Florida
Florida: The Who Cares State • Florida Phoenix
Welcome to the Science-Free State of Florida, where facts are dismissed, obvious truths denied, and thinking discouraged.
Failed presidential candidate and professional pouter Ronbo DeSantis recently had references to climate change removed from state statutes.
Now his Department of (Mis)Education wants the phrase “climate change” excised from Florida school textbooks on the ground that it’s “ideology” or “indoctrination.”
Indoctrination? We’ve got your indoctrination: Last year, Ronbo and his DO(Mis)E goons approved the use of inaccurate, indeed dangerous, (but cute and cartoony) videos from Prager University (which is not a university) in Florida classrooms.
These little gems parrot oil and gas industry talking points, claiming green energy is a lie, and comparing climate change activists to Nazis.
Florida’s current regime (motto: “Ignorance is Strength”) operates on the theory that if you refuse to utter certain words — ”racism,” for example, “COVID,” or “climate crisis” — and pretend with all your might that what you see in front of you isn’t real, then the problem disappears.
There’s two feet of water in your living room, it’s over 100 degrees outside, the beaches are festooned with dead fish, and the coral reefs are dying, but hey, that’s just summer in the Sunshine State!
Ronbo, who isn’t even good at gaslighting, wants you to believe this is all perfectly normal.
Christina Pushaw, longtime DeSantis aide, blows it all off: “Welcome to the rainy season.”
Pushaw, who must be a great disappointment to her former teachers, says, “Do not fall for the propaganda that it’s a new danger or we can stop hurricanes by eating bugs, banning cars, mandating lab grown meat etc.” Bless her heart.
Taking it out on Florida
Ronbo’s still hopping mad about how non-Florida America took one look at him last year and went, “Oh, HELL no!”
So he’s taking it out on Florida, vetoing stormwater mitigation programs and a bill, passed unanimously in the Legislature, requiring the Department of Health to close dangerously polluted beaches — what’s a little fecal coliform between friends?
He’s also chosen to torture agricultural and construction workers, signing a law forbidding cities and counties to institute protections for the 2 million Floridians who build the condos and pick the tomatoes in the increasingly monstrous heat.
No required water breaks. No required shade breaks.
Planetary warming is fake, right?
Skin cancer? Heat stroke? Whatever.
It’s more important to keep the campaign donors from Big Ag and Big Development happy.
And while we’re in banning mode, let’s take a sharpie to any book in any school library and black out the words “gender,” “gay,” “race,” “slavery,” “Big Bang,” “evolution,” “ocean acidification,” and “Gaza.”
Speaking of children, the state has also rejected woke federal money to help feed poor kids over the summer.
Food only encourages them.
Anyway, if the kids survive the heat and the hunger and make it back to school in the fall, their souls will be nourished by those PragerU videos, not only the climate denial epics, but the ones in which an animated Christopher Columbus tells two white kids slavery was better than being killed and Frederick Douglass says slavery was “a compromise to achieve something great: the making of the United States.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to suspect Ronbo and those chuckleheads at DO(Mis)E don’t really believe in learning.
Not the reality-based kind.
Less Pride, more Prejudice
I mean, (Mis)Ed Commissioner Manny Díaz Jr. put out a reading list for American Pride Month (not the rainbow kind, the USA! USA! kind) which includes Jane Austen’s great novel “Pride and Prejudice.”
Poor bugger. Did no one tell him 1. Jane Austen was not American; 2. The novel has nothing to do with America; and 3. The novel satirizes rich, self-righteous, ignorant conservatives?
Ronbo should read it. Maybe Casey can find him an abridged edition.
But he’s too busy bragging about how U.S. News and World Report ranks Florida “number one” in education.
Thing is, the ranking is based on factors like cheap college tuition and low rates of student debt.
Not actual education as in critical thinking, exposure to ideas your parents hate, learning the actual history of this country, the inspiring as well as the hideous parts, and understanding that science is evidence-based and employs what those elite expert types like to call “data.”
Universities — the decent ones — don’t want to admit students from schools forced to lie about what’s happening to the earth.
See, science doesn’t care what you believe.
You can believe the sun revolves around the earth, the Bible is the literal Word of God, and gravity is merely a theory, but that doesn’t make it accurate.
Try this experiment: Take a step off a second-story balcony. See what happens.
Or maybe refuse to get your child vaccinated against measles and stick her in a classroom with a measles-infected child.
See what happens.
Who cares?
You might remember earlier this year we had a rather scary measles outbreak here in the science-free state of Florida.
Our chief health officer, Quack General Joseph Ladapo, leapt into action with a shrug, telling parents to go ahead and expose unvaccinated kids to the disease.
The tough ones will probably survive.
Doctors in the reality-based community have responded to Ladapo with a mix of horror, embarrassment, and ridicule pointing out the Quack relies on studies that haven’t been peer-reviewed or vetted, with results that can’t be replicated.
He seems to think the COVID vaccine can get into your DNA and do something sinister to you.
That ain’t how it works. As one immunologist said, “You have better chance of becoming Spider-Man than being harmed by DNA from the COVID vaccines.”
As of June, 2024, 2,740 Floridians had died of COVID.
Dying of COVID is preventable.
Climate change cannot be halted in its humid tracks, but we can tackle the emissions that cause it.
Ronbo simply doesn’t want to. He’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Energy.
Who knows how many Floridians will die of heat-related illnesses?
Who knows how many houses will be destroyed and lives ruined in a hurricane super-sized by the increasingly warm waters of the Gulf and the Atlantic?
Who knows how many towns will wash away in Florida’s unprecedented rainfall.
Ronbo’s answer: Who cares?
A swiftly-growing wildfire in western Broward County has consumed over 4,000 acres, having ballooned in size since igniting a few days ago.
The Atlantic Fire, located near the Sawgrass Expressway and Commercial Boulevard, burned 4,755 acres and was 0% contained as of 8:01 p.m. June 29, according to a map of active wildfires provided by the Florida Forest Service. The fire began over the weekend, and had grown to 180 acres by Sunday.
Wildfires in neighboring Miami-Dade County burned thousands of acres in recent weeks
Three wildfires burning in Miami-Dade County cumulatively consumed over 19,000 acres over the past few weeks.
The Quarry 2 Fire, which began on June 15 near NW 137 Avenue and NW 41 Street, had grown to 19,018 acres and was 97% contained as of 1:26 p.m. June 21, according to a map of active wildfires provided by the Florida Forest Service. The Well Fire, which began on June 16 and is located near NW 122 Avenue and NW 58 Street, had burned 2,814 acres and was 90% contained as of 4:41 p.m. June 25.
The Corrections Fire, located south of 8th Street and west of Krome Avenue, had burned 363 acres and was 95% contained as of 12:12 p.m. June 25.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
Fifty tons of humanitarian aid donated by South Floridians are on their way to Venezuela following the earthquakes that rocked the country last week.
The aid shipment departed from Miami International Airport around 9 p.m. Monday aboard a LATAM Cargo plane.
According to the Global Empowerment Mission, or GEM, the 50 tons of supplies are equivalent to the weight of about 10 adult elephants and include food, medicine and other critical items.
Rows of strategically packed pallets lined the tarmac Monday night before being loaded onto the aircraft.
GEM partnered with LATAM Cargo for the rapid deployment effort after the earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela.
“So in this load right here, it’s a combination of our family kits,” Michael Kesti with GEM Government Affairs said. “The kit is enough food for a family of four for five days, so beans and rice and that. A small generator, we give them as well, and a case of water. And then in some cases, we have tents as well.”
GEM has already delivered supplies to earthquake victims in Venezuela, but officials said Monday’s flight carrying 50 tons of aid is the organization’s largest shipment so far.
“This is an extraordinary gesture because everybody is waiting on pins and needles to see how we can help,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
At Global Empowerment Mission’s (GEM) headquarters in Doral, volunteers are working around the clock as donations continue to pour in following Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes.
GEM is not the only organization working to provide relief.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church has also been collecting and organizing donations since the disaster struck.
Officials with the church said they have collected about 150 pallets of goods and have already sent both a plane and a ship carrying aid to Venezuela.
Fernando Bolanos, with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, said the community has been deeply affected by the tragedy.
“The main thing is that we are deeply, deeply touched with what happened there. We are suffering a lot, and this is a way to carry on,” Bolanos said. “We were so happy with the World Cup and everything, and now everything changed.”
GEM said there is now a critical need for additional medical supplies as relief efforts continue.
On Saturday the United States of America will be celebrating its 250th birthday, and the milestone will be celebrated all over the South Florida area.
If you don’t know where to watch the fireworks this 4th of July, here are a few places to check out.
1.) Bayfront Park
From 1 p.m. to midnight live music, fireworks and of course FIFA World Cup viewing will be hosted at Bayfront Park. According to Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, this free event will also have food and drinks for the entire family to enjoy. Admission does require an RSVP found with this link. The event is located at 301 N. Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132
2.) Tropical Park
Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department will be hosting their annual Fourth of July Celebration. The free event will be taking place from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will include live music, food and a Carnival Cruise Line Fun Zone for kids. The event will be hosted at 7900 SW 40th Street, Miami, FL 33155.
3.) Lummus Park
Are you a fan of classical music? This Fourth of July Lummus Park will be the venue for the Independence Day Fireworks & Patriotic Concert. The evening will begin at 8:30 p.m. with an orchestra performance by the Miami Beach Classical Music Festival.
A fireworks show will begin at 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring beach chairs, blankets and picnic supplies. The celebration will take place at 12th Street and Ocean Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139.
4.) Altos Del Mar Park
Starting at 5 p.m. families can dance to live music as a Fourth of July celebration kicks off at Altos Del Mar Park.
Near the Miami Beach Bandshell at 7275 Collins Avenue there will be a free outdoor roller disco from 5 to 9 p.m.
At 9 p.m. the night will end with a drone and firework show. The event is located at 7601 Atlantic Way, Miami Beach, FL 33141.
5.) Palmer Park
If you are in the South Miami area, Palmer Park will be hosting a Fourth of July Celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. There will be live music, food, local vendors and of course fireworks!
The address for the park is 6100 SW 67th Avenue.
6.) Risco Park
Fireworks, live music and family activities will be hosted at Risco Park for Independence Day. Hosted by the City of Miami Gardens, the 4th of July & The Juneteenth Experience Park-In & Party will intertwine both holiday themes in a community gathering focused on “freedom, inclusion and family.”
The event will include a DJ, performances by local talent, food trucks, raffles and more. The party will end with a fireworks display at 9 p.m. If you are interested in attending, the address is 19000 NW 37th Ave. Miami Gardens, FL 33056.
7.) Las Olas Oceanside Park and Fort Lauderdale Beach
The city of Fort Lauderdale is throwing a free 4th of July event hosted by Grammy-nominated country singer Walker Hayes.
Hayes will be performing at 7:30 p.m. and the event will also feature a kids zone, beach games, contests and more.
At sunset, attendees can expect a drone show over the beach at 8:45 p.m. Then at 9 p.m. a fireworks display will begin.
Find the event at 3000 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308.
8.) Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables
Located at the historic Biltmore Hotel, local residents and enjoy this Fourth of July Celebration. The event starts at 5 p.m., following a Greater Miami Symphonic Band Concert at 7 p.m. and then a drone and fireworks show at 9 p.m. The event will be located at 1200 Anastasia Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134.
9.) Milander Park, Hialeah
This event will feature a 30-minute firework and laser display. There will be local food trucks, and the festivities are expected to bring together over 20,000 attendees. The award-winning celebration will take place at 4800 Palm Ave. Hialeah, FL 33012.
10.) Homestead Miami Speedway
On Saturday evening residents can gather at the speedway for a night full of fireworks, live music and an interactive fan zone. Admission and parking are free. According to Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, attendees are encouraged to arrive early before the evening finale with fireworks.
It will be held at One Ralph Sanchez Speedway Blvd Homestead, FL 33035.
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