Today in Florida we celebrate Jefferson Davis' birthday -- and other atrocities in the news
News and commentary from Florida for all Americans
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:
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.
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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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Republican-controlled Legislature has refused to eliminate birthday celebrations for Davis and Lee because they say it would amount to cancel culture. This is hypocrisy when this same Republican regime is out removing historical signage from, for example, our national parks and the Smithsonian.
I can't believe I agreed to move to Florida, but Winter Park was better than most Florida cities. Now I live in St. Petersburg to be closer to my older son which was a very bad decision. It's a nice place for gay people but not nice for someone who's a widow and in my 80's. Florida has a terrible governor and legislation which is such a red state going back to the racist years that I had thought had gone. I grew up in Alabama and hated what I saw while I was doing my radiology training. So I moved west to Arizona, Oregon and finally to the wonderful state of California where I worked for many years, but my husband thought moving to Florida would be a better place to retire. He was wrong and died in Orlando in a terrible Advent Health Hospital. We must keep fighting and protesting to try to save this country and state!