April Fools

The week ending on April 4, 2025

It's been a long month this week, so this post is longer than I intended. A whole bunch of tomfoolery, just in time April Fools Day. I think it's all important and pertinent and maybe a bit unique to both South Florida and for South Floridians. Anyway...

Finite Disappointment

There is no such thing as an 'illegal immigrant,' and yet...

As Mehdi Hasan points out in his excellent piece in the outstanding The Guardian this week (though, The Guardian did publish some dribble this week, but I digress) there is no such thing as an 'illegal immigrant.' No, seriously, even the US Supreme Court says that the notion of 'illegal immigrants' wrong. Why? Because being in the United States, no matter how you got here or what your visa says or doesn't say, is at worst a misdemeanor.

The inconvenient truth for the anti-immigrant right is that it is not a crime for immigrants simply to be present in the United States without proper documentation. They are not “illegals”. Don’t take my word for it. Or the ACLU’s. Take the word – the 5-3 majority ruling! – of the supreme court of the United States. In 2012, in Arizona v United States, the highest court in the land ruled that “as a general rule, it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain in the United States”.

Got that? Not. A. Crime.

I highly recommend reading his piece.

That contrasts and highlights the conditions described as a lawyer as "a humanitarian disaster" at the for-profit Krome Detention Center, situated on the edge of Everglades National Park and the Miccosukee Tribal Reservation just west of Miami. When I stopped by the Saturday, March 29th, protest by the detention center I found very few people– aside from the Homeland Security armored personnel carrier, complete with gun turret (no gun that day) with a masked agent taking photos of protestors from the turret. It turns out there were so few people because, despite gaining permission to park at the tribal casino at the intersection with the planned protest, police were forcing people to move.

One protestor created an Instagram video of how Homeland Security and the Miami-Dade Sheriff using intimidation tactics. By the way, you cannot see the buildings of the detention center there.

Still, hundreds eventually showed up to protest the awful, actually illegal conditions of the Krome Detention Center:

“The treatment these detainees receive is inhumane,” Serra said. “It’s worse than what we would allow for our pets.” Another attorney, Louize Fiore, filed a Habeas Corpus petition on behalf of her client, claiming he was unlawfully detained and denied access to life-saving medication. Her client has multiple health conditions, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and epilepsy, she said. The 49-year-old Brazilian national asked to remain anonymous because he worries that he will face discrimination in prison for being gay and HIV-positive. – Miami Herald story from March 28, 2025.

The for-profit company that runs the Krome Detention Center had its contracts expanded by the Biden Administration last year despite allegations at Krome of forcing Muslim inmates to choose between eating pork or rotten halal meat.

Canadians not coming

If warring with the House of Mouse, the third largest non-government employer in the State of Florida (mega grocery store chains Publix and Walmart are the only companies that employee more people in Florida), is bad for the state's economy, how much worse is warring with Canadians, the single most crucial tourist group to the state?

A staggering 28% of all international tourism to Florida originates from Canada.

The Miami Herald ran a story on Canadian tourism shriveling over the last few weeks. Richard Clavet, a Canadian-born entrepreneur who "has built for the French-Canadian community from Quebec," a "Canadian Universe" told the Herald that his regulars from Canada simply aren't coming this year:

“I got one guy that had a $1,000 deposit. You know for sure he’s coming. He gave up his deposit,” Clavet said. “And it’s not like he decided not to come. But, just to protest, he said he was going to Cuba instead.”

Yahoo News also noted the plunge in Canadian tourism to the United States more broadly, with 24% fewer car trips across the Canada-US border in February than in 2024 (Canadian snowbirds tend to drive to Florida) and an overall drop of 15% in Canadians entering the United States.

Keep in mind that tourism is second only to agriculture for Florida's economy.

It seems foolish to force the tourism industry to tank the 15th largest economy in the world, doesn't it?

Fluoride

Speaking of fools this April, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners voted on April Fools Day, Tuesday, to end fluoridation in the water supply in an 8-2 vote. The interesting thing about an 8-2 vote is that there are 13 commissioners in the county. Three commissioners were not present for the vote. While votes are what matters in such meetings, these commissioners represent three districts in a county with nearly 3 million people. These constituents did not have their voices heard.

Which fit the pattern.

The commission did not allow anyone to officially present a defense of maintaining the status quo of the last several decades, which involves adding a microscopic amount of fluoride to the county water. The commission skirted the normal process and did not vote on ending fluoridation in committee meetings. So to recap, the County Commission voted to end fluoridation of water for nearly 3 million people without the normal committee vote, without hearing any argument in defense of simply maintaining the status quo and without three commissioners representing thousands of constituents present to participate in the discussion whatsoever.

This seems like a foolish way to run a democracy to me and given the science for adding fluoride to the water is almost as solid as the theory of gravity. We also know what happens to communities that end fluoridation is disastrous as the American Fluoridation Society shows on its website:

The city council in Calgary—Canada’s 3rd-largest city—ended fluoridation in 2011, and a recently published study shows the consequences this decision is having. Tooth decay among Calgary’s 2nd-grade children (measured by tooth surfaces) soared 146% after the city ceased fluoridation. Tooth decay among Calgary children is rising at an 81% faster pace than the decay rate in a similar city that is fluoridated. And a higher cavity rate means that U.S. families and Medicaid budgets must pay more for fillings and other dental treatments. Research shows that children with poor dental health are nearly three times more likely to miss school days. Adults with unhealthy or missing teeth are at a disadvantage when interviewing for good jobs.

Of course, the American Fluoridation Society has a bias in favor of fluoridation--which adds about one drop of fluoride to the water supply for every million drops of water. But consider this from the American Heart Association:

Certain bacteria that live in the mouth can travel through the bloodstream and spread to other parts of the body, like your heart. For example, viridans group streptococcal (VGS) can cause infective endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart. This means that a tooth infection (or a “bad tooth”) and poor oral health may lead to heart problems. 

With heart disease already the number one cause of death in the United States, what kind of fool decides that exasperating heart disease is a public benefit?

The mayor has a chance to veto this nonsense, and I think she should do so without considering the merits of fluoridation based on the unusual and improper method the commission used to take up the vote at all. Still, 8 commissioners voted for this foolishness and it takes only 9 to overturn a veto in this county, with 3 votes unknown and the state Surgeon General (who appears to be simply taking money from the University of Florida and may have left UCLA for these jobs because he was no longer welcome there) will certainly apply the full pressure of the State government on the issue. Tallahassee is already considering a statewide ban on fluoride in water, another pattern where Tallahassee stomps all over "local rule."

Meanwhile, Alachua County is considering allowing a local developer to dump Roundup into Central Florida's aquifer. This is a slight exaggeration as they aren't explicitly allowing Roundup to be tossed in the aquifer. They are allowing activities that will cause Roundup to end up in the aquifer--read the article; it's fascinating and involves underground, underwater caves.

Got that? Adding fluoride is bad--people deserve a choice! Adding poison is fine--the people don't get a choice!

There's plenty of April left for more foolery.

Am I the biggest fool?

I wanted these posts to be primarily positive. I prefer posts about birds and alligators (and bears?)! Anyway, have a look at Bear the History Hound for positive vibes.

Historic Interlude

April 1, 1865, Florida Governor, states rights to enslave humans champion, secessionist and devout racist John Milton fired a bullet into his head rather than see Florida become part of the United States of America. According to Dr. R. Boyd Murphree, a reference archivist at the State Archives of Florida and Florida historian and specialist on the Civil War, "on April 1, 1865, Governor John Milton took his own life at his plantation home in Jackson County. While he left no explanation for his suicide, Milton was physically and mentally exhausted after leading his state during three and a half years of war." That said, according to Wikipedia, shortly before taking his own life, he allegedly SUPPOSEDLY MAYBE told Florida leaders that North had "developed a character so odious that death would be preferable to reunion with them." Presumably, the odious character he referred to was the North's use of 187,000 Black Americans to put down the insurrection decisively. An April fool indeed.

According to The New York Times' obituary of the man on May 1, 1865, he had entered Florida to become a preacher but did not enjoy the profession, so he turned to politics. Before that, John Milton, a relative of that John Milton, was known as a dashing young lawyer and for murdering a man in the streets of Columbus, Georgia with a shotgun. After first shooting the man as he crossed the street, the future preacher, Governor, and states right to enslave people champion fired another shot into the wounded man as he lay in the street full of Milton's buckshot.

Regarding the alleged quote from Milton about the odious nature of Northern men, the reference was found in Wikipedia, which stated (see the image below) that it originated from the aforementioned New York Times article. Do you see the quote in the paper clipping above? I don't. It took a while just to get a digital copy of the 1865 paper as I won't subscribe to it. But I did find the 1865 NYT obituary with the exact title that the Wikipedia article uses, and though the quote sounds like something I'd expect a guy like this to say, and though the obituary is hardly flattering, the quote attributed to him simply isn't there, and I haven't been able to find it elsewhere. It may well exist, but the few places I found in internet searches are unsourced, and Florida was intentionally and notoriously bad about keeping records of Statehouse business until the 1968 (like, 100 years later and only about 50 years ago) Florida Constitution. This is a SOURCED Wikipedia quotation to a paywalled source– this is why peer review in university press books or journal articles is so important. Notably, This Day in Florida History, a peer-reviewed University of Florida Press book does NOT include the suspicious quote.

Information taken from the aforementioned NYT article, the Wikipedia article on Milton and, of course, This Day in Florida History.

Infinite Hope

Eggs are associated with Easter because they represent fertility, which is related to hope. So, eggs are a representation of new hope. What says infinite hope in good things more than laying your eggs next to a busy highway while crows watch, waiting to gobble up the dozens of potential offspring you just labored into the world?

As Red says in Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a dangerous thing." Later in the movie, Andy tells Red, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

Well, on Friday, I got to see this in action in ways I never thought I would. Momma gators make a nest in the deepest part of cypress domes, far from humans and potentially safe from predators. Apparently, crocodiles don't do this. They prefer beaches but when they can't get to that, well, I was told they prefer the side of the road in Everglades National Park. I took this photo of the croc momma while standing next to three park rangers protecting the mother croc as she pushed hope into the world.

Are they foolish to hope their babies will even hatch? I don't know, but I think that's what hope is sometimes--a fool's errand. But it is also the best of things.

All three pictures above were taken within about 30 minutes of one another on the road to or near the Flamingo Area in Everglades National Park.

Affordable Housing

This week, while working with the non-profit I do stuff with, People Acting for Community Together, the Miami PACT team I am part of met with Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine-Cava and Miami-Dade County Commissioner to discuss the affordable housing crisis facing the county.

The meeting with Mayor Levine-Cava, herself a former member of Miami PACT (current elected officials are not allowed to be a member), was cordial, and she invited six members of her staff to join the meeting--highlighting the respect she has for the grassroots organization and how seriously she takes the housing crisis here. I cannot disclose details of the meeting other than to say it gave me hope.

And that's what PACT's annual Nehemiah Assembly Action is all about. If you're in South Florida on April 7, 2025, you should join PACT for this awesome event. It's at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church and starts at 7 PM.

Milam's Grocery Stores

Am I a fool to find hope in the actions of a forty-year-old local grocery store chain? My partner and I have always loved shopping for groceries. Yes, we're weird. Near our place of worship, there is a small, pricey store located at the Redbird Shopping Center, situated at the intersection of Red Road and Bird Road.

We liked the place well enough before The Miami New Times ran a piece on the store's 40th anniversary. I think the story by Michelle Muslera is worth quoting at length. "From the start, their philosophy was simple: treat customers like family. It wasn’t about gimmicks or corporate strategies — it was about creating a store where people felt welcome," Muslera writes. "That focus on community has remained central to Milam’s Markets even as it has expanded across Miami-Dade."

Clearly, the author shares my view of the store and why I love it. I knew the same family still owned the small chain and that a full dozen of them are hands-on with daily operations. What I didn't know and learned from the article is that the owner, Allan Milam, and personally reviews every customer request.

"We listen to our customers," Allan's daughter and chief marketing officer Kristie Milam, says. "If people want more of a certain product, we try to get it. If there's a local vendor making something great, we want to support them.” And here's the part in the article that really got me in the feels:

Some requests are particularly meaningful. Kristie recalls a chemotherapy patient who reached out about a specific product that helped ease her nausea. As soon as the request came in, the Milam’s team worked to source it, and when they did, the customer was overjoyed. "She was so happy—it really made a difference for her," Kristie shares. "It's moments like that that remind us why we do what we do."

So, yeah, a grocery store can put me in touch with that infinite hope we all need so much right now.

Protests

As part of the national #TeslaTakeDown movement, it is no surprise that the media covered the March 29, 2025 protest in front of Tesla's Miami showroom (built at the exact location that 100 years ago was site of Dade County's largest convict lease camp). What was a bit of a surprise is that while this exact protest saw reporters from the Associated Press (scroll the pictures), The New York Times (paywalled and I don't subscribe) and tech magazine, The Verge, there were no local reporters. The local press went to the important protest at the Krome Detention Facility--but isn't Miami being a part of the largest protest in the world at the moment also worth covering locally? I sent them pictures (you can see 7 others here)!

Still, Miami getting recognition for being anything other than "Trump Country" gives me hope. Not because I don't welcome Trump fans into my neighborhood (or, rather, they tolerate me--my part of the county is in fact deep red), but because the abundant diversity of this county fills me with hope.

If you are attending a Hands Off protest on April 5, here are some resources to help you have a safe and sane protest experience. Miami's is near the Bayside Marketplace at the Torch of Friendship. Learn more about the Miami event here.