Scott Boehmer

Tag: Florida

  • The Freedom to Let Children Die

    Florida plans to become the first state to end all vaccine mandates, including for schoolchildren, rejecting a practice that public health experts have credited for decades with limiting the spread of infectious diseases.

    Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, the Florida surgeon general, made the announcement on Wednesday alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Mr. DeSantis rose to national prominence during the coronavirus pandemic, and over time he has espoused increasingly anti-vaccine views.

    “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?” Dr. Ladapo, a vocal denigrator of vaccines, said to applause during an event on Wednesday in Valrico, Fla., near Tampa. “Your body is a gift from God.”

    He added that the administration would be “working to end” all vaccine mandates. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Dr. Ladapo said, without elaborating.

    Patricia Mazzei

    Florida Moves to End Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren (The New York Times)

  • Child Labor is a Bad Solution

    If you think having kids work overnight shifts or without meal breaks is a good idea, you should take a moment and think about how you got there.

    Florida has been working for years to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. But that presented a problem for businesses in the state that are desperate for workers to fill low-wage and often undesirable jobs.

    Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature have a potential solution: children.

    Jordan Valinsky

    Florida debates lifting some child labor laws to fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants (CNN)

  • The Search for Manatees

    During the cold months of winter, manatees in Florida swim up rivers towards warm springs in order to stay warm. Stefanie has wanted to take a trip to see them at the springs for a few years now, and last weekend, we made that trip.

    We visited three state parks: De Leon Springs, Blue Springs, and Wekiwa Springs. We saw manatees at the first two while at the third we saw fish and soaked our feet in the warm water. It was a great trip made possible by public parks and environmental protections.