Desantis

[TSherbs]

In a follow-up to the naked-David fiasco, the Christian college in Michigan that sponsors the curriculum in many "classical" charter schools around the country has cut ties with the Florida school, saying that they side with the curriculum and the principal (they have no problem with Rennaissance art topics including these paintings and sculptures).

This is what I meant: I am not sure that this is a winning policy to try to force on America (like the recent effort at a parents' rights bill in GOP-controlled congress). It's over-reaction and over-reach. And, like I said, now that charter school's board, through their actions, has even alienated their mentor school. And now they will have to hire their 4th principal in three years. Methinks the problem is the wack head of that school's board (the "board" consists of only this chairperson, one assistant, and a treasurer--sounds like he is a rogue).

edited to add: And on further review, my discovery that Fahrenheit-451 is on the middle school (7th grade) curriculum for this school struck me with head-shaking irony.

[Chuck Naill]

There is an op-ed this morning by Ross Douthat in the NYT. He wants to see DeSantis in the race. He says something about being humiliated by Trump as those guys were in 2015. I see things being different. Since DeSantis has created the perception that he is a moralist, I cannot think of a better opponent to run against a person with as much moral baggage as the former POTUS. Whatever name calling occurs could be easily countered.

[Chip]

DeSantis marches in the footsteps of Putin and Hitler.

Disney v. DeSantis: How Strong Is the Company’s Lawsuit?

Opinion by David French
April 30, 2023

To understand why Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida should lose in his quest to punish Disney for the high crime of publicly disagreeing with Ron DeSantis, it is first necessary to talk about tow trucks. Specifically, it’s necessary to discuss a case about tow trucks and the First Amendment and how it answers a key question: If the government offers some person or entity a benefit, can it also take it away?

The tow truck story begins in the early 1990s in Northlake, Ill. For decades the city had maintained a list of tow truck companies available for use by the Police Department. The list worked simply enough — when the police needed towing services, they simply went down the list before each tow, with the next towing company receiving the next call. While towing companies didn’t have a right to be on the list, once placed on it, the city’s policy was to remove companies only “for cause.”

In 1993, John Gratzianna, the owner of O’Hare Truck Service, declined to support the campaign of the incumbent mayor of Northlake, backing his opponent instead. The mayor then removed Gratzianna’s company from the towing list, and Gratzianna sued. The case was one of many to raise the constitutional question of when the government is allowed to take away benefits it was never obligated to provide. Let’s take, for example, public employment. Being hired for a government job isn’t a right. It’s a privilege.

But if the government isn’t obligated to hire me, does that mean it can fire me for any reason? Absolutely not. Anti-discrimination laws and constitutional principles prevent it from firing me or punishing me because of my race, sex or religion, for example. And even if I’m a public employee, the First Amendment is going to prevent the government from punishing me when I speak as a private citizen on matters of public concern.

This restriction on the government is a very good thing indeed. There are approximately 20 million government employees in the United States. Government-orchestrated campaigns of censorship and reprisal against its own employees would not just distort the public square but would also disrupt the democratic process itself, inducing real fear whenever employees refused to support incumbent politicians.

But that’s employment. What about government financial benefits? How many strings can public officials attach to their immense financial resources? And that brings us back to O’Hare Truck Service. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for a 7-2 majority, quoted case law and reaffirmed a clear constitutional principle: “If the government could deny a benefit to a person because of his constitutionally protected speech or associations, his exercise of those freedoms would in effect be penalized and inhibited.”

“Such interference with constitutional rights,” he added, “is impermissible.”

Not only is this a correct statement of constitutional law; it’s also a necessary statement. America’s federal, state and local governments control immense resources. Total government spending is over $9 trillion annually, and those are just direct expenditures. The government also controls the ability to enact tax breaks and other financial incentives for individuals and businesses. And while there are good arguments against governments providing economic inducements and incentives to private corporations, those inducements and incentives cannot then depend on an implied requirement that the corporations agree with the government on matters of public policy. Otherwise, governments could use the power of the purse to create a two-tiered society, granting and withholding government largess on the basis of political agreement.

Make no mistake, the Florida government’s actions against Disney were directly motivated by the company’s disagreement with a policy pushed by DeSantis. Disney’s legal complaint, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Florida, is chock-full of evidence that the governor and other Florida officials targeted the company for one overriding reason: It put out a statement objecting to House Bill 1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act, which sharply restricted instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida public schools.

Statements from Governor DeSantis and other Republican state officials are remarkably brazen. DeSantis said he thought Disney’s mild opposition — it mainly consisted of a public statement and a phone call from the former Disney C.E.O. Bob Chapek to DeSantis, moves that a number of L.G.B.T. activists considered inadequate — “crossed the line,” and he promised to “make sure we’re fighting back.” He accused Disney of “pledging a frontal assault on a duly enacted law of the State of Florida.”

So what? Laws are not holy writ, and if the First Amendment protects anything, it protects our ability to object to the laws passed to govern our states and our nation. But those statements were just the tip of the iceberg. State Representative Spencer Roach said, “If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.” This statement refers to the initial punishment chosen by DeSantis and Florida Republicans — the planned dissolution of an entity called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, one of more than 1,800 special tax districts that dot the Florida landscape.

Reedy Creek “oversees land use and environmental protections” in the district, which encompasses Disney World and various adjoining properties. Its Disney-appointed board governed the district, and it helped empower Disney World’s remarkable growth. Florida’s Legislature ultimately yanked control of Reedy Creek from Disney, renamed it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and handed it to a board appointed by DeSantis.

Disney responded, however, by working with the outgoing board to pass a development agreement and restrictive covenants that would greatly limit the authority of the new DeSantis board.

This action led to Florida’s next round of reprisals against Disney. The new DeSantis board voted to nullify the new contracts, and DeSantis himself mused at how the state and the new board might wield its power to punish Disney: “People are like, ‘Well, there’s what should we do with this land?’ So you know, it’s like, OK. People have said, you know, maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows? I mean, I just think the possibilities are endless.”

The motivations could not be clearer: The State of Florida is targeting Disney because of the company’s constitutionally protected expression. Or, as Representative Randy Fine, a Republican, stated: “You got me on one thing — this bill does target one company. It targets the Walt Disney Company.”

John Gratzianna and O’Hare Truck Service are far from the only plaintiffs to win a First Amendment retaliation case at the Supreme Court. Prohibitions against government retaliation for protected speech are as clearly established as virtually any constitutional doctrine in American law. But what O’Hare does show us as clearly as any modern Supreme Court case is the idea that denying government benefits is a form of government control, and when it’s done for the express purpose of punishing an exercise of constitutionally protected speech, it violates the Constitution of the United States.

At the beginning of this piece, I said that DeSantis should lose, not that he will lose. Court outcomes are never completely certain, but this much is correct: A Disney defeat would represent a dangerous reversal in First Amendment jurisprudence and cast a pall of fear over private expression. In its complaint, Disney wrote, “In America the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.” That is true now and will remain so if Disney wins its case. If Disney loses, on the other hand, America’s first liberty will be at risk, and the culture wars will escalate out of control.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/o...e=articleShare

[TSherbs]

DeSantis is another petty, bully tyrant (in his state). He is gross. His presidential ad that I've been seeing on tv is a treacly overstatement of his talents and strength and principle. I think that he has blown it, nationally.

The GOP better keep looking for someone better, fast. And it ain't Mike Pence. Or give it up and wait 4 more years. (Trump is looking more like a rapist and grifter, and will not be elected).

Meanwhile, the Dems have several articulate up-and-coming legislators who, in about 5-10 years, will start making big moves (my prediction). The GOP had better get their shit together if they want to have a chance, or the presidency will be decided in the Dem primaries.

[TSherbs]

From @Meidas Media on Twitter:

The reviews are in from DeSantis’ trip to Britain — and they are absolutely brutal.

DeSantis met with titans of British industry in an event co-hosted by Lloyd’s of London — the world’s largest insurance marketplace. And to say they were unimpressed is an understatement.

British business chiefs described DeSantis’ performance as “horrendous” and “low-wattage.”

But that’s not all.

One U.K. business figure said DeSantis “looked bored” and “stared at his feet.”

Another noted that “nobody in the room was left thinking, ‘this man’s going places’.”

DeSantis’ trip abroad was a complete and utter disaster from start to finish

[Chip]

He probably couldn't make out their accents.

More evidence of a split in the Republican ranks between the so-called conservatives and the swivel-eyed loons.

‘Ron DeSoros’? Conspiracy Theorists Target Trump’s Rival.

Ron DeSantis, a likely contender for the Republican presidential nomination, must court far-right voters who consider him a tool of the Deep State.

Stuart A. Thompson
May 5, 2023

To some, he is “Ron DeSoros,” a puppet of the Democratic megadonor George Soros. To others, he is “Ron DeSatan,” a vaccine-supporting evildoer. And to still others, he is “Ron DePLANTis,” a “plant” of the so-called Deep State.

As the governor of Florida — real name Ron DeSantis — explores a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, he has made overtures to supporters of former President Donald J. Trump. But he is finding that the conspiracy theories and outlandish attacks that Mr. Trump and his allies have aimed at rivals for years are coming for him as well. The attacks often nod to one of the many unfounded conspiracy theories floating around in far-right circles: election fraud, vaccine dangers, Mr. Soros and even QAnon, the online conspiracy movement that believes, among other things, in the existence of a fictional cult that preys on children.

The attacks underscore the power that conspiracy theories continue to hold over Republican politics heading into the 2024 presidential election. To win the party’s nomination, Mr. DeSantis would probably need support from a Republican base that has produced many of the attacks against him. And while Mr. DeSantis enjoys broad support among Republicans, soaring to re-election victory just six months ago, the latest primary polls show Mr. Trump gaining a sizable lead.

“It’s a tug of war over who is going to grab the all-important conspiracy constituency,” said Bond Benton, an associate professor at Montclair State University who has studied QAnon. The demeaning nicknames for Mr. DeSantis have spread widely on conservative social media, growing this year as Mr. Trump’s attacks increased. There were more than 12,000 mentions of “DeSoros” on social media and news sites since January, according to Zignal Labs, a media insights company. “DeathSantis,” a term progressives used when the governor began relaxing Florida’s Covid-19 restrictions that has since been adopted by some conservatives, received 1.6 million mentions over the past two years.

In recent months, Mr. DeSantis has responded by adopting some themes popular among the conspiratorial set, opposing vaccines he once endorsed and raising doubts about the 2020 election even though Mr. Trump handily won Florida in that year’s vote.

Mike Lindell, the MyPillow executive and an election denier, quickly found a role for Mr. DeSantis in his elaborate election fraud narrative. Mr. Lindell said, falsely, that Florida was spared from widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election because Mr. DeSantis had a close relationship with Dominion Voting Systems, an election software company targeted by election deniers.

“Ron DeSantis is a Trojan horse,” Mr. Lindell said in a recent interview with The New York Times. Mr. Lindell pointed to an appearance Mr. DeSantis had had with a Dominion lawyer shortly after the election as a sign that the governor had conflicting loyalties.

The lawyer, Elizabeth Locke, was speaking with Mr. DeSantis on a panel about the dangers of defamation by mainstream media. She has also represented Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud anywhere in the 2020 election and no evidence that Mr. DeSantis had any special relationship with Dominion.

In an email, Ms. Locke pointed to a podcast appearance where she called the claims “silly” and said that she had known Mr. DeSantis since before he entered politics.

Kari Lake, a Republican who lost her campaign for governor of Arizona last year, once praised Mr. DeSantis on the campaign trail. But in February, as Mr. Trump’s attacks grew, she shared a story claiming Mr. DeSantis was endorsed by Mr. Soros, calling it “the kiss of death.” (Mr. Soros had only said that Mr. DeSantis was likely to become the nominee.)

“The broader narrative is that he is connected to the shadowy forces that seek to bring down Trump,” said Mr. Bond, the Montclair professor.

Mr. DeSantis was forced to play catch-up, making broad appeals to conspiratorial groups within the Republican Party. Last year, he announced a crackdown on voter fraud, arresting 17 people for charges of casting illegal ballots in 2020. Many of the voters had received voter registration cards from the government.

Mr. DeSantis had once endorsed Covid-19 vaccines and celebrated as Floridians were rapidly vaccinated. By late last year, though, he had impaneled a statewide grand jury to investigate vaccine makers for potentially misleading Floridians, reflecting a false belief among Trump supporters that the vaccine is dangerous.

Believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory do not seem swayed by Mr. DeSantis’s appeals, said Josephine Lukito, a media professor at the University of Texas who studies the relationship between disinformation and violence. “For them, that is more indicative of what a faker they perceive DeSantis to be.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/t...e=articleShare

[TSherbs]

The attacks underscore the power that conspiracy theories continue to hold over Republican politics heading into the 2024 presidential election. To win the party’s nomination, Mr. DeSantis would probably need support from a Republican base that has produced many of the attacks against him. .....

“It’s a tug of war over who is going to grab the all-important conspiracy constituency,” said Bond Benton, an associate professor at Montclair State University who has studied QAnon.....

Mike Lindell, the MyPillow executive and an election denier, quickly found a role for Mr. DeSantis in his elaborate election fraud narrative. Mr. Lindell said, falsely, that Florida was spared from widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election because Mr. DeSantis had a close relationship with Dominion Voting Systems, an election software company targeted by election deniers.

“Ron DeSantis is a Trojan horse,” Mr. Lindell said in a recent interview with The New York Times. Mr. Lindell pointed to an appearance Mr. DeSantis had had with a Dominion lawyer shortly after the election as a sign that the governor had conflicting loyalties.

jesucristo

"got to keep the loonies on the path"

[Chip]

"got to keep the loonies on the path"

Onward christian soldiers. . .

[dneal]

"got to keep the loonies on the path"

Onward christian soldiers. . .

About those potshots from the underbrush...

Should I just comment on them all, to bring them to your attention?

[TSherbs]

"got to keep the loonies on the path"

Onward christian soldiers. . .

Any time that a battle for a party's nomination is won or lost over appealing to its conspiratorial fringe, you know that that's a party adrift. DeSantis seems to be adrift himself.

[Chip]

Weak. Based on your actions here, you have no moral authority whatsoever.

[dneal]

Weak. Based on your actions here, you have no moral authority whatsoever.

More projection through confession, from the FNG.

[TSherbs]

"Wall St sours on DeSantis" (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/0...ction-00093736

[Chip]

A Tour de Farce!

[TSherbs]

Here's a twist in Florida:

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...bans-rcna84706

Not sure they have a strong case. But I like the effort.

[Chuck Naill]

His ridiculous war with Disney is enough for me to not consider him the type of leader suited for a democratic nation. Yesterday Disney said they would not build an office building that would bring jobs to Florida. If Christians disagree with Disney, just don't go. Go to Dollywood.

[TSherbs]

When is the last time that a governor from Florida could win a national election....never. Not even anyone born in Florida. Maybe he'll be first in both categories. But if he keeps trying to use politics to muzzle big business and their pursuit of profit how best they see fit, they will array against him and put their money behind his opponents. He thinks he's big and tough, but he is no David among the Goliaths. Just think how much "fun" DeSantis would have with the powers of Executive Orders. I doubt he'd use as many as the presidents (of both parties) did from 1900-1945, but he might make a good showing. He likes flexing his will in public.

[Pendragon]

Perhaps Disney World should focus on cleaning up its own act instead of jumping into political controversy. Or maybe all those group brawls are just advertising for its new Rioting Drag Queens Village? As I recall, Disney used to be about wholesome family entertainment, not drag queens and fistfighting families. Perhaps the current Disney should ask itself "What Would Walt Do?" and proceed from there.

I am glad that Disney was still the Magic Kingdom when I was a kid. Politics, sex, and violence might be entertaining for adults, but have no place in a theme park for kids.

[TSherbs]

... Perhaps the current Disney should ask itself "What Would Walt Do?" and proceed from there.

oh please no

[724Seney]

... Perhaps the current Disney should ask itself "What Would Walt Do?" and proceed from there.

oh please no

Sorry, it's a "yes" pal.
You and your Marxist moron friend are so hopelessly lost in your endless, leftward turning rabbit holes that you simply do not realize the large number of people who feel the same way as @Pendragon.
And, no, not all of them are white males.