Both Sides Now

Note: This article was published by Newsmax on April 23rd. Both Sides Now

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose, And still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all

This great classic, Both Sides Now, was written by Joni Mitchell in 1967 and popularized by Judy Collins. It speaks to the recent political loss we Republicans suffered in a special election for Florida House district 87 last month; an election we couldn’t possibly lose, and yet, we did. House District 87 is President Trump’s home district and is solid Republican. This posting is my version of Both Sides Now; the Republican strategy versus the Democrat strategy. And, yes, this is also my home district.

But, first, a trip down Memory Lane. In 2009, then Florida State Senate President Ken Pruitt resigned his seat after the legislative session ended in the Spring. That set up a special election between Republican Joe Negron and Democrat Bill Ramos. I was Chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County at the time (2002-2012) and asked Joe: “How can I help?” Joe told me that the Republican Absentee Ballots (we now call them vote-by-mail) were not being returned on a timely basis and he needed an AB Chase. I told him I was on it. I called Linda from Jupiter and asked her to put a volunteer group together to “chase” Joe’s ballots. How successful were we? When the election was over, Joe had more votes from Absentee Ballots and early voting than his opponent had accumulated in the entire race. In other words, because of Linda’s work, the election was over before people went to them polls that Tuesday.

Fast forward to March 24, 2026. Jon Maples lost to Emily Gregory by around 700 votes. How did that happen? Sometime between Joe Negron and Jon Maples the Republican Party ceded the whole concept of vote-by-mail to the Democrats. Everywhere. In Jon’s election, he lost the mail by 3000 votes and won at the polls on Tuesday by over 2000. Hence, the 700-vote deficit.

In election campaigns there are two strategies; the Air game and the Ground game. The Air game consists of media: Television, Social Media and Postcard mailings. The Ground game consists mostly of door knocking, signs and phone calls. We Republicans got a major dose of the Air game. Literally, every day our (physical) mail box had new large postcards telling us how wonderful Jon Maples is; showing us pictures of his beautiful family, filling us in on his successes in sports, business and politics. At night, there was Jon on television, reminding us of those same successes. I never saw a single Emily commercial, although I was told she did some. I had no idea of what she looked like or believed in. Jon assured us he was for low taxes and that he had the Trump endorsement. Jon also assured us Emily was for higher taxes. Jon’s campaign cost $500,000 and was run by Tallahassee consultants. Emily’s campaign spent $400,000, virtually none of it on Television, large postcards or large signs. So, where did Emily’s money go? TEXTING. Every day Democrats got texts urging them to get a VBM ballot. “Punch here!” Every. Single. Day. Later in the campaign, every day’s text was VOTE EARLY, until it was VOTE TUESDAY. The Ground game strategy of “punch here, get your vbm overwhelmed the Republican “Here’s Jonny” Air campaign. The only Vote Tuesday texts the Republicans received were either sent by me or my vender, all personally paid for. The REC? They simply don’t do campaigns against Dems. Right now, they’re totally focused on beating an incumbent Republican County Commissioner.

And, how about the Tallahassee angle? First, in the campaign business, media expenditures generate placement fees back to the consultants who placed the ads. In other words, television pays. Maybe that mattered and maybe it didn’t. But Emily spent little on television, and won. Jon probably spent six figures on television, and lost. Second, when you’re in a state as Red as Florida, too much fighting is intraparty, Republican versus Republican. Before there was Jon Maples there was Tracy Caruso. Tracy wanted that seat. Tallahassee didn’t want Tracy. Why? Because she and her husband, Mike, were seen as pro-DeSantis. Apparently, Tallahassee is MAGA all the way. Me? I think President Trump and Governor DeSantis are two of the best leaders in American history. I don’t see any need to pick one over the other. I just want to win.

I looked at this election from both sides now, from win and lose, and reached one simple conclusion: Those that keep their eyes on the prize will beat those that engage in not-so-friendly fire.

April Meeting – Brigadier General Mark Holler on the Middle East and Beyond

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Brigadier General (Ret.) Mark A. Holler most recently served as the Deputy Commanding General – Operations for Eight Army in South Korea (2022-23). A native of Florida, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Holler graduated from the University of North Florida in 1992 as a ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate. His advanced education includes a master’s degree in military operational art and science and a master’s degree in strategic studies.

Over a 31-year active duty career, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Holler served in leadership positions ranging from platoon leader to commanding general. He served a total of eight years overseas, to include five combat tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and three assignments within the Pacific region. Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Holler also served in the Pentagon as the Director of Fires on the Army staff and Executive Officer to the Inspector General of the Army.

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Holler’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (six awards), Bronze Star (three awards), Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), and Joint Service Commendation Medal. His badges include the Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge, Combat Action Badge, Senior Space Badge, Inspector General Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Drt. Frederico Martinez at March Meeting

Federico Martinez M.D. is a United States of America licensed Medical Doctor in the State of Florida originally from Lima-Peru who graduated from Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University Medical School where he earned his Medical and Surgeon degree.

He is currently the Medical Director of Healthpark Medical Center, President of San Ignacio University in Miami, Florida and also a member of the Board of Directors Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima-Peru.

Dr. Martinez actively participates in nationwide training programs with special emphasis on Functional and Preventive Medicine, Anti-aging therapies and Aesthetics procedures holding a variety of certifications.

His areas of expertise include prevention and treatment of chronic medical conditions with a Functional Medicine approach, Bio-identical Hormone Replacement, Weight Loss program for children and adults, Detoxification, Intravenous Nutritional Therapy, Immune system support, Vitamins and Nutritional supplementation, Stem Cell therapies as well as non-surgical bio-medical procedures such as Platelet Rich Plasma, Radiofrequency, Laser therapies among others.

The theme of the presentation was take control of your health! Doctors tend to treat your symptoms not the underlying issue and you need to be concerned about the side effects of medication. Big pharma brainwashes doctors to prescribe medication. The problems of the times is:
• toxins
• technology- radiation
• poor diet
• stress – lack of physical activity

The consequences are:
• cancer
• heart disease
• depression
• teenager pre-diabetes (poor nutrition)
~70% of diseases in the US

We need to rethink food medicine – diet, lifestyle, etc. All biological operating systems need to be in balance. The external / internal environment is extremely important to your health. For example, chronic inflammation is the root cause of heart disease – suggested get tested …

Dr. Federico Martinez’s presentation was excellent. I’d suggest you Google him for more details.

February Meeting Featured School Board Member Gloria Branch

The state of the Palm Beach County School District is healthy according to district 5 Board Member Gloria Branch. As one of the conservative members, Gloria looks at the district as a business, with costs and results.

Currently the 10th largest school district in the US, it is “A” rated by the Florida Department of Education with a 96.7% graduation rate. 91% of its high schools are rated “A” or “B”. It is also the largest public food provider in the county, serving 32.8 million meals in a year to its 160,000 students.

Good results are not free of course as the district operates with a budget of $5.9B. Declining enrollments will put pressure on this budget as state payments are per-pupil, but Gloria does not expect to see any school closures as a result. This is unlike Broward county which expects to close 6 or more schools this year. Competition from charters (which are publicly funded) and the voucher program which supports private education are part of the reason for the decline, and we expect changing demographics and the departure of illegal immigrant students contribute as well. The district budget is aided by a 1 mill property tax adder passed by the voters in 2022, and a 1/2 cent sales tax surcharge for capital projects passed in 2024

A great slogan, Gloria sees the mission of the district to be teaching students to “Read, Write, Count and Love America”.

In a short Q&A session, she addressed the recent student ICE protests (“those kids are in trouble”), and the district’s support for the 250 year anniversary celebration with an essay contest to be announced.

In the candidate part of the meeting, we heard from former Representative Rick Roth who is running for Senate District 26 this year, and gubernatorial candidate Caneste Succe. The D+6 Senate district is currently held by Lori Berman who is term limited, and Rick expects to face Democrat and former Representative David Silvers. The Republican primary for these races will be held in August.

Sara Baxter and Jon Maples Highlight January Meeting

Our first meeting of the new year started with County Mayor Sara Baxter. Elected in 2022 in what was a D+7 district 6, her re-election chances look good with the district having improved to now R+1. She has drawn a primary challenger in Elizabeth Accomando though, as there is some angst among REC types that she does not always toe the party line. That comes with being independent – she supports things that are right for her constituents and the county, which are sometimes at odds with Republican orthodoxy (like supporting Democrat Ric Bradshaw for Sheriff).

Her priorities for the commission include achieving “roll-back rate” on the millage, and building and maintaining our infrastructure. She seeks solutions to our traffic problems but does not see Palm Tran as the answer, as the buses are never full and it costs a large amount of money. Giving every current bus user a ride-share voucher would be cheaper than what we have now.

Sara favors affordable housing, but not through high density construction that makes the traffic worse. Our roads need better timing of traffic lights and smart technology to manage growth. She praised our new County Administrator Joe Abruzzo for bringing accountability through performance reviews and merit raises instead of across the board COLA policies, and simplifying vender applications for county contracts.

Given the coming proposal for a “Transportation” sales tax surcharge, Sara urges us to vote NO!

The second speaker was Jon Maples who just won the House District 87 primary and will face a Democrat in the special election on March 24th. Jon talked about his priorities if elected and asked for support, and gave his personal view of an approach to limiting property taxes by providing insurance deductions. The current Legislative session is considering various ways to cut taxes at the local level. Regarding CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s claim of overspending in the county budget, Sara added that he is “running for election” and hasn’t provided any concrete examples of wasteful spending. If they want to “DOGE” the county, they need to get more specific.

Candidates who spoke at the end of the meeting included:

Jon Maples HD87
Boca Mayor Scott Singer running for CD23
Elizabeth Accomando (CC6)
Selena Samios (RPB Council)

CD22 candidate Deb Adeimy was also present but did not speak.

Jexit at October Meeting

Our October meeting featured President Michele Terris and Event Coordinator Karyn Basle of Jexit.

They started the meeting with a short video in which Jexit presented President Trump the “American Defender of Zion” award at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. The award recognizes President Trump for having done more than any other U.S. president for Israel and the Jewish people. During his time as president, he moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty of the Golan Heights and brokered the Abraham Accords.

Michelle described her start in 2018 fighting the Broward Supervisor of Elections over the vote counting. She described the difficulty of convincing Jewish voters to abandon the Democrats, and that she is the first non-Dem in her family. Progress is being made however as in 2024, 43% Jewish voters went for Trump, up from the teens in 2016.

Part of the problem she described is that surprisingly, 70% of mainstream American Jews are not religious, lean far left, and most do not care what happens to Israel. Orthodox Jews on the other hand are conservative and vote 2:1 Republican.

Our education efforts in this regard should feature the early efforts of Jews in the American Revolution, such as Haym Salomon who was a member of the Sons of Liberty and helped finance the Continental Congress.

Hatred of Jews is an age old problem – currently 69% of all hate in the US is directed at Jews who make up less that 2% of the population. Michelle described the desire of many during Covid, when we were being lied to by our government, to see religious leaders (Christian and Jews) stand up and tell the truth, as we (and they) are the last line of defense against the Global Jihad and the communists in our midst.

Also at the meeting were candidates Gretchen Feng (HD87), Deb Adeimy (CD22). Angela Templeton acted as a surrogate for Jon Maples (also HD87)

Note that there will be a special primary election on January 13th and a general election on March 24th to replace Mike Caruso who has been appointed Palm Beach County Clerk. Mike’s wife Tracy is also running, in addition to Gretchen and Jon.

Ferrell Brown of Street Grace Florida at September Lunch

Street Grace is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children by leveraging the power of partnerships across government, business, and Faith communities. Ferrell’s organization combats demand and empowers youth through education, technology and community engagement. Their innovative initiatives includes awareness campaigns, survivor support, legislative advocacy, and cutting edge tools like artificial intelligence to disrupt trafficking networks.

During the presentation, Executive Director Ferrell Brown stated that Street Grace leads in the fight to eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of children, taking a holistic, evidence-based approach that focuses on the four Ps:

• Prevention – preventing sexual exploitation by training parents youth and caring adults. 5th to 8th grader Youth Leadership Academy provides courses dedicated to help students thrive physically, emotionally, mentally, academically and socially. Leaders in communities have provided ~20,000 services to survivors of exploitation and their families survivors/families
• Protection – caring for at-risk children and survivors of sexual exploitation
• Policy – shaping legislation to reduce impunity for predators and better care for survivors
• Pursuit – leveraging the power of AI to deter sexual predators online

Sexual trafficking is basically a supply and demand issue. The supply are children / women mostly on the internet and the demand is many men on the internet purchasing children / women. It was noted that South Florida (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties) leads sex trafficking in Florida. Just in the last couple of years the need has increased significantly:

• The number of individuals sex trafficked in the United States has increased 92% from 2015 to 2019
• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys will be sexually exploited by the age of 18
• The number of children / women recruited on Facebook and Instagram increased by 120% from 2019 to 2020
• The commercial sex economy per year in major US cities ranges from $40 million to $290 million

To help eradicate sexual trafficking Street Grace is pioneering solutions to disrupt and prevent the sexual exploitation of children:

• Transaction Intercept – created in collaboration with BBDO, a team of 175 technology developer volunteers, and law enforcement agencies; Transaction Intercept works to find the buyers of minor sex, remove the cloak of anonymity, and disrupt potential transactions
• Justice Protection – Street Grace trains attorneys on how to use current laws to represent survivors who need their records expunged and connect them with survivors in need

If you’re interested in more information about Street Grace and their vision to see a world where all children are free from sexual exploitation, below is their contact information:

Representative Anne Gerwig Highlights June Lunch

The 60-day session has passed without the budget (so far). It was an amazing experience for me, along with the other “Freshmen” legislators. We have heard that no sessions are mundane but this one surely meets the status of “supernatural.” I have learned so much and vow to be even more effective come January of 2026.

We were able to get 2 bills across the finish line, which is pretty good considering the climate in Tallahassee. Speaking of the climate, we did have a real snow day! I was packed up and ready to drive up when I received notice that the week’s events were canceled. When I did return the following Sunday, there was still snow on the rooftops!

Our first bill that passed established a state-wide Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day. Florida will match the National Day of Awareness on August 21st. Localities are encouraged to meet and discuss the dangers and the loss of life due to this devastating problem.

The second bill allows school districts to remain compliant with the required later start times by filing a detailed report with the Department of Education.

It is my sincere honor to serve District 93 and to work together with all local and state agencies to ensure the best value for your tax dollars and the best quality of life for all of us here in Palm Beach County District 93.

Professor James Todd on Lawfare and What to Do About It

Our May speaker was Professor James Todd of Palm Beach Atlantic, who gave us an interesting perspective on the lawfare being waged against the Trump Agenda by the left and their hand picked partisan judges. Laying out the actions taken by the ACLU, blue state attorney generals and others, he listed some of the areas of attack and suggested some remedies that could be taken in defense.

Counting up the unprecedented number of lawsuits filed against his actions since President Trump took office, Dr. Todd found 214 cases filed (215 with the just filed NPR case). Of these, so far 88 have gone against the administration while 49 did not, an almost 2 to 1 margin. Most of the losses have been in the area of immigration, with mass deportations a particular target.

Some of the hysterical media coverage has involved the Alien Enemies Act and what constitutes “due process” for those deported under it. Judge Boasberg of the DC circuit for example, had begun contempt proceedings against the administration until halted by SCOTUS, for not following his orders to return planes in the air and bring back gang members from El Salvador. Articles of impeachment against this judge have even been introduced in the House. One could ask if these criminal members of Tren de Aragua, (which is listed as a terrorist organization and likely influenced if not controlled by the Maduro government) cannot be deported then who can? As many of these already have existing final orders of removal, what further “due process” would be contemplated?

Other prominent cases involve the canceling of temporary protective status (TPS) (for Venezuelans, Haitians, Afghans and Cameroonians), birthright citizenship and the meaning of the 14th Amendment, Harvard’s right to taxpayer dollars, and many of the anti DEI actions at various levels. All of these are large and important issues affecting foreign policy and national security, and SCOTUS will likely vindicate the Trump actions but it will certainly delay the agenda. Also, fighting Trump is a good resume item for leftist judges and law firms – they will be amply rewarded for being effective roadblocks.

It is interesting to note that the lawsuits against Obama and Biden by the states wanting existing immigration laws to be enforced were defeated because “only the federal government can set immigration policy”, yet when a Republican tries to act under that principal it is rejected. Mass inbound migration YES, mass deportation NO.

Professor Todd identified his hero in all this – Judge James Ho of the 5th circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by Donald Trump in the first term, Judge Ho rebuked the Supreme Court for blocking the Alien Enemies Act deportations. He expressed frustration over what he saw as excessive expectations placed on lower courts, particularly regarding emergency motions filed at odd hours. In his concurrence, he famously remarked, “We seem to have forgotten that this is a district court—not a Denny’s,” highlighting his concern that courts were being expected to operate like 24-hour diners. Judge Ho is thought to be on the short list for the next Supreme Court opening if one appears during Trump’s term.

Some of the remedies that Professor Todd considers useful:

• SCOTUS could rule against national injunctions in the birthright case or others, though he thinks only Alito and Thomas would likely be willing
• Congress could end them but it would take 60 votes – perhaps it could be attached to a must-pass bill. Democrats have opposed these when the shoe is on the other foot
• Congress could clarify the scope of judicial power
• Trump could suspend Habeas Corpus on an emergency basis
• Congress or the administration could reform the asylum system
• Congress can certify the DOGE cuts (rescission bill?)
• Congress can abolish departments – like the department of Education
• SCOTUS could clarify the 14th amendment on birthright citizenship (stop for illegals but likely allowing “birth tourism”)
• SCOTUS could clarify that a President can fire or disband any “policy making” employee or agency
• SCOTUS could recertify that a actions under the Foreign Enemies Act are not subject to judicial review to second guess a President

Also speaking at the meeting were Gretchen Feng who is running for House District 87, and Chair Rosemary O’Meara of the President’s council to discuss the barbeque on June 14th.

Thoughts on National Security with Brigadier General Mark Holler

Our speaker on April 22nd was retired Brigadier General Mark Holler. A club member, General Holler brings a wealth of insight and experience to the topic of National Security Policy.

He began his talk by listing the key national security influences – Politics, Policy and Strategy.

In the political domain, our past approaches to the world have been defined by the theories of realism (enduring competition among self interested states), liberalism (relations governed by international law and the sovereign equality of states) and institutionalism (a dependence on enduring international organizations that establish rules for states to follow).

Although some would argue that Reagan and Nixon (with Kissinger) were realists, Mark argues that Donald Trump is the first true realist we have had as President since World War II. That rings true as nothing is more realist than “America First”.

Mark describes the Trump foreign policy as two objectives: End America’s decline; and Advance US Supremacy for national security.

We as a nation are in decline in so many areas, such as open borders, excessive national debt, DEI, military readiness, trade imbalances and supply chain dependencies, and the Trump agenda is addressing them all by using all the levers of national power. These include Diplomatic (peace talks, bilateral meetings with other leaders), Information (end running the legacy media with Truth Social, X, YouTube, Rumble), Military (major improvements in recruiting, judicious but active use), and Economic (sanctions, tariffs, energy dominance, DOGE).

Overall, Mark was optimistic for the future.

In the Q&A session, he was asked about triggering China (steps to head off a ran at Taiwan), Russia (2nd best army in Ukraine, not the world), military action against Iran (yes, probably) and our vulnerability to hypersonic weapons (classified but we have them too).

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