COVID vaxx for kids sets stage for renewed struggle at school boards and in classrooms

Alfie Oakes: Teachers should be “taken down” by “force”

*A March 10, 2021 meeting of the Collier County School Board is disrupted by anti-mask protesters. (Image: Fox4 News)*

Oct. 26, 2021 by David Silverberg

Tensions surrounding school board decisions, masking and curriculum, already at a high pitch, are likely to become even more pronounced in the weeks ahead as new child COVID vaccines become available and are mandated for school use.

The possibility of violence and past intimidation and harassment of school officials has prompted federal law enforcement intervention, leading to state and local pushback.

Southwest Florida is already in the grip of these stresses and challenges. Passions have run high at local school board meetings over the past year, with disruptions, disorderly conduct and protests.

To date there has not been any school-related violence in Southwest Florida. However, there has been at least one local, politically-motivated overt call to use “force” against teachers.

On Aug. 16 Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes III, an extreme right-wing grower and grocer, posted on Facebook: “These corrupt teachers unions are the enemy of our country and our citizens! We need to take them down by force!! ALL enemies foreign and domestic !!! Time for a revolution!”

On Aug. 20 Oakes told a conservative gathering in Naples that he had a sufficient number of guns to arm all his 3,200 employees. While no illegal actions have been publicly apparent to date, his call to “take [teachers] down by force” could inspire other school opponents to use violence.

The simmering summer

After a summer of rising tension and threats directed at elected school board members, along with a spike in the COVID-19 Delta variant, on Sept. 29, Viola Garcia, president of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), and Chip Slaven, its interim executive director, sent a five-page letter to President Joe Biden, detailing the danger.

“America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) respectfully asks for federal law enforcement and other assistance to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation,” it stated.

“Local school board members want to hear from their communities on important issues and that must be at the forefront of good school board governance and promotion of free speech,” it continued. “However, there also must be safeguards in place to protect public schools and dedicated education leaders as they do their jobs.”

The letter provided extensive examples of harassment and threats in its body and footnotes.

On Oct. 4 Attorney General Merrick Garland responded with a public memorandum.

“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” he wrote. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.” (The full text of the memo is at the end of this article.)

Based on the danger to teachers and school board members, Garland ordered agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US attorneys to begin meeting with law enforcement agencies at all levels to discuss strategies for dealing with the danger. “These sessions will open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting, assessment and response by law enforcement,” he stated.

Garland’s memorandum was interpreted by Republicans, grass roots conservatives and the right-wing media as an assault on parents’ rights and free speech, potentially labeling parents “domestic terrorists.”

This was the line of attack opened by Republican members of Congress when Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee this past Thursday, Oct. 21. The hearing’s official topic was the investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection but it examined a broad range of subjects.

Garland defended his memo.

“Parents have been complaining about the education of their children and about school boards since there were such things as school boards and public education,” he told the lawmakers. “This is totally protected by the First Amendment. True threats of violence are not protected by the First Amendment. Those are the things we are worried about here. Those are the only things we are worried about here. We are not investigating peaceful protests or parent involvement in school board meetings. There is no precedent for doing that and we would never do that. We are only concerned about violence and threats of violence against school administrators, teachers, staff.”

Republicans on the panel, however, used the opportunity to unleash their grievances and attack the memo. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-4-Ohio), the ranking member on the panel, delivered a vociferous opening statement accusing Garland and the FBI of selectively targeting parents, while ignoring Republican priorities like violent crime and border security.

Garland, said Jordan, had opened “a snitch line on parents, started five days after a left wing political organization asked for it. If that’s not political, I don’t know what is.”

(Southwest Florida Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.), who sits on the panel, used his question to ask Garland if the Department of Justice was pursuing environmental protesters at the Department of the Interior with the same vigor as the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Garland said he was unfamiliar with the incident Steube was mentioning.)

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared that the state would not cooperate with the FBI.

“We’re not going to be cooperating with any types of federal investigations into parents,” he said at a press conference in Titusville last Wednesday, Oct. 20. “And we’ll do whatever we can to thwart such investigations.” He accused Garland and President Joe Biden of pulling a political stunt to “intimidate parents” and “squelch dissent” and called a memo a “slap in the face” to Florida and other local law enforcement officers.

“They don’t need to have their hand held by federal agents over basic law enforcement,” he said. “At the state level, we will be not facilitating or participating in any of the things that were outlined in that memo, because it’s just not appropriate to do that.”

Trouble in paradise

In an essay published on Oct. 20 in The Washington Post: “I’m a Florida school board member. This is how protesters come after me,” Brevard County school board member Jennifer Jenkins related how protesters opposing school curriculum demonstrated at her house, how a state representative gave out her private cell phone number and encouraged harassing phone calls, and how her lawn was vandalized, among other forms of threats.

She wrote: “I ran for the school board last year because I was concerned about issues such as teacher pay, student equity and, oh yeah, the coronavirus. As a progressive in a red county, I expected to be a target of conservatives; I did not expect to be called a Nazi and a pedophile and to be subjected to months of threats, harassment and intimidation.”

On the west coast of Florida, specifically in Lee and Collier counties, there has not been the same level of threat against school boards, teachers or staff. Nonetheless, in the spring, school board meetings were the scene of intense debate and at times disruption.

Issues included mask mandates, curriculum, school textbooks and especially the teaching of critical race theory, an educational concept that emphasizes the importance of racial relations in American history.

In March the Collier County school board chambers had to be cleared when anti-mask parents insisted on removing their masks in defiance of board rules.

In June, the Collier County school board was again the scene of disruptions as the board discussed school textbook purchases and anti-curriculum attendees disrupted proceedings.

*Alfie Oakes harangues the Collier County School Board before being escorted out by a security officer. (Image: WINK News)*

During that meeting on June 7 Alfie Oakes was escorted out of the chambers after he refused to respect the rules governing discussion while accusing the board of planning to purchase $6 million worth of what he called “books and materials that are laden with critical race theory and other strictly liberal viewpoints.”

The pandemic and the issues of masking in school led to protests and demonstrations in the spring. However, with the COVID Delta variant outbreak in the summer and especially as schools prepared to open in August, passions reached a new pitch.

In August there were shoving incidents outside the Lee County School Board headquarters before a meeting to discuss a school mask mandate. Although the Lee County Board imposed a 30-day mandate for September, a mid-month court ruling forced the school system to provide exemptions.

It was also in August, in the midst of the Delta spike, that Alfie Oakes issued his call for the use of “force” against teachers.

In October the Lee County school board discussed an armed guardian program, training armed teachers and school security officers to prevent school shootings from any source.

Commentary: From angry August to nasty November

School-related tensions are likely to rise substantially in the coming weeks when COVID vaccines are fully approved and distributed for children from ages 5 to 12.

Schools have mandated a variety of vaccines for decades but given the level of resistance and politicization surrounding the COVID vaccine, quite an eruption can be expected when schools try to require the latest protection.

School board members, teachers and staff will need extensive physical protection and they should start preparing now—even if they don’t impose mandates.

In this context, Attorney General Garland’s memo directing federal, state and local coordination and strategizing is a reasonable, lawful, and sensible effort to protect elected school board officials and staff from attacks of all kinds. As Garland himself stated, and as the memo itself states, it is only directed against unlawful threats. It does not infringe on parents’ rights, of free speech or anything else, and it does not designate them as “domestic terrorists.”

In fact, Garland would be remiss if he did not take such actions.

Of course, Florida, led by an ambitious and determinedly Trumpist governor has already established itself as an outlier. DeSantis has shown himself driven to fight all COVID protections of all sorts, at all levels and for all ages. He picked a pliant Surgeon General in Joseph Ladapo, who simply provides any and all justifications DeSantis requires for his desired electoral results. His administration has concealed the real statistics for COVID, especially the Delta variant, to minimize the toll his policies have taken on Floridians.

At the grassroots level the anti-mask, anti-vaccine, anti-science, anti-curriculum—in fact, anti-learning—movement seems aimed more at imposing its own version of the indoctrination it claims to decry than the education it purports to uphold. It is aided and abetted in this by the right-wing media outrage machine, which is twisting any science-based, or law enforcement measure into an assault on parental authority and individual freedom.

In a broader sense what the anti-learning, anti-protection activists seem intent on doing is creating a parallel universe in classrooms where COVID either doesn’t exist or can be ignored, where American history is literally whitewashed and where comfortable delusions—like the Big Lie—can be taught as fact and take hold for generations to come.

If it succeeds, Southwest Florida will not be spared its results any more than other corner of the country.

In the days ahead, those who do love democracy, learning and wish to protect the lives of schoolchildren will have to show themselves more committed, more mobilized and more dedicated than those who seek to put their lives and learning at risk.

The next regular meeting of the Lee County School Board is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 6:00 pm at the Lee County Public Education Center, 2855 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, Fla.

The next regular meeting of the Collier County School Board is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 4:00 pm at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Administrative Center, 5775 Osceola Trail. Naples, Fla.

Full text of the 1-page Oct. 4 memorandum from Attorney General Merrick Garland to law enforcement agencies.

Liberty lives in light

Southwest Florida reps vote to let Bannon off the hook

*Stephen Bannon (Caricature: Donkey Hotey via Wikimedia Commons)*

Oct. 21, 2021 by David Silverberg

The US House of Representatives voted today, by 229 to 202, to hold Stephen Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to obey a congressional subpoena requiring him to testify about his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and attack on the US Capitol.

All of Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives—Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.), Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.)—voted against the resolution, thereby allowing Bannon to flout the law.

Bannon was former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist and senior advisor for 210 days from January 20 to August 18, 2017. Prior to and on Jan. 6, 2021 he is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the riot, insurrection and attempted coup. He was subpoenaed to testify by the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol but refused to obey the subpoena. Now that he has been found in contempt he may be prosecuted by attorneys from the Department of Justice.

“While [former White House Chief of Staff Mark] Meadows and [former chief of staff to the then-acting Secretary of Defense Kash] Patel are, so far, engaging with the Select Committee, Mr. Bannon has indicated that he will try to hide behind vague references to privileges of the former President. The Select Committee fully expects all of these witnesses to comply with our demands for both documents and deposition testimony,” stated the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-2-Miss.), and vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-at large-Wy.), on Oct. 8.

“Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral,” they stated.

As of this writing none of Southwest Florida’s congressmen had issued statements or explanations for their votes, although they actively tweeted on unrelated matters. They joined 199 of their Republican colleagues in voting against House Resolution 730. Nine Republicans voted for the resolution including Cheney. The House Republican leadership urged all Republican members to oppose the resolution.

The charges against Bannon were contained in House Report 117-152 from the Select Committee, which stated in its operative paragraphs:

Resolved, That Stephen K. Bannon shall be found to be in
contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional
subpoena.
Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 192 and 194,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the
report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th
Attack on the United States Capitol, detailing the refusal of
Stephen K. Bannon to produce documents or appear for a
deposition before the Select Committee to Investigate the
January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol as directed by
subpoena, to the United States Attorney for the District of
Columbia, to the end that Mr. Bannon be proceeded against in
the manner and form provided by law.
Resolved, That the Speaker of the House shall otherwise
take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.

SWFL congressmen on insurrection day

At the time of the insurrection all of Southwest Florida’s congressmen were shaken and appalled by the violence and threats to themselves and the institution.

“On my fourth day as a United States Congressman, I followed Capitol staff into a safe room with a gas mask in hand rather than representing my constituents,” recounted Donalds in a statement issued at 10:09 pm the night of the insurrection, after the rioters had been evicted from the building. He called the rioters “lawless vigilantes” and denounced their actions as “thuggery.”

During the worst moments of the protest Donalds condemned the violence: “Americans have the right to peacefully protest & demand their government works for them—that doesn’t mean we resort to violence. Rule of law must stand during our nation’s brightest & darkest hours & that includes right now. We are better than this. There is no place for anarchy,” he tweeted at 2:49 pm in the midst of the attack.

“I witnessed our law enforcement officers being injured, gassed from their own tear gas and afraid for their lives as they attempted to hold the line,” recalled Steube in his own statement. “I and three other Members were barricaded in a room surrounded by demonstrators until the hallway was clear for us to get out.” At 5:39 pm he decried the actions and called them “completely unacceptable.”

On Jan. 6 Diaz-Balart issued a statement in both English and Spanish at 5:23 pm saying that the violence undermined the nation’s values and principles and lawbreakers should face the full consequences of their actions.

The House report and resolution now goes to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

Liberty lives in light

On a personal note: Remembering Colin Powell

*Gen. Colin Powell briefs the media during the First Gulf War. (Photo: AP)*

Oct. 19, 2021 by David Silverberg

In 1991 during the First Gulf War, I had the good fortune as a reporter to be covering the Pentagon when Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a briefing on the state of the war.

No military in the world can function without presentation charts. Powell brought a bunch to show the media how coalition air forces were eroding Saddam Hussein’s command, control and communications capabilities in the prelude to ground operations. The charts had long, rising and abruptly falling lines displaying the decline in Iraqi forces’ ability to send and receive signals.

A reporter asked an obvious question: How could Powell be so sure this was true? And by extension, how could our audiences be sure that what he was saying was true?

Powell, a big, broad-shouldered man, smiled. “Trust me,” he said.

And people did. Powell had a reputation as a straight-talking, truth-telling guy. He could be trusted. As the nation’s top military man there was much he had to conceal and he might not provide the entire truth but what he did say could be taken to the bank.

Then, and later, the media, the nation’s leadership and the American people trusted him.

Powell died yesterday, Oct. 18, 2021. Tributes are pouring in. Much is being made of the fact that he was the first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State.

But when he was in office, when he prosecuted an astonishingly victorious war, his racial background was irrelevant—as it should be. Much more important today, in an age of distrust, deception and divisiveness, it’s worth remembering him as someone who is so rare in our time: someone who could be trusted.

It was because of this credibility that in 2003 President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney pressured Powell, then Secretary of State, to bless their effort to go to war against Saddam Hussein again. Despite flimsy evidence of weapons of mass destruction, a lack of provocations and his own deep skepticism of the intelligence, Powell did what he felt was his duty and followed his commanders’ orders. He presented the United Nations with the American justification for a war of choice. It was a decision he regretted the rest of his life and will always be judged a flaw on an otherwise sterling record of service, dedication and duty.

This was an aberration—and a big one. But in looking back over his life and career, it’s much more enlightening and uplifting to remember his thoughtfulness, his honesty and his honor. Powell was a true patriot; not the loud, vulgar, ostentatious kind or the kind who exploits appearances for personal gain but the kind who gets up and goes to work every day to make the country a better place and advances its best and highest ideals and values in every way he or she can.

Powell also exemplified something else. When he was thinking of running for president in 1996 he said that he wanted to appeal to what he called “the sensible center” of American political life. He eschewed extremism and divisiveness or fanaticism.

At that time there was a “sensible center,” a common ground of discussion and common sense where conversation and reason reigned. Powell’s passing at the age of 84 highlights just how much the sensible center that once governed the national dialogue—and the national course of action—has been deliberately undercut and assaulted. The kind of hatred, prejudice and rage that has taken its place is no improvement and is leading to disaster in every possible way.

We need to return to the sensible centrism he embodied.

The evaluation of Colin Powell has begun. Biographies will be written. Far too much focus is being placed on his race. His flaws and errors will be revealed.

But I’ll always remember him as a man of impeccable service and true patriotism, tall and commanding, his uniform immaculate and his decorations sparkling under hot lights, his charts behind him, smiling knowingly and saying “trust me.”

I did. We could. And restoration of his kind of honesty should be his greatest legacy.

Liberty lives in light

Pro and anti-choice demonstrators duel in contentious Naples protest

The demonstration at the outset of the event. (All photos: Author)

Oct. 2, 2021 by David Silverberg

On a day of national demonstrations in favor of the right of women to choose abortion, Naples, Fla., was treated to an unusually raucous and contentious rally by pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates.

There were no arrests, although individuals, particularly anti-abortionists, while staying non-violent, became aggressive at times. Demonstrators shouted dueling chants and anti-abortionists attempted to drown out scheduled pro-choice speakers.

The demonstration took place in front of the Collier County courthouse in the county government center at Airport Pulling Rd. and Route 41 and then moved to the sidewalk along Airport Pulling Rd.

At the scheduled start of the demonstration at 10 am, there were about 100 pro-choice demonstrators and 22 anti-abortion demonstrators present. Although the numbers swelled during the next two hours, the ratio of abortion opponents to supporters remained about the same. At its height perhaps a total of 300 to 400 people were in the crowd.

There was no separation between the demonstrators and police made no effort to keep them apart. According to one Collier County sheriff’s deputy, in the public space police were not authorized to keep the competing parties apart or intervene unless a crime was actively committed. Nor was a permit required for the “Mobilize and Defend Our Reproductive Rights” rally, so there was no need to enforce a permit’s requirements.

*Pro and anti-choice demonstrators mix together as the rally proceeds.*

*An anti-abortionist weighs into the crowd to harangue demonstrators.*

*Collier County Sheriff’s deputies look on while the action unfolds.*

*Collier County teacher Corrie Vega recounts her experiences of sexual assault and harassment despite anti-abortion chants and heckling.*

*Rev. Tony Fisher of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Naples makes his speech despite anti-abortion heckling.*

*Pro-choice demonstrators line Airport Pulling Road after the rally on the Courthouse steps.*

Liberty lives in light

Fight on the right: McLaughlin vs. Oakes on overturning the 2020 election in Florida

*Farmer and grocer Alfie Oakes. (Photo: WINK News)*

Oct. 1, 2021 by David Silverberg

The effort by farmer and grocer Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes III to press Gov. Ron DeSantis to audit and overturn the results of the 2020 election in Florida is drawing fire from another extreme conservative activist, Christy McLaughlin.

In a Sept. 16 letter to DeSantis Oakes requested two hours in person with the governor to present his evidence of 2020 election fraud in Florida. He believes the election was invalid even though the governor held it up as a model election and Republicans swept the full slate of candidates. In an appearance on the Alex Jones online “InfoWars” show, Oakes offered the governor a $100,000 campaign contribution if he would hold the meeting.

That specific a quid pro quo in return for that specific a sum as an individual contribution has raised questions about its legality and whether it could constitute a bribe.

That was the argument made by Christy McLaughlin, a former Republican congressional primary candidate and far right political activist based in Ave Maria.

In a 2-minute, 46-second TikTok video posted on Sept. 22, McLaughlin denounced the Oakes offer.

*Christy McLaughlin on her video. (Photo: Facebook)*

“Florida had the best run election in the country in 2020, and the best run election our state as ever had in history all thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis,” said McLaughlin.

“Anyone that tries to undermine our Governor is against the Republican Party, against our state, and against people’s freedom. Offering a $100,000 donation to DeSantis so long as he ‘entertains’ the idea of auditing Florida’s 2020 election undermines Governor DeSantis and puts his reelection at risk. Alfie Oakes has created a distraction that only promotes his interests and hurts Governor DeSantis,” she said.

McLaughlin argued that if DeSantis doesn’t audit the election then Oakes is rallying his supporters against the governor; if he does audit the election he can be accused of accepting a bribe and damaging his re-election chances.

“Republicans in Collier County have become numb to Oakes’ hyperboles such as saying he would rather inject his children with heroine than give them the vaccine, obviously he would never do that to his children, however, when he is essentially attacking the Governor by putting him in this impossible decision, he is hurting the Republican Party and the State of Florida. Though this may be political theater for Oakes, his actions have some serious consequences.”

The only reasons to audit an election are to initiate reforms for the future or overturn an election, argued McLaughlin.

“Florida delivered a win for President Trump, and we had a majority of conservatives win local, state and Federal elections in our state. Why would anyone be seeking to overturn that?” she asked. Given the job DeSantis has done, “we need to support him, not challenge him and question his leadership. Most importantly people shouldn’t try to buy a Governor’s compliance with a $100,000 donation. I have Florida’s interests in mind, and I back true patriots like Governor Ron DeSantis.”

Oakes responded with a 1,272-word reply to the post delivered by lawyer Jim Boatman.

“I am very saddened by the juvenile and extremely uneducated remarks made by Christy McLaughlin,” stated the reply.

Oakes immediately questioned McLaughlin’s motivations and launched personal attacks against her.

“1. Could Christy have been paid by establishment Republicans or Democrats in an effort to conceal the massive voter fraud effort in our State and Country?” he asked.

“2. Could she be planning on running for some political office just trying to draw attention to herself? I did hear through the grapevine that she just failed the Florida bar for the second time, if this is so, is it possible she’s just in a really bad mood and is lashing out in frustration of the fact that she can’t get a job as an attorney and is now focusing on a political career?

“3. Or is it just an immature attempt for attention with little or NO thought at all?”

Oakes related that he’d been sitting through Republican executive committee meetings “where she acted in a very emotional immature and combative manner toward her fellow executive board members.” Oakes said he had never encountered such “irrational non-productive behavior” in an employee and would never hire her.

Regarding her allegation that the donation might constitute a bribe, he stated: “Yes Christy you caught me ….with your stellar instincts that every 25 year old possesses…I’m going to offer a bribe on public radio and TV to the governor to thereby get him and myself thrown in jail ..no words to describe this level of ignorance….The reality is I offered to donate $100,000 to any PAC gov. Ron DeSantis chooses as a token of my appreciation for attending a meeting with me to explain my election fraud findings and thank him for everything he has done for our state.”

He took umbrage at her statement that he would never inject his children with heroin. On the contrary, “I swear with my life, my fortune and my sacred honor that I would [emphasis ours] shoot heroin into my children’s arms without hesitation if given a choice between heroin and this experimental RNA altering vaccine (at least I know what heroin is).”

He also argued that DeSantis must audit the 2020 election in Florida: “in fact if he does NOT dig into this election fraud he will most certainly lose to Charlie Christ or even worse Nikki Fried.” Oakes stated that he had spent “hundreds of hours” on Florida election fraud and found possibly 900,000 stolen votes, penetration of all 67 Florida counties and Chinese hacking of Florida computer systems.

“Christy alleges with certainty that she is aware that Gov. Ron DeSantis is aware of the voter fraud in Florida” he wrote. “Well I guess Christie you must be much closer to gov. Ron DeSantis than his own chief of staff. In speaking with Adrian Lucas (chief of staff to the governor) yesterday he thanked me for the admirable work that I have been doing to prove election fraud in Florida and could not wait for the governor to see the findings we have uncovered,” [sic, as posted].

He denied being motivated by any financial gain and disputed that Collier County Republicans had become numb to his hyperboles “when in fact I have hundreds of people every day thanking me for articulating exactly what they are thinking and taking the bold position to stand strong for them.”

Oakes concluded: “I am praying for your wisdom Christy…”

Liberty lives in light

Congress votes to keep government open; Diaz-Balart breaks with Donalds, Steube, Republicans to approve bill

Sept. 30, 2021 by David Silverberg

The US House of Representatives today approved a bill to fund the government until December 3 by a vote of 254 to 175.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.) joined 33 other Republicans to vote for the bill, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act.

Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted against the bill. Had the bill failed, the government would have shut down at midnight.

For Southwest Florida, passage of the bill means that federal parks, facilities and offices will remain open and operating, including the US Coast Guard and the Social Security Administration.

The bill, House Resolution 5305, also known as a Continuing Resolution, concurred with a Senate bill and now goes to President Joe Biden for signature.

Liberty lives in light

New Facebook group aims to boost Democratic businesses in Southwest Florida

Sept. 29, 2021 by David Silverberg

Mimi Lamb remembers the moment the idea came to her.

“There was a young lady who was looking for a service person in one of the Democratic chat groups,” she recalls. The woman was seeking a reliable handyperson whom she could allow into her home who was also a Democrat.

But in an overwhelmingly conservative area where many businesses are vocally and conspicuously defying COVID precautions and opposing vaccinations, her quest wasn’t just a political statement; she was also looking for someone who could be trusted to keep her safe by following anti-COVID guidelines and practices.

“I said, ‘That’s it!’” Lamb related. Inspiration had struck. On Facebook Lamb started a poll of people who were similarly looking for Democratic vendors. She learned that people were especially seeking dependable physicians, healthcare providers and beauty salons where customers could be assured of friendly service, sympathetic views and hygienic practices.

So a week and a half ago, on Sunday, Sept. 19, Lamb launched the Facebook group Democrat Owned Businesses of Southwest Florida. A private group, as of this writing it has 59 members and 30 who have applied to join.

A political journey

Beverly Lamb, known to her five grandchildren and the rest of the world as Mimi, has followed a political journey taken by many people who feel the need to find a new political home. “It’s been a journey of discovery of what works, what matters to me,” she said of her exploration of the political spectrum.

Originally from Pennsylvania, she started her political life as a Republican. However, she voted for Bill Clinton in 1992.

But voting for Clinton didn’t make her a Democrat and she disagreed with aspects of the Clinton presidency. “It’s like you don’t get enough of what you want for Christmas,” she says of her initial apostasy and then disillusionment.

She became an independent.

At the same time her political journey was accompanied by a physical move from Pennsylvania to Florida, initially to Orlando and then Miami. Her son-in-law was in the military and so she followed him and one of her two daughters on their different assignments, moving steadily southward before arriving in Fort Myers in 2004.

She switched her party affiliation to Democratic in 2014. But then, in 2016, “Trump lit a fire under me,” she says. She became not just a Democrat but a committed activist.

“I just got really involved as a Democrat,” she related to The Paradise Progressive. During the 2020 election campaign, “We were seeing all these Trump signs and flags but no one was marching on the other side. People were too afraid.”

Teaming up with another local activist whom she met online, she began organizing people to hold pro-Democratic signs and wave flags on Fort Myers street corners.

“We started marching and got other people to march,” she said. Initially they attracted around 15 people but with each event that grew until they were joined by 40 or 50 people.

“The first time, we faced a lot of threats and had to get police protection,” she says. Angry opponents told her: “We know who you are and know where you live.”

But she persisted.

After the election, she initially became involved in Facebook when she wanted to post pictures of her grandchildren. But as she explored the platform she became aware of people seeking assistance.

“Every other week I’d see someone asking for help,” she related. “They’d need a handyman or someone to put down sod but they’d say, ‘I don’t know who to ask for.’”

Political affiliations could usually be determined for big corporations and companies. But that wasn’t the case with small businesses, independent contractors and local service providers.

What was more, she became aware of a Republican Facebook group called Boycott Democrat Businesses. As of this writing it has only 37 members and its location is unclear. It sees Democratic businesses as enemies and was created the day Joe Biden was declared the election winner, Nov. 7, 2020.

Staying positive

A self-employed independent contractor who specializes in marketing educational software, Lamb is still professionally active and works remotely. Her new Facebook project is more than a hobby but less than a full-time occupation.

She reached out to a group supporting Democratic businesses operating in the Orlando area for ideas but has not yet heard back.

She emphasizes that the local Democrat Owned Businesses Facebook group is not against anyone.

The Democrat Business logo.

“This should be a positive environment where we can support each other, not stress each other out,” she states in the “About” section.

“This is a place for Democrats to find local businesses led and operated by Democrats. Acceptable posts: Businesses promoting their products or services, Customers searching for referrals, general public recommending a Democratic- owned business.”

It warns that negative posts will be removed: no business bashing, political ranting or political posturing is allowed.

At this time the group does not list any businesses—and that’s deliberate.

“I recognize there is some risk in sharing info about Dem-led businesses,” it states. “We live in a very ‘red’ area of the state. That is likely why there has not been a group like this for our area until now. And that is why this page is private. We will make every reasonable effort to protect Dem-led businesses here and admins caution you not to share that information publicly.”

It continues: “I recommend you invite any Dem-led businesses you patronize to join our group so they can make that decision [to go public] for themselves, and ask their permission first before sharing them with the group.”

Right now, Lamb is scrupulously vetting applicants who want to join the group. Anyone wishing to join must fill out a questionnaire and be approved. It takes time. “Please be patient with admin activities while I get this up and running, as I work a full-time job and may not always be able to respond immediately,” she states.

Writing from a personal perspective, Lamb writes on the page: “I am a businesswoman myself; I’ve owned or operated several companies in the past, and I always strove to serve everyone with the same grace and dignity. I expect any Dem-led business who joins our group will want to do the same.”

Right now, Lamb is cautiously finding her way forward, experimenting with what works and what does not and adapting the group to the needs of Southwest Florida.

“I would really like for this to be a very positive and safe place,” she told The Paradise Progressive. “If it becomes uncomfortable, I won’t do it.”

Liberty lives in light

Florida legislature opens redistricting process to all

*The Republigator, a Florida salute to Elkanah Tisdale and his original Gerrymander cartoon, showing Florida after the 2010 redistricting. (Illustration by the author © 2021.)*

Sept. 27, 2021 by David Silverberg

Do you think you can draw better political maps than the state legislators in Tallahassee?

Now you can get your chance.

A new website, Florida Redistricting, launched Monday, Sept. 20, gives anyone who cares to use it the opportunity to recommend re-jiggering the state’s political boundaries based on 2020 Census data.

It’s a remarkable experiment in citizen participation and a striking change from past redistricting done in dark, smoke-filled rooms out of public sight.

Of course, while citizens can make plenty of suggestions it will be the legislature that finally decides how the maps will be drawn.

Still, for a state that has increasingly pulled the curtain on its vaunted principles of sunshine in government, it is an exceptional departure from the past. It brings a bit of light to a process that is unglamorous but essential—and determines the partisan balance of power for the decade to come.

The process

Redistricting actually consists of two processes: redistricting (redrawing district lines) and reapportionment (redistributing congressional seats among the states).

Next year Florida gets one new seat in Congress based on its increase in population since 2010. That new district is expected to be in the high-growth area of Orlando or somewhere along the I-4 corridor.

*The original cartoon that gave rise to the term “gerrymander.*“

Traditionally, redistricting is colloquially known as the process whereby politicians choose their voters, so voters will likely choose them at election time. It has been manipulated since the beginning of the American republic—and even before, in colonial times. In 1812 it gave rise to the term “gerrymander” after Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry so manipulated the state’s district maps to his political advantage that what emerged was a salamander-like creature immortalized in a newspaper cartoon.

Republicans have been past masters of drawing lines to favor their party. This was highlighted in January 2020, after the death of Republican redistricting consultant Thomas Hofeller. His daughter Stephanie made public the contents of four external hard drives and 18 thumb drives from her father’s office, revealing his detailed gerrymandering work. While he was based in North Carolina, he had clients all over the country and participated in Florida’s redistricting.

In 2010 two constitutional amendments, 5 and 6, were on the ballot in Florida. Amendment 5 covered legislative districts, amendment 6 covered congressional districts and both were known as the Fair Districts Amendments.

Both amendments required that: “districts or districting plans may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. Districts must be contiguous. Unless otherwise required, districts must be compact, as equal in population as feasible, and where feasible must make use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.”

In the 2010 election both amendments passed with 63 percent of the vote, despite vehement opposition from the state’s Republican lawmakers. (Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.) joined a lawsuit to block their implementation, which failed.)

Despite the amendments, Florida’s 2010 maps were drawn by consultants and political operatives who maneuvered behind the scenes to push Republican dominance. The lines were so elaborately gerrymandered when the maps were revealed that fair districts supporters sued to overturn them.

A “group of Republican political consultants did in fact conspire to manipulate and influence the redistricting process,” ruled Judge Terry Lewis of the 2nd Judicial Circuit in 2014. “They made a mockery of the Legislature’s proclaimed transparent and open process of redistricting” and “went to great lengths to conceal from the public their plan,” and “managed to taint the redistricting process and the resulting map with improper partisan intent.”

It took five years of litigation to finally end the disputes, during which two elections took place.

Carving up Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida’s congressional districts—17, 19 and 25—were clearly the products of these labors, diluting any potential Democratic blocs of voters to favor Republican hegemony. (For more, see the 2019 articles: “Gerrymandering comes home to Southwest Florida” and “A tale of two swamps: Why Southwest Florida can’t keep its congressmen.”)

This year state Sen. Ray Rodrigues (R-27-Estero), who heads the state Senate’s reapportionment committee, is promising that the process will be open, fair and transparent and meet both the spirit and letter of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments.

“We are taking steps to safeguard against the kind of shadow process that occurred in the last cycle,” Rodrigues said during the first meeting of his committee on Monday, Sept. 20. “We will protect our process against the ‘astroturfing’ that occurred in the past, where partisan political operatives from both parties wrote scripts and recruited speakers to advocate for certain plans or district configurations to create a false impression of a widespread grassroots movement.”

He added: “Fortunately, we now have the insight into both the judiciary’s expanded scope of review, and how courts have interpreted and applied the constitutional standards related to redistricting. I intend for this committee to conduct the process in a manner that is consistent with case law that developed during the last decade that is beyond reproach and free from any hint of unconstitutional intent.”

How they break down

According to the 2020 Census, Florida gained 2,736,877 people over the last ten years and now has a population of 21,538,187.

In Southwest Florida, Lee County gained 142,068 residents, reaching a population of 760,822. Collier County gained 54,232 people to reach a total population of 375,752. Charlotte County gained 26,869 people to reach a total of 186,847.

The redistricting effort will try to bring the new districts into line with ideal population levels while meeting Fair Districting criteria. Since all of Southwest Florida gained population above the ideal, most—but not all—its districts are considered “overpopulated.”

Congressional districts

Ideally, each Florida congressional district should have 769,221 people in it, a gain of 72,876 from last time.

According to the data from FloridaRedistricting.gov, in Southwest Florida the current congressional districts break down as follows:

District 17: With a total population of 779,955 people, it has 10,734 or .014 percent people more than the ideal number.
District 19: With a total population of 835,012 people, it has 65,791 or .086 percent more people than the ideal number.
District 25: With a total population of 771,434 people, it has 2,213 or .003 percent more people than the ideal number.

To find your congressional district, click here.

Southwest Florida Senate districts

*Southwest Florida’s state Senate districts. (Map: FloridaRedistricting.gov)*

Senate districts should ideally have a population of 538,455 people.

The two main Senate districts covering Southwest Florida are 27 and 28.

District 27 has 579,819 people, 41,364 or .077 percent more than the ideal.
District 28 has 563,557 people, 25,102 or .047 percent more than the ideal.

To find your Florida Senate district, click here.

Southwest Florida House districts

Southwest Florida state House districts. (Map: FloridaRedistricting.gov)

State House districts should have 179,485 people.

District 76: With 180,111 people, it has 626 or .003 percent more people than the ideal.
District 77: With 197,485 people, it has 17,997 or .1 percent more people than the ideal.
District 78: With 193,526 people, it has 14,041 or .078 percent more people than the ideal.
District 79: With 189,703 people, it has 10,218 or .057 percent more people than the ideal.
District 80: With 188,858 people, it has 9.373 or .052 percent more people than the ideal.
District 105: With 176,959 people it has 2,526 or .014 percent fewer people than the ideal.
District 106: With 164,757 people it has 14,728 or.082 percent fewer people than the ideal.

To find your Florida House district, click here.

Can it really happen?

In its effort to be inclusive, the Florida legislature is giving residents the opportunity to draw their own maps and recommend changes.

It’s a chance people should seize by going to the website.

To submit maps and recommendations a user has to create an account on the website. The site has a quick-start guide to walk users through the process.

Once in, users can fiddle with the maps to their heart’s content and send recommendations to the legislature.

It’s a remarkable innovation in participatory democracy. Time, however, is of the essence. The legislative redistricting session convenes on Jan. 11 of next year and it must complete its work by the time it adjourns on March 11. Without a doubt, it will be a contentious session.

After that, there will presumably be newly-drawn districts. By June 11, candidates will qualify to run for office. Then the party primaries will take place on Aug. 23 and the general election on Nov. 8.

Can this experiment in popular participation actually result in fairly drawn, politically neutral boundaries?

Obviously, it remains to be seen. In 2010 the Fair Districting Amendments passed overwhelmingly but the maps that came out were gerrymandered anyway. Florida always seems to have a way of ignoring or circumventing its most popular constitutional amendments.

Coming out of the gate, though, Rodrigues’ intentions seem good if his words are taken at face value.

If this experiment works Florida could become a national model of fair districting. This time, if citizens are alert, engaged and determined, maybe—just maybe—Florida for once might abide by its own constitution and put to rest the gerrymander, or, in this case, the Republigator.

Liberty lives in light

US House passes bill legislating women’s right to choose; SWFL reps oppose

Sept. 24, 2021 by David Silverberg

The US House of Representatives today passed the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 (House Resolution (HR) 3755) permitting health care professionals to provide abortions, by a vote of 218 to 211.

The bill, introduced in June by Rep. Judy Chu (D-27-Calif.), effectively codifies the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in legislation by making abortion legal nationally.

All of Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives voted against measure, along with the rest of the Republican caucus.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-28-Texas) was the only Democrat to break ranks and vote against the bill.

“Today, Nancy Pelosi is bringing the most radical pro-abortion legislation ever for a vote,” tweeted Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.), who has long characterized himself as anti-abortion. “This indefensible bill would remove every protection for the unborn and would allow taxpayer-funded abortions up until birth. I’m proudly standing for life and voting NO.”

As of this writing, neither Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.) nor Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) had issued statements explaining their votes.

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-12-Calif.) urged passage of the bill in a speech from the House floor.

“This is the first time…that we have a pro-choice Democratic [Majority] with a Democratic president,” she said. “And the timing could not be better, because of the assault that has been made on the constitutional rights of women in our country.”

She stated the Texas law effectively banning abortions “unleashes one of the most disturbing, unprecedented, far-reaching assaults on health care providers and on anyone who helps a woman in any way access an abortion, by creating a vigilante bounty system that will have a chilling effect on the provisions of any health care services. And what’s next? What’s next with these vigilantes and their bounty system?”

On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Florida state Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-27-Volusia County) introduced House Bill 167 in the Florida House of Representatives to follow Texas’ lead in restricting abortions.

HR 3755 now goes to the US Senate, where passage is uncertain.

Liberty lives in light

Texas-like abortion bill filed in Florida; pro-choice coalition to protest Oct. 2 at Collier County Courthouse

Demonstrations planned across the country

*Pro-choice demonstrators protest in Naples, Fla., on May 21, 2019. (Photo: Author)*

Sept. 23, 2021 by David Silverberg

The fight over women’s reproductive rights in Florida was joined yesterday, Sept. 22, when state House Bill (HB) 167, a Florida version of the Texas abortion prohibition law, was filed by Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-27-Volusia County) at 9:14 am.

As the bill’s summary states, it: “Requires physician to conduct test for, & inform woman seeking abortion of, presence of detectable fetal heartbeat; prohibits physician from performing or inducing abortion if fetal heartbeat is detected or if physician fails to conduct test to detect fetal heartbeat; provides exceptions; authorizes private civil cause of action for certain violations; provides for civil remedies & damages.”

*State Rep. Webster Barnaby (Photo: Barnaby campaign)*

Oddly, while the introduction caused an immediate storm of protest from pro-choice activists and Democrats, Barnaby himself was silent about the bill, neither issuing a statement explaining his action nor posting any comment on his social media platforms.

Pro-choice groups around the country were already organizing for a National Day of Action to Mobilize and Defend Reproductive Rights on Saturday, Oct. 2. In Florida, the group Florida Reproductive Freedom is organizing rallies in 13 cities throughout the state.

In Collier County a coalition of groups has called for a major demonstration at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples that Saturday, Oct. 2, at 10 am for two hours. (Full disclosure: The Paradise Progressive is a sponsor.)

The demonstration is intended to get elected officials to commit to reproductive freedom.

Scheduled speakers include Stephanie Fraim, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida; Corrie Vega, a Collier County public school teacher and Rev. Tony Fisher of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Naples.

Angela Cisneros, co-founder of Collier NOW (National Organization for Women) and a scheduled speaker, stated: “We all desire to live a safe and healthy life, free to pursue our own paths. However, the types of bans passed in Texas and currently being framed here in Florida are in direct opposition to that premise. An abortion ban would be especially detrimental to those of us from communities with few resources that already face barriers to basic healthcare.”

State Senate prospects

The Florida Senate’s president, Sen. Wilton Simpson (R-10-Citrus and Hernando counties), may introduce similar legislation in that body.

Sen. Kathleen Passidomo (R-28-Collier County), the Senate Majority Leader and a possible Senate president in 2022, told Florida Politics after the Supreme Court let stand the Texas law that she is “pro-life but I am not pro-telling on your neighbors.”

Passidomo said in a speech to the Argus Foundation in Sarasota that she does not favor an exact “cut-and-paste” of the Texas law for Florida.

“There are provisions in there that don’t make sense,” she said. “We need to do what’s right for Florida.”

Passidomo stressed, however, that she is an anti-abortion legislator.

*Poster for the Oct. 2 rally at the Collier County Courthouse.*

Liberty lives in light