The Week Ahead
Will mail-in ballots be allowed in the upcoming midterm election as usual—or will they be disrupted by the Trump administration’s voter suppression schemes?
That’s a question for which more clarification could arrive this week. Or it could be the continuation of more chaos.
In brief:
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to the Post Office restricting the mailing of ballots to only those people on a pre-approved list submitted in advance by the states, many of which said, no, that’s unconstitutional.
Lower courts have agreed with the protesting states, saying Trump can’t do that. It’s been appealed, and last week the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in unhelpfully, not agreeing or disagreeing, only saying it is too soon to rule because the Postal Service hadn’t issued its policy yet.
Now it has. A federal judge has issued a 14-day temporary restraining order, putting implementation of the scheme on hold. Now, the Justice Department says it will appeal that restraining order even before the judge, Indira Talwani of Massachusetts, rules this week on a motion to issue a preliminary injunction.
Should the judge enjoin the government from implementing Trump’s scheme and/or if the appeals court upholds the restraining order, we can expect the Justice Department to race over to the Supreme Court for an emergency ruling.
All this while the clock is ticking down to Election Day and many states need to start printing and distributing mail-in ballots.
It’s a mess and may be messier, and whether we will have a free and fair election is what is at stake. So stay tuned as this plays out over the next few days.
For a more detailed examination of this, check out this story on Democracy Docket.
That Was The Week That Was
Donald Trump broke out his Sharpie again and renamed Lake Ontario after launching an unprovoked trade war with Canada. And the covered-up grand jury report on the Hope Florida scandal finally saw the light of day, handing Democrats a huge campaign issue. You can read those stories later in this newsletter in the section titled “Last Week’s Tropic Press Headlines.” Meanwhile, these stories didn’t break into the daily lineup, but are worth knowing about…
Trump Airport will cost millions more
It wasn’t enough that the Florida Legislature forced Palm Beach County to rename its international airport after the 47th president, and that they gave them $2.75 million of state taxpayer dollars to pay for it.
Now, Palm Beach County officials say they need yet another $2.75 million to finish the job. They need it for signage, printed materials, technology systems and operational materials, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Florida bear hunting dates revealed
Despite protests from conservationists and animal rights advocates, Florida relaunched its bear hunting season last December, the result of which was that 52 black bears were sent to Heaven.
Evidently, not enough bears were “harvested,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, so they’re doing it again.
Permit applications go on sale starting on Sept. 11, the commission announced, with the hunt scheduled for Dec. 4-27. Yep, that means you can go kill a bear on Christmas Day. Joy to the World.
Climate change reshuffles where people are moving in Florida
Some of Florida’s biggest growth spots are now on former citrus groves and cattle pastures in the interior parts of the state far from the state’s famous beachside cities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
That’s increasingly due to climate migrants escaping coastline risks like hurricanes and flooding, as well as the high cost of homeownership from skyrocketing insurance rates following a series of recent storms.
In mid-hurricane season, state’s emergency chief fired
Kevin Guthrie, who led Florida’s emergency management division, made a last-minute decision to become Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ running mate right before the August 18 primary election. It cost him his job.
“If people want to choose politics, more power to them,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “I didn’t think necessarily that was something Kevin aspired to, but given he’s doing that, it’s important we have emergency management just focused on emergency management, so I have accepted his resignation.”
Fortunately, this is an El Niño year, and the number of hurricanes is forecast to be below normal. But it only takes one…
Meme of the Week
Quote of the Week
“I’ve been traveling the state talking about how we’re going to return the Attorney General’s office to the people, refocus on priorities that are going to make people’s lives better, tackling crime, costs, and corruption. My opponent is a criminal. He’s a criminal who should resign. He should come clean and turn himself in.”
—State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez regarding his opponent Attorney General James Uthmeier
Letter of the Week
Natalie, the human printer, ego fluffer, and adoring codswallop disseminator takes root in the Oval Office as Trump’s newest personal assistant. It’s almost like he’s as jealous of President Clinton as he is of President Obama, and wanted his own Monica.
—Jeffrey W. Jones
Running Mate Poll Results
We asked readers their thoughts on whether the choice of a running mate was a big influence on the Florida governor’s race. Here are the results from 562 responses. You can read the story here.
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. (Paid subscribers to this newsletter have full access to the complete Onward Thru the Fog archive.)
August 30. Frankenstein Day is celebrated today, marking the birthday of Mary Shelley, born in 1797, and the author of the 1818 classic: “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.” Frankenstein, btw, is the name of the doctor who created the monster, which, itself, has no name. It is referred to variously as the creature, fiend or wretch. I call him Larry.
August 31. Thomas Edison received a patent on this day in 1887 for his “kinetoscope,” a device to view moving pictures. You can see this and other motion picture artifacts in Fort Myers at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates museum.
September 2 is World Coconut Day, and here in Florida we love our coconut palms. Too bad they’re not native, but they thrive in southern Florida where they are less likely to be damaged by frost.
September 3 is Skyscraper Day. To qualify as skyscrapers, buildings must ascend to 492 feet, and Florida has nearly 100 buildings that height or taller, with Miami topping the list with 72.
September 4. The roll-film camera is born. On this day in 1888, George Eastman patented his camera that he named a “Kodak.”
September 5. Global Handwashing Day. A good reminder given all the food illness outbreaks we’ve been experiencing lately. Thanks again, RFK.
September 6. National Wildlife Day, a time to raise awareness for endangered species of which there are more than 100 in Florida.
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 them. Your support allows these articles to be shared. Thank you.
Hope Florida scandal gives Dems ammo to use against GOP rivals in midterm election
Water on the brain: How worried should we be about Trump renaming all these bodies of water?
Candidate slate for governor’s race is now complete. Will their choices matter?
After months of cover-up, grand jury report on Hope Florida scandal shows millions ‘misappropriated’
While economists have their confabs, Americans face a food, fuel and housing crisis
Abortion ruling--if it gets to Supreme Court--could impact Florida’s restrictive laws
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J.C. Bruce
67 counties have to figure out what to do thanks to that madman and his buddies at the Supreme Court. He's such a hypocrite as he votes by mail. How is he disenfranchising millions of voters, including the military, foreign diplomats, the elderly, and the infirm? Republicans will do anything to retain power.
I guess no one remembers Hurricane Irma, who came ashore as a Cat 1 on the east coast with 3 days of power outages. Then, right before Sarasota, it decided to make a hard right and cruise up the middle of the state. No matter where you live in Florida, you can get a hurricane. What is important is how your house is constructed, and you have something to protect your windows with.