Disney vs. DeSantis: The Mouse Snaps Back, Will Host Gay Rights Summit in Florida

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Los Angeles Magazine: “Now, as tension remains high, Disney has put a major conference to promote LGBTQ+ rights in the workplace in Florida, to take place right in [Disneyworld], on the calendar for this September, as the Miami Herald reports. The event will host some of the most prominent names within the global business world; it’s also ultimately, a direct rebuttal to DeSantis’ crusade against diversity training.

“The summit — to be hosted in collaboration with longstanding sponsor Out & Equal — comes nearly a year after DeSantis sparked the feud when passing the state’s HB-1557, dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. In its essence, the legislation bans any education regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in pre-4th-grade classrooms. And when Disney clapped back at this bill, which doesn’t require legislative approval, DeSantis upped the stakes for ‘the most magical place on Earth.’”

Ron DeSantis Hates People

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Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis

The Daily Beast: “At any given fundraiser or VIP room where he’s present, Ron DeSantis is usually easy to find—in the corner, keeping to himself.

“Despite having a job that entails exchanging small talk and pleasantries on a daily basis, the Florida governor tends to brush off those obligations and struggles with basic social skills, according to a source close to DeSantis, several of his former staffers, and other GOP operatives who have worked with him and his team.

“As DeSantis gears up for a potential White House run in 2024, his aloof public persona is being thought of by his rivals—namely, former President Donald Trump—as his Achilles heel in the retail politics-heavy early primary states.

“And even though he hasn’t announced a bid yet, DeSantis’ apparent desire to test the waters of a presidential campaign—while barely dipping a toe into the aspects he recoils from—is already being put to the test.”

Frum: Is Ron DeSantis Flaming Out Already?

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From former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum at The Atlantic:

DeSantis will be a candidate of the Republican base, for the Republican base. Like Trump, he delights in displaying his lack of regard for everyone else. Trump, however, is driven by his psychopathologies and cannot emotionally cope with disagreement. DeSantis is a rational actor and is following what somebody has convinced him is a sound strategy. It looks like this:

1. Woo the Fox audience and win the Republican nomination.
2. ??
3. Become president.

Written out like that, you can see the missing piece. DeSantis is surely intelligent and disciplined enough to see it too. But the programming installed in him prevents him from acting on what he sees. His approach to winning the nomination will put the general election beyond his grasp. He must hope that some external catastrophe will defeat his Democratic opponent for him—a recession, maybe—because DeSantis is choosing a path that cannot get him to his goal.

Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Hysteria Started in a Rural Town 90 Miles West of Memphis

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2022 Pride Parade in Jackson, Tenn.
2022 Pride Parade in Jackson, Tenn.

Tennessee Lookout: “In fall of 2022, nearly a dozen political and religious leaders met with Pride festival organizers in a back room of Jackson City Hall in West Tennessee. The shared goal? Hash out a deal over a drag show.

“Jackson’s third annual LGBTQ Pride festival was scheduled for the following month, and unlike the previous years, the event had grown beyond the usual music and games. Organizers had put together enough money for a 10-person drag performance.

“Jackson is a town of 70,000 in Madison County, Tennessee, located about halfway between Nashville and Memphis on Interstate 40. The county reliably leans Republican, while the city is more split, going 50/50 in the 2020 Presidential election.

“The city hall meeting was a dramatic affair, with Pride organizers storming out after a conservative pastor likened men dressing up in women’s clothing to blackface, but negotiations continued. Afterward, state lawmaker Chris Todd sued the city to stop the event. When that was only partially successful, he spearheaded the effort to create one of the nation’s first restrictions on drag performances.”

MAGA Billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Withdrew Its Deposits from Silicon Valley Bank Before It Shut Down

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Business Insider: “Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund had no cash left in Silicon Valley Bank by Thursday as it began to unravel, Bloomberg reported.

“A source told Bloomberg the PayPal cofounder’s fund had moved to close its exposure to the failing bank after running into problems using SVB’s services.

“The venture capital group had been engaging in a ‘capital call’ — where it asked investment partners to send funds to invest in a company — by transferring funds to its Silicon Valley Bank account. However, the funds didn’t immediately go through as expected.

“Following the withdrawals, the fund no longer had any exposure to SVB as of Thursday morning, the unnamed source told Bloomberg. It wasn’t clear whether the transfers happened on that day, or earlier.”

Fascist Congresswoman to Introduce Resolution Declaring Anti-fascist Antifa a Terror Group

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The Hill: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Sunday that she will be introducing a resolution to declare Antifa as a terrorist organization on Tuesday, after blaming the group for protests at a police training facility in Atlanta.

“’Antifa are domestic terrorists and I’m introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on Tuesday,’ she tweeted on Sunday.

“A progressive group called “Stop Cop City” has been protesting against the new training facility being built in the wooded parts of Atlanta since plans for it were announced, arguing it will promote the militarization of the police and may result in environmental concerns…

“Greene blamed the far-left organization Antifa for the incident on Twitter, though she did not offer any evidence that Antifa was behind the protests on Sunday.”

DeSantis Greeted by ‘Ron DeFascist’ Graffito at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley

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Library greeting Florida's MAGA extremist governor Ron DeSantis who is promoting fascism in a new book, Courage to Be Free
Graffito at the Reagan Library greeting Florida’s MAGA extremist governor Ron DeSantis who is promoting his fascist agenda in a new book, “The Courage to Be Free”

Ventura Star: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to hundreds of supporters at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley on Sunday, potentially marking Ventura County’s first event of the 2024 presidential primary.

“DeSantis appeared to promote his new book, “The Courage to Be Free,” which was published last week. During his speech, however, DeSantis sounded more like he was on the campaign trail than a book tour….

“Not everyone at the Reagan library on Sunday was thrilled DeSantis paid a visit. Roughly 100 protesters from Ventura and Los Angeles counties lined the entrance to the campus, many carrying protest signs or LGBTQ pride flags…

[…]

DeSantis Disney Board Appointee Ron Peri: Tap Water Turns People Gay

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Ron Peri
Ron Peri

CNN: “An appointee to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new oversight board in control of Disney’s special tax district called homosexuality “evil” last year and shared a baseless conspiracy theory that tap water could be making more people gay.

“On Monday, the Republican governor appointed Ron Peri, an Orlando-based former pastor and the CEO of The Gathering – a Christian ministry focused on outreach to men – as one of five people who will now oversee the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the government body that has given Disney unique powers in Central Florida for more than half a century…

“A CNN KFile review of Peri’s past comments found that he frequently made derogatory remarks about the LGBTQ community.

“’So why are there homosexuals today? There are any number of reasons, you know, that are given. Some would say the increase in estrogen in our societies. You know, there’s estrogen in the water from birth control pills. They can’t get it out,’ Peri baselessly said in a January 2022 Zoom discussion, later put on YouTube. ‘The level of testosterone in men broadly in America has declined by 50 points in the past 10 years. You know, and so, maybe that’s a part of it.’”

Jim Gordon’s MAGA Deep-State Whistleblower Dumpster Fire

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Failed deep-state conspiracy whistleblower George Hill

Rolling Stone: “In early February, Republicans brought an FBI veteran to Capitol Hill whom they hoped would expose a ‘deep state conspiracy’ among Democrats and their accomplices in the intelligence community. The GOP witness was part of a network of ‘whistleblowers’ — funneled to congressional Republicans’ new Weaponization of Government panel by allies of Donald Trump — to reveal covert attacks on the former president and broad, anti-conservative discrimination.

“But before the interview was over, it was the GOP witness who was failing to answer difficult questions — and Democratic committee staff doing the asking.

[…]