Children's book author chased from state.

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

“We’re giving them until tomorrow, eight o’clock Eastern time. And after that, they’re going to have no bridges. They’re going to have no power plants. Stone ages, yeah. Stone ages." – President Donald J. Trump on potentially striking Iran on Tuesday.

Former journalist and columnist Peter D. Fox wonders who Congressman Troy Downing is really working for. He doesn’t seem to spend a lot of time in the district — or even live in it — and he doesn’t seem to listen what constituents tell him, instead only parroting talking points from President Donald J. Trump.

After harsh national and international reaction to a social media post President Donald J. Trump made this weekend about bombing Iran, the commander-in-chief doubles down on his remarks, giving Iran until tonight to open up the Strait of Hormuz or face American bombing of civilian targets like roads and power plants.

An examination of the two terms of President Trump shows that his priorities, at least as they relate to conservation, have been minimal. During his total of six years in office, virtually no species have been listed as endangered or threatened.

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Our colleagues at the Florida Phoenix report that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says that he won’t enforce part of the Florida Constitution that bans religious organizations from receiving federal funding, saying that it’s a violation of freedom of religion in the United States Constitution.

As we learn more about the proposed ballroom at The White House — The New York Times reports that we may be learning more than we should be as Trump has disclosed many details about a huge bunker that will be built below it, which also calls into question whether U.S. taxpayer funds will have to be used on the project.

Scientists and space geeks alike are celebrating unexpected data NASA has received about Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. According to scientists, an unusual lull in activity on the planet allowed scientists to better understand the incredible lightning storms that can light up the atmosphere there. The Smithsonian magazine says that some of the lightning strikes are hundreds of times more intense than those on earth.

While this spot is often reserved for songs that are often overlooked or forgotten in the world of great music that is now available at our fingertips, there are songs that probably deserve to be forgotten. We highlighted one of the songs of The Lovin’ Spoonful, who decided the perfect rhyme scheme for “toddle” is “dawdle.” It seems easier just to do a little rewriting for the lyrics than figuring out what rhymes with “dawdle.”

But our friend and eDJ John Smillie reminds us of a favorite of popular humor columnist Dave Barry, who chided America for their song “Horse With No Name.” Barry’s memorable rant concluded with: Just name the damn horse. It seems like the singer and the horse spent enough time together traveling that he could have thought of something.

As much as I love America (both the song group and the country), there’s another part of that song that always griped me because it seemed equally lyrically lazy. In the first verse of the song, there’s the lyric: “There were plants and birds and rocks and things.” In addition to being paradoxically categorical and nonspecific, the lyrics here sound more like a book report from a middle-schooler who hasn’t read a sentence of the assignment. Plants, birds, rocks — and things. Way to paint a picture, fellas.

Still, for all of it’s lyrical sloppiness, the song was a chartbuster, hitting No. 1 in 1971, proving once again that while not every song probably needs to be remembered, there are others that did way better than they deserved.

If you have a song that you’d like to share, or would like to get in touch with us, please send us a note at [email protected]

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