MichaelMoline

Good to remember what a democracy can do.

youtu.be/GcvptQcfQ_k?...

Florida, an unsafe space for our children • Florida Phoenix The entire state of Florida should be declared an evacuation zone for human beings under 18. Not because ferocious hurricanes are bearing down, but because of the way its conservative “leaders” contin...

@floridaphoenix.com Where is the anger; where is the outrage? Where are the voluminous public protests and demands that our “leaders” do their damn jobs. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/25/f...

'Alligator Alcatraz,' a new temporary detention center, to open in Florida • Florida Phoenix Florida’s bid to be on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans has taken a swampy turn. The state, with approval from the Department of Homeland Security, started this week ...

@floridaphoenix.com “Donald Trump, his Administration, and his enablers have made one thing brutally clear: they intend to use the power of government to kidnap, brutalize, starve, and harm every single immigrant they can.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/a...

'Alligator Alcatraz,' a new temporary detention center, to open in Florida • Florida Phoenix Florida’s bid to be on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans has taken a swampy turn. The state, with approval from the Department of Homeland Security, started this week ...

‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ a new temporary detention center, to open in Florida floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/a...

Former governors say bipartisan unity key to rebuffing questionable federal policy • Florida Phoenix In a country flooded by a never-ending wave of talking heads, pundits and fiery social media posts, two bipartisan former governors said the solution to America’s political gridlock may be more talkin...

@floridaphoenix.com “Why is it that the most dangerous place in America today is around the Thanksgiving table?” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/r...

GOP leaders in US Senate struggle to redo mega-bill by July Fourth deadline • Florida Phoenix WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans were scrambling Tuesday to restructure several proposals in the “big, beautiful bill” that don’t meet their chamber’s strict rules for passing a reconciliation pac...

@floridaphoenix.com A deal Johnson brokered with GOP lawmakers in the SALT Caucus has been significantly rewritten in the Senate, but is expected to move back toward the House version, though not entirely. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/r...

Utah’s Mike Lee to make new attempt to sell off public lands in US Senate mega-bill • Florida Phoenix U.S. Sen. Mike Lee says he will revamp his controversial proposal to require the sales of vast acres of federal lands in the West so it can be included in Senate Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending...

@floridaphoenix.com “Republicans tried to rip away hundreds of millions of acres of public land—not to help families, not to solve real problems—but to hand yet another gift to the wealthy and well-connected." floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/r...

Controversial 2018 law that limited public beach access in Walton County is repealed • Florida Phoenix Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that repeals a 2018 law that opponents argued limited public beach access in Walton County in northwest Florida. Appearing in Santa Rosa Beach with emerald gulf...

@floridaphoenix.com 'This bill is about restoring local control, cutting legal red tape, and putting our residents first.' floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/c...

US Supreme Court allows third-country deportations for now • Florida Phoenix WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday to allow, for now, the Trump administration to carry out deportations to third countries after a Massachusetts judge barred removals without proper not...

@floridaphoenix.com “In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent. “In this case, the Government took the opposite approach.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/r...

Minnesota assassination prompts many lawmakers to wonder: Is service worth the danger? • Florida Phoenix A year into her first term in office, New Jersey Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer decided not to run for reelection. The political world saw her as a rising star in 2023; Jaffer, a Democrat, previously serv...

@floridaphoenix.com “These threats of violence, we’ve seen it before here and there, but nothing like we’ve seen it now. And yes, I think that would make a lot of people stop and think and decide they do not want to enter that arena." floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/24/m...

US Senate mega-bill drops requirement states help pay for SNAP program • Florida Phoenix WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats have succeeded in eliminating more than a dozen policy changes from Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” after successfully arguing before the chamber’s parliamentaria...

Democrats also fended off a proposal to eliminate funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and another that sought to bar federal district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/r...

Funding for free prison phone calls makes it into approved Florida FY 2026 budget • Florida Phoenix Advocates for providing inmates in Florida prisons with one free 15-minute phone call if they display good behavior say they are cautiously optimistic that the proposal, included in the $115 billion b...

“Children should not be punished for the crime their parent committed. This appropriation aims to reconnect a bond that may have been severed by incarceration by assuring that the families of those who are in prison are not drawn into poverty to make phone calls.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/f...

Land deal stops mining project near Okefenokee Swamp, though advocates brace for future threats • Florida Phoenix An Alabama company that was close to receiving the final go-ahead from the state of Georgia to mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has decided to instead sell the land to a nonprofit foc...

The refuge has also been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which would cement its status as an international tourist destination on par with the Grand Canyon and Galápagos Islands. It spans 402,000 acres in southeastern Georgia and North Florida. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/l...

Attorney General: 60 Florida children in 'critical danger' rescued by U.S. Marshals, other agencies • Florida Phoenix Federal, state, and local officials say 60 children ranging in age from 9-17 have been recovered in what an official called the “the largest in the history of the United States Marshal Service.” Durin...

@floridaphoenix.com “This is more than a number. It represents dozens of lives brought out of harm’s way, and a powerful testament to what can be accomplished through communication, collaboration, and data sharing." floridaphoenix.com/briefs/attor...

DeSantis signs legislation to relieve financial burdens on condo owners • Florida Phoenix CLEARWATER BEACH – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday designed to provide financial relief to condominium owners who have faced serious financial strains from a tightened regulations enacted ...

“We overreacted, probably, and now it’s time to make the change. People were losing their homes. Elderly people were losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase and their monthly HOA [home owner association] fees. That’s just wrong.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/d...

Florida Medicaid enrollment continues to decline • Florida Phoenix Florida Medicaid enrollment continues to drop, information posted by the state Agency for Health Care Administration shows. There were 4,155,487 Florida residents enrolled in the program as of May 30,...

@floridaphoenix.com There were 4,155,487 Florida residents enrolled in the program as of May 30, the latest available data. That’s 68,110 fewer people since December 2024 and 643,662 fewer people than in January 2024. floridaphoenix.com/briefs/flori...

DeSantis weighs in on NYC's Democratic mayoral primary election • Florida Phoenix A new poll shows Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani gaining on Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s New York City Democratic mayoral primary, and Ron DeSantis is concerned. “I’m not a political prognosticator, ...

DeSantis weighs in on NYC’s Democratic mayoral primary election floridaphoenix.com?post_type=br...

DeSantis weighs in on NYC's Democratic mayoral primary election • Florida Phoenix A new poll shows Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani gaining on Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s New York City Democratic mayoral primary, and Ron DeSantis is concerned. “I’m not a political prognosticator, ...

“But I will tell you, if that leftist does win, you’re going to see Palm Beach real estate go up another 20%. That will happen very quickly. Because as bad as some of what they’ve had, this is like [Bill] De Blasio on steroids.” floridaphoenix.com/briefs/desan...

Florida Medicaid enrollment continues to decline • Florida Phoenix Florida Medicaid enrollment continues to drop, information posted by the state Agency for Health Care Administration shows. There were 4,155,487 Florida residents enrolled in the program as of May 30,...

There were 4,155,487 Florida residents enrolled in the program as of May 30, the latest available data. That’s 68,110 fewer people since December 2024 and 643,662 fewer people than in January 2024. floridaphoenix.com/briefs/flori...

DeSantis signs legislation to relieve financial burdens on condo owners • Florida Phoenix CLEARWATER BEACH – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday designed to provide financial relief to condominium owners who have faced serious financial strains from a tightened regulations enacted ...

“We overreacted, probably, and now it’s time to make the change. People were losing their homes. Elderly people were losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase and their monthly HOA [home owner association] fees. That’s just wrong.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/d...

Attorney General: 60 Florida children in 'critical danger' rescued by U.S. Marshals, other agencies • Florida Phoenix Federal, state, and local officials say 60 children ranging in age from 9-17 have been recovered in what an official called the “the largest in the history of the United States Marshal Service.” Durin...

“This is more than a number. It represents dozens of lives brought out of harm’s way, and a powerful testament to what can be accomplished through communication, collaboration, and data sharing." floridaphoenix.com/briefs/attor...

Land deal stops mining project near Okefenokee Swamp, though advocates brace for future threats • Florida Phoenix An Alabama company that was close to receiving the final go-ahead from the state of Georgia to mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has decided to instead sell the land to a nonprofit foc...

The refuge has also been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which would cement its status as an international tourist destination on par with the Grand Canyon and Galápagos Islands. It spans 402,000 acres in southeastern Georgia and North Florida. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/l...

Funding for free prison phone calls makes it into approved Florida FY 2026 budget • Florida Phoenix Advocates for providing inmates in Florida prisons with one free 15-minute phone call if they display good behavior say they are cautiously optimistic that the proposal, included in the $115 billion b...

"Access to a parent in prison is difficult, high price of email, phone calls and travel, yet we know how important it is for children to have a bond with their parents.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/23/f...

Florida Democrats look for inspiration while meeting at Hollywood Hard Rock • Florida Phoenix DAVIE — Is there any way for the Florida Democratic Party to break on through next year in races for governor and U.S. Senate after two consecutive statewide routs at the ballot box? The math would in...

“Our brand is broken. But quitting, hiding, waiting, or whining will not fix it. What will? Showing up.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/22/f...

Trump: Iran nuclear facilities 'completely and totally obliterated' in U.S. strike on 3 sites • Florida Phoenix This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday night that the United States has attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, and all U.S. planes were outside Iran and on thei...

“President Trump has no constitutional authority to take us to war with Iran without authorization from Congress, and Congress has not authorized it." floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/22/r...

Vance dispatched to LA after Trump administration court victory in National Guard case • Florida Phoenix Vice President J.D. Vance took a victory lap to Los Angeles Friday, following a federal appeals court’s ruling that the administration could retain control of the California National Guard troops resp...

The trip was announced about 12 hours after the administration’s win at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that Trump could keep control of the 4,000 National Guard troops he’d ordered to Los Angeles. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/21/r...

Judge halts Trump order tying state transportation grants to immigration actions • Florida Phoenix A Rhode Island federal judge blocked an order that would have yanked billions of federal dollars for roads, bridges and airport projects in states that don’t aid in the Trump administration’s immigrat...

“Defendents seek to hold hostage tens of billions of dollars of critical transportation funding in order to force the plaintiff states to become mere arms of the federal government’s immigration enforcement policies." floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/21/r...

Environmentalists say they’re cautious to adopt AI into their work • Florida Phoenix Environmental scientists and conservationists have been slow to embrace artificial intelligence tools, in large part because of the enormous amount of electricity the technology demands.  But that, so...

“In climate, we’re looking at opportunities where these AI-enabled tools, particularly those that are integrated with control systems and operating systems, can really help to optimize.”https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/21/repub/environmentalists-say-theyre-cautious-to-adopt-ai-into-their-work/

DeSantis maintains support for Senate-refused trustee at UWF • Florida Phoenix Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking a second try to get Adam Kissel on the University of West Florida Board of Trustees. Kissel appeared before two Senate committees seeking confirmation to the position earli...

Senators rejected Kissel, a West Virginian and Heritage Foundation fellow, citing concern with his lack of ties to the state; for advocating defunding public universities; and suggesting the GI Bill led to over-enrolled four-year colleges. floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/20/d...

Texas judge strikes down federal health privacy rule for legal abortion care • Florida Phoenix A 2024 federal rule that shielded reproductive health information from disclosure to law enforcement when care was legally obtained, such as in another state with abortion access, was struck down by a...

“Vacating this regulation will be detrimental to the privacy rights of pregnant people across the country, and will interfere with the ability of healthcare providers and patients to communicate confidentially and openly about a patient’s health needs." floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/20/r...