttle.

"Colbert is finally finished at CBS," the president wrote on his failing social media platform. "Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk."

For his part, Colbert never mentioned the president (or Trump’s own dismal ratings) by name, but there was this exchange with Paul McCartney who commented on the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, in the same theater where The Late Show was filmed:

“We’d gotten used to a little bit of makeup in England,” McCartney said. “But we went down there, and the girls put makeup on us, and it was like bright orange.”

To which Colbert quipped:

“That’s very popular in certain circles these days.”

“We set a trend,” McCartney said.

“Now we know where it started!” Colbert said. “Thanks a lot, Paul McCartney!”

Stephen Colbert and Thomas Massie refused to knuckle under to a tyrant

Meme of the Week

Quotable

“Trump is trying to commandeer nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to bankroll a slush fund for January 6 cop-beaters and aggrieved MAGA foot soldiers. This massive abuse of public money also has glaring constitutional defects: only Congress has the power to appropriate federal dollars, and we didn’t appropriate a cent for the J6 millionaire trust fund.”

—U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin

Letter of the Week

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

—Janet Robinson

Onward thru the Fog

May 24. Indianapolis 500. Personally, I think watching automobiles driving in circles is about as interesting as observing grown men and women rolling little balls into holes in the ground. But to each his or her or their own. You can catch the race on FOX.

May 25. Memorial Day honors U.S. military personnel who died while serving our country. It’s also a great time to buy a new mattress if all the ads are to be believed.

May 26 is Sally Ride Day. I’ll have more on that later this week. It’s also National Paper Airplane Day and World Dracula Day.

May 27 is National Flip Flop Day. This isn’t about how some politicians change their minds as often as they change their Depends. We’re talking about the footwear celebrated by Jimmy Buffett’s immortal lyrics: “I blew out my flip flop.”

May 28. It’s National Hamburger Day, celebrating the start of the summer grilling season, which we don’t actually recognize down here in Florida since it is grilling season year-round. In case you are wondering, the very best hamburger made in America can be found in Longview, Texas, at a burger joint named Jucys.

May 29 is National Alligator Day. If you're an alligator, every day is Munch on a Human Day if you don't watch your step in the Everglades. That said, if attacked, you can try calling for help, and a Skunk Ape may come to the rescue. Oddly, there is no National Skunk Ape Day.

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.

Grassroots efforts could provide victory margin in Florida midterms

I just took the test to enter this year’s Florida Python Challenge. Check out my score...

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

Trump continues to pressure Cuba with indictment announcement today

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Grassroots efforts could provide victory margin in Florida midterms

Fri, 22 May 2026 10:03:13 GMT

“We cannot win unless we have something like Project 140 come to fruition: Where there are local candidates competing, fighting their fights, scoring wins at their levels, or, frankly, just improving the margins. It is truly the grassroots component that is currently missing and languishing in the state of Florida. And if we could do that one thing—good folks run hard races, show up, do the door knocking—that could be the margin of victory.”

— Alex Vindman

By J.C. Bruce

I caught up with Alex Vindman on the campaign trail this week where he was making a multi-city tour of Southwest Florida—all in one day—in his race to become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the midterm election.

His first stop was in Naples at Democratic Party headquarters where he was joined by local candidates for Congress and the state House and Senate.

During his remarks and his answers to questions from the audience, he acknowledged his fellow candidates, talking about how important it is that Democrats break up the supermajorities that Republicans currently enjoy in the Legislature, and how much more effective he could be as our next U.S. Senator if he had a more cooperative state government to work with.

All of which reminded me of the volunteer efforts that I have written about before in this newsletter to ensure that Republican legislative candidates on the fall ballot can’t just sleepwalk through the election, that they face Democratic opponents and are forced to explain themselves to the public.

And there’s good news on that front.

According to Margie Stein, who spearheads the Project 140 initiative, she and others have now rounded up candidates to fill all but seven ballot spots. They have another few weeks to fill the roster completely.

The argument that Stein and others make for why this is important is twofold:

Republicans currently enjoy supermajorities in both the state House and Senate. A few Democratic wins could break that up. That can’t happen, of course, unless Democrats file to run.
Democrats on the ballot result in larger voter turnout because of the efforts of volunteers helping the campaigns. Even in ruby red legislative districts where Democrats’ odds of winning are daunting, those extra votes roll up to statewide races, like for governor and Senate.

Which is where Vindman weighed in during a brief conversation following his remarks in Naples.

How important are these grassroots efforts to get Democrats’ names on the ballots, I asked him.

“From the top, we are building a powerful grassroots campaign,” he said. “It is an honor for me to leverage my career of service to be able to draw attention to this race.
“But we cannot win unless we have something like Project 140 come to fruition. Where there are local candidates competing, fighting their fights, scoring wins at their levels, or, frankly, just improving the margins. It is truly the grassroots component that is currently missing and languishing in the state of Florida. And if we could do that one thing—good folks run hard races, show up, do the door knocking—that could be the margin of victory.”

Project 140 derives its name from the number of seats up for grabs in the state Legislature this election—20 in the Senate and 120 in the House. Members of the House of Representatives in Florida are elected every two years. The term for Florida state senators is four years, so any given election only half the seats are on the ballot.

Congressional seats are also, of course, two-year terms, and U.S. senators serve for six years. However, the U.S. Senate seat Vindman is running for will only be for two years because it is a special election to fill the vacancy left when Sen. Marco Rubio resigned to become Donald Trump’s Secretary of State. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill in for Rubio until this coming election.

Vindman, Nixon, Moody

Both Vindman and his Democratic primary opponent, State Rep. Angie Nixon are, as you would expect, highly critical of Moody calling her a “rubber stamp” for Trump. Vindman and Nixon will square off in the August 18 Democratic primary to see who will take the fight to Moody in November. The winner will be joined by all the candidates for legislative seats that have been recruited by Project 140 and others over the past several months.

Finding Democrats to run for the Legislature has been challenging enough, but now the big push is to raise enough money to help these candidates cover their filing fees.

“We need about $30,000 fast,” Stein told me. Absent funding, some candidates who have committed to run may be forced to drop out. The qualifying fee is $1,782. State law limits political committees, such as Project 140, to donating no more than $1,000 per legislative candidate.

Here’s a link on how you can pitch in:

Democrats Take the Lead in Florida Senate and Governor Races—Poll

Resources:

Project 140

Alex Vindman campaign site

Angie Nixon campaign site

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Stephen Colbert and Thomas Massie refused to knuckle under to a tyrant

Thu, 21 May 2026 10:03:09 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Thomas Massie and Stephen Colbert found their turbulent lives briefly intertwined this week as they both suffered the consequences of defying Donald Trump, but earned our respect for their courage.

Colbert first…

Tonight will be his last time to host The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after his network sacked him for daring to call parent company Paramount Global’s $16 million payment to Trump a “big fat bribe.”

Which is exactly what it was.

Trump had sued the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes because he didn’t like the way an interview with Kamala Harris had been edited, a specious legal action that no credible lawyer thought Trump had a snowflake’s chance in Miami of winning.

But Paramount had a big merger on the table with Skydance Media that it was desperate to finalize. And the Federal Communications Commission, run by Trump, could scuttle the deal.

So, they settled with Trump, Colbert shot his mouth off about the “bribe,” and three days later CBS canceled his show.

This is the television network that courageously supported the reporting of Edward R. Murrow, who stood up to the rabid, blacklisting Sen. Joseph McCarthy; the same network where the “most trusted man in America,” Walter Cronkite, read the news.

CBS used to stand for integrity, toughness, and the truth. It actually is an abbreviation for the Columbia Broadcasting System. We need to understand what it has become:

The Confederate Broadcast System, now owned and controlled by Trump allies.

As for Massie, the Republican Kentucky congressman faced a Trump-backed challenger for his party’s nomination this week and lost.

Trump allies poured in more than $32 million to defeat Massie, making it the most expensive U.S. House primary in American history.

Why was Trump so set on running Massie out of Washington?

Two factors were at play. The most obvious were Massie’s defiance of Trump on the president’s Big Bloated Budget Bill, Massie’s skepticism about the undeclared war in Iran, and the Kentuckian’s support for the release of the Epstein Files.

But Trump was also making a statement about the political cost to Republicans who dare cross swords with him. The message was clear: Toe the line or you will be annihilated politically.

But there may be a silver lining in Massie’s defeat.

After dropping millions, Trump did get the victory he sought, but a full 45 percent of Republicans voting in the primary stood by Massie.

We’re talking about a primary election where turnout is usually more tepid than a general election and where often only the most hard-core partisans vote. And among that very red crowd, and despite Trump’s unyielding criticism, Massie still garnered the support of nearly half of the Republicans showing up at the polls.

What does this tell us?

Call me a hopeless optimist, but Trump’s win feels like a Pyrrhic victory to me.

For those who haven’t kept up with their Greek history, King Pyrrhus in 279 BC won a major battle, but at such cost that he declared: “If we are victorious in one more battle, we shall be utterly ruined.”

I‘m thinking (hoping) this may foreshadow a weakness in the G.O.P. base that Trump’s opponents can exploit in the fall.

And finally…

While both Massie’s and Colbert’s futures are, at the moment, uncertain, and also for the moment, Trump may have gotten his way, this isn’t the last time we’ll hear from these guys.

Certainly not Colbert.

And while Massie generally comes from the other end of the political spectrum than I do, I admire his guts and his willingness to stand up to a tyrant. He joins the ranks of the Liz Cheneys and Adam Kinzingers of the world. You can be in worse company. And he’ll still be around to cause good trouble until the end of the year.

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Help make the midterms competitive

Not happy with the news coming out of Tallahassee? Do something about it.

Currently, there are far too many seats where Republicans are running unopposed. You can change that. You can decide to run. In which case, Project 140 can help you. Or you can pitch in and help fund those candidates who have already volunteered.

Run or Donate or Both

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Trump continues to pressure Cuba with indictment announcement today

Wed, 20 May 2026 15:31:14 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Freedom Tower in downtown Miami will be the site of an important announcement today—the anticipated criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old brother of longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

The location of this announcement is significant. The ionic landmark is widely celebrated as the “Ellis Island of the South” or the “Statue of Liberty of the South.” It served as the headquarters during the 1960s and ‘70s for the federal Cuban Refugee Assistance Program, providing medical care, food and assistance to the thousands of refugees fleeing Cuba.

The expected charges against Raúl Castro are related to the shootdown of two aircraft near the Cuban coast 30 years ago operated by an organization known as Brothers to the Rescue, an outfit that conducted search-and-rescue flights to help Cuban refugees on makeshift rafts escaping the island. The four American volunteers aboard the aircraft died.

Raúl Castro is believed to have personally ordered Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to attack the two Cessna airplanes even though they were outside Cuban territorial waters.

It was a watershed event that led to Congress’ codification of the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba, and has made efforts at normalizing relations between the two countries an even greater challenge for a succession of U.S. presidents.

The charges that are expected to be announced today are, of course, part of an overall pressure campaign the Trump administration has been waging. Trump, himself, said earlier this year that we would be “taking over" Cuba.

And a few days ago, administration officials leaked to the press that Cuba has acquired hundreds of drones that have the capability of striking the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay or, perhaps, even as far north as Key West.

It’s all part of a package designed to rationalize a potential military intervention in Cuba, ala our kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Now, there’s no question that the attack on the Brothers to the Rescue flight was a violation of international law.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Trump administration has expert knowledge on this subject, having itself been responsible for the deaths of nearly 200 people in more than 50 illegal airstrikes and naval attacks on boats in international waters off our southern coastline.

And isn’t it special that today’s announcement will not just be at Freedom Tower, but adjacent to the site where Gov. Ron DeSantis and his minions have given away millions of dollars’ worth of Miami real estate to Trump‘s foundation to erect a towering eyesore memorializing his presidency.

The biggest concern here, of course, isn’t the hypocrisy, but the potential that all this lays the groundwork for a hostile takeover of Cuba, something many of those refugees, their descendants and fellow Cuban Americans—like Secretary of State Marco Rubio—would be likely to applaud.

Ironically, today is Cuban Independence Day, marking the establishment of the Republic of Cuba in 1902, ending centuries of Spanish colonial rule and American military occupation.

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I just took the test to enter this year's Florida Python Challenge. Check out my score...

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:01:32 GMT

By J.C. Bruce

Plans were announced today for the annual Florida Python Challenge, a competition in which hundreds of hunters will venture into the state’s wilderness areas, intent on winning the top prize for the most snakes “humanely” rendered unalive.

That prize is $10,000, which explains why last year’s event drew more than 900 eager contestants.

II thought I would see if I could sign up.

Turns out, anybody can but, first, you have to endure an online tutorial and pass a test to quality. There’s also a small registration fee.

Now, I know full well this is just a publicity stunt that doesn’t make a meaningful dent in the state’s python population.

Last year’s hunt, for instance, resulted in the extermination of 294 pythons out of an estimated population of somewhere between “tens of thousands” to more than 300,000, depending upon who you ask.

In other words, nobody knows.

But, given those daunting numbers, this snake hunt is obviously no more effective at eliminating Florida’s pythons than it would be to venture out with fly swatters to rid the Everglades of mosquitoes.

Still, I wondered, what’s the test like?

To pass it, you have to score 85% on a quiz that immediately follows the online tutorial. I only got a 78% score. But, in my defense, I stopped paying close attention after the portion dealing with the two-step snake-killing regimen.

But before you get to that gruesome activity, first you have to find a snake, which is no mean trick.

“Detection rates” are less than 5%, the tutorial advised. It is unclear how that percentage is arrived at since the total number of pythons appears to be unknown.

Where do snakes hide?

Among the places to look include: “In vegetation, in grass and under grass tufts, in trees, on manmade structures, along roads” and—I assume this although it was not specifically mentioned—in the air falling out of trees on top of you.

Snake hunters must exercise care. For instance, prospective snake sleuths are warned that pythons might “bite, constrict or defecate/musk when handled.”

Other safety precautions include making sure “you have a buddy with you” and to plan for “rocky and unstable ground, insects, heat, storms, wild animals (I assume this means, among others, alligators), and other hunters.”

Other hunters?

The tutorial did not elaborate on that particular safety precaution, but it was at about that point that I began hearing banjo music in my head as the theme song for Deliverance sprang to mind.

Snake hunters also need the right gear. This includes gloves, something called a snake hook, tools to “humanely kill the python” including, but not limited to, a “captive bolt stunner,” air guns, or “pithing tools.”

Pithing is Step 2 of the process for ensuring the python will not wake up after Step 1, which is hitting it in the head to stun it.

Step 2 involves the aforementioned “pithing tool,” often otherwise called a screwdriver.

Here’s a graphic that shows how that is done. If you are weak of stomach, you may want to skip over this part.

Okay, I warned you, here it goes.

Seriously, it’s gross.

Following pithing—and possibly vomiting—hunters are supposed to check to make sure the snake has actually gone to heaven. How is this done? Observation.

Of course, the surest way to tell is if the python’s heart is no longer beating, but no instructions were given on how to check for a pulse.

Otherwise, the technique is to see if “breathing has stopped and that righting reflex is absent, vocalization (hissing) is absent, and no palpebral reflexes or responses to noxious stimuli are present.”

Not sure what noxious stimuli are intended for that test, but by that point, my guess is that a screwdriver would qualify.

All the snakes are then to be taken to one of several stations scattered throughout South Florida, where forms will be filled out, snakes will be weighed and measured, and, after all that paperwork is completed, hunters may claim their trophies, which will be turned into boots or footballs such as this:

Florida snake and football

I suppose I could go back and retake the test to qualify for my python hunting experience, but I think the real purpose of that tutorial is to keep amateurs like me out of the swamp where they probably would just hurt themselves.

Reference:

Florida Python Challenge 2026

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