A new poll suggests Punchable Face Legend Ron DeSantis’ 'Anti-Woke' crusade will backfire fukking bozo.

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March 12, 2023, 10:35 AM EDT
By Sarah Posner, MSNBC Columnist
As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis prepares to run for president in 2024, a new poll suggests that he may be overplaying his hand with his war on “wokeness.”
The poll, conducted by Ipsos and published last week in USA Today, shows that 56% of Americans consider “woke” a positive term, meaning “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” Even more than a third of Republicans agree. Just 39% agreed with a negative definition: “to be overly politically correct and police others’ words.”

Many Republican leaders have made “anti-wokeness” a cornerstone of their political agenda, but DeSantis has led the pack by upending the lives and liberties of Floridians through authoritarian book bans and speech codes. “Florida is where woke goes to die,” DeSantis crowed when he was sworn in for a second term earlier this year.
But if most Americans believe “woke” is a positive term, why would they want a president to suffocate it, and replace it with autocratic power grabs and far right curricula? DeSantis won his gubernatorial reelection handily, but he might be a little high on his own supply.

DeSantis’ increasingly draconian measures give Americans plenty of opportunities to examine exactly what killing “wokeness” entails, beyond the rapturous admiration of GOP primary voters. Following last year’s passage of the Parental Rights in Education Act -- also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law — banning discussion of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity in public schools, countless Floridians have lost their rights. Teachers in same-sex marriages left or lost their jobs. Children of gay parents now fear mentioning their parents’ sexual orientation at school. Librarians must undergo state training on the law, and face losing their livelihood if they lend books blacklisted by the state education board.

The governor’s war on K-12 programs has expanded since that bill: DeSantis banned a high school Advanced Placement class on African-American studies, claiming it was “indoctrination.” He is now angling to ban all AP courses in Florida, something surely anathema to parents hoping their children will attend reputable universities.
And DeSantis is also targeting higher education institutions, which most states strive to showcase as incubators of groundbreaking ideas, pedagogy, and research. He carried out a hard-right takeover of New College, a small liberal arts school within the state’s public university system, stacking its board of trustees with anti-critical race theory demagogue Christopher Rufo and other fringe figures from the Christian right and MAGA world. “The mission has been I think more into the DEI, CRT, the gender ideology rather than what a liberal arts education should be,” DeSantis declared, referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as well as critical race theory.

The American right has long turned public school classrooms into culture war lightning rods, casting efforts to teach children about race or sex as evil, predatory, and un-American. These crusades have played out over decades, with political attacks on academic freedom to craft curricula, textbooks, and reading lists, full of distorted facts and revisionist history. DeSantis has taken up this mantle with unprecedented zeal and terrifying effect. His reelection victory has apparently cemented his confidence that voters beyond Florida will be bewitched by his supposed power to keep their children safe from nefarious “wokeness.”

These assaults on democratic values and institutions are not to be taken lightly—but it is also critical to see how deeply contrary they are to most Americans’ beliefs. As Ipsos pollster Cliff Young told USA Today, “Most Americans understand that to be woke is to be tuned in to injustices around us.” The audience for DeSantis’s “anti-woke” rhetoric, Young said, is a core contingent of the GOP base that sees “woke” as a catch-all pejorative for the “emerging multicultural majority.”

But outside that base, such a message falls flat. The USA Today-Ipsos findings are broadly consistent with a Morning Consult poll earlier this year, which found majorities of voters opposed lawmakers punishing companies that speak up in favor of abortion rights and other issues. And Republican attempts to use attacks on “woke Democrats” in last year’s midterms fizzled.

DeSantis may believe that most Americans share the right-wing doctrine that America’s white Christian heritage is threatened by learning about history, racial injustice, and systemic racism—or that at least that his own charms will convince them of it. But in fact, he’s out of touch with Americans and American families, and that is the most important thing to know about his presidential aspirations. All that remains is for voters to tell him at the ballot box


This dude is a fukking bozo he would get slaughtered nationally and his face is extremely punchable :pacspit:
 

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Broward says losses mount for tourism as more conventions stay away, citing fear for safety of diverse groups​

Sun-Sentinel - via RSS feed
Posted onAugust 22, 2023
Categories Broward News

APphoto_Election-2024-DeSantis21-1.jpg

Broward County tourism officials say that financial losses are continuing to mount as conventions once scheduled for Fort Lauderdale have opted to go someplace else.

The tally now stands at 14, with four of those conventions backing out in August alone, according to Visit Lauderdale, the agency formerly known as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

They cite Florida’s culture wars on issues that critics say attack Blacks, gays, and transgender youth, as well as policies targeting state universities as well as migrants.

Broward’s tourism arm said the lost conventions could have brought hotel stays to Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding cities, which also meant money spent on restaurants and attractions.

The updated list now includes the National Sales Network Conference, whose founder and CEO emailed the county Monday: “Moving forward, we will not consider conducting any future conferences in the state of Florida given the Governor’s statement that slavery was good for Black people.”

And the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology wasn’t planning its annual convention until 2028, but backed out last week, citing in an email: “At the moment, we aren’t able to consider any Florida cities because of the political issues around women’s health and the added challenges with higher education there.”

It adds to the laundry list of groups including the Chicago-based American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, which had planned a 3,000-person conference in Fort Lauderdale in 2026, and cited the “unfriendly political environment in Florida.” The Washington, D.C.-based Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, which was scheduled to come to Fort Lauderdale in January, diverted to New Orleans instead because of what’s perceived as anti-migrant policies. And the Atlanta-based aParent Miracles Foundation for this November is headed to Texas instead after the NAACP issued a travel advisory for Florida “in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempts to erase Black history, and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools,” the organizer wrote the county’s tourism office.

Last month, the Tom Joyner Foundation, and the 1,700 hotel rooms it wanted, disappeared, too. “If this were about economics, that would be one thing, but what is at the core of the issue from the above, is fear for the safety of African-American, LGBTQ+ and a smaller portion of even Latino students and others traveling to Florida to participate in what is a national event,” an organizer wrote the tourism office. The agency also cited the state’s new permitless gun carry laws, which allow people to carry concealed weapons without training or a permit, as another reason to skip the Sunshine State. That legislation was hailed by the NRA.

The emails were obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a public records request.

Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, Broward County’s tourism promotion arm, said Tuesday she was “keeping a careful eye on the trend, which isn’t great.”

“It’s most troubling because of the economic impact which translates into Broward County residents’ jobs,” saying an estimated 10% of Broward’s jobs were directly or indirectly tied to tourism.

Ritter’s agency is trying to offset the damage with advertising efforts to show Florida, at least the southern end, is welcoming. On Tuesday, they successfully appealed to the Broward County commission to spend nearly $800,000 — money raised from a tourism hotel tax — to participate in the January 2024 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

Chief among the float participants considered to perform: Drag queens.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
 

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Paige Oamek/

February 15, 2024/4:58 p.m. ET


Ron DeSantis Finally Admits War on Books Has Been a Total Disaster​

The Florida governor is suddenly backtracking after all those ridiculous book bans in schools.​

ca8b90cc9b18bcd354e070eca3aab8a452ea20bb.jpeg

JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES

Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday came out in support of a proposal to limit book bans in schools—the direct result of his own stupid policies.

In a press conference, DeSantis tried to claim that accusations that he has enabled book bans in the state of Florida are “a fraud” and “a big hoax.”

He blamed “activists” on both the left and right for “hijacking” the process of banning books, accusing them of submitting book challenges solely to create a media narrative.

And finally, he directed the Department of Education “to take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of rightful education by politicizing this process.”

Even as DeSantis basically admitted he made a huge mistake, he used a press release to link to a strange video he posted on Rumble, with the warning “***EXPLICIT CONTENT NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN***.” The video showcases so-called “non-age-appropriate books” that have “rightly” been banned by libraries, while defending “classic” books like The Diary of Anne Frank. (At least one Florida school has removed an Anne Frank novel, thanks to DeSantis.)

It’s clear that DeSantis is trying to walk back these sweeping book bans—and creating a distinction between justified and unjustified bans.

Essentially, DeSantis is now trying to point fingers at anyone besides himself and his allies, calling the book bans “theater” and “performative.”

In reality, these ridiculous book bans are a direct cause of DeSantis signing House Bill 1069 into law in May 2023. Other legislation in Florida, including the Parental Rights in Education Bill and the Stop WOKE Act, have led to further restrictions.

Under DeSantis, Florida allowed anyone to challenge books in school libraries that they deem to be inappropriate, often books that feature characters or topics on race, sex, and gender. Sometimes books have been banned thanks to a single challenge.

DeSantis has been celebrated by Moms for Liberty, the “parental rights” group inciting many of these blanket bans. The group has thanked the governor for “blazing a trail” on school book bans. He even appointed a co-founder of Moms for Liberty to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

And now, he seems to be backtracking. “If you’re somebody who doesn’t have a kid in school and you’re going to object to 100 books, no I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said DeSantis at the press conference.

He also floated the idea of having the legislature limit the number of challenges and making future challenges contingent on whether you actually have kids in school, a move that could impact Moms for Liberty’s activism. “We’re not trying to incentivize frivolous objections.”

The Florida House is looking to pass a bill (H.B. 7025) which would impose a $100 fine for unsuccessful book objections, which the Florida governor says he would support.

It’s possible that DeSantis is covering his tracks after a lawsuit from PEN America last month was affirmed in federal court. U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell issued a ruling against Escambia County School Board, which has banned above 1,500 books, including the dictionary, under H.B. 1069. The judge ruled that book removals violated the First Amendment and rejected the state’s argument. (DeSantis is not named in the lawsuit.)

DeSantis also on Thursday claimed that “no district in Florida has
 

SupaDupaFresh

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Paige Oamek/

February 15, 2024/4:58 p.m. ET


Ron DeSantis Finally Admits War on Books Has Been a Total Disaster​

The Florida governor is suddenly backtracking after all those ridiculous book bans in schools.​

ca8b90cc9b18bcd354e070eca3aab8a452ea20bb.jpeg

JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES

Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday came out in support of a proposal to limit book bans in schools—the direct result of his own stupid policies.

In a press conference, DeSantis tried to claim that accusations that he has enabled book bans in the state of Florida are “a fraud” and “a big hoax.”

He blamed “activists” on both the left and right for “hijacking” the process of banning books, accusing them of submitting book challenges solely to create a media narrative.

And finally, he directed the Department of Education “to take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of rightful education by politicizing this process.”

Even as DeSantis basically admitted he made a huge mistake, he used a press release to link to a strange video he posted on Rumble, with the warning “***EXPLICIT CONTENT NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN***.” The video showcases so-called “non-age-appropriate books” that have “rightly” been banned by libraries, while defending “classic” books like The Diary of Anne Frank. (At least one Florida school has removed an Anne Frank novel, thanks to DeSantis.)

It’s clear that DeSantis is trying to walk back these sweeping book bans—and creating a distinction between justified and unjustified bans.

Essentially, DeSantis is now trying to point fingers at anyone besides himself and his allies, calling the book bans “theater” and “performative.”

In reality, these ridiculous book bans are a direct cause of DeSantis signing House Bill 1069 into law in May 2023. Other legislation in Florida, including the Parental Rights in Education Bill and the Stop WOKE Act, have led to further restrictions.

Under DeSantis, Florida allowed anyone to challenge books in school libraries that they deem to be inappropriate, often books that feature characters or topics on race, sex, and gender. Sometimes books have been banned thanks to a single challenge.

DeSantis has been celebrated by Moms for Liberty, the “parental rights” group inciting many of these blanket bans. The group has thanked the governor for “blazing a trail” on school book bans. He even appointed a co-founder of Moms for Liberty to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

And now, he seems to be backtracking. “If you’re somebody who doesn’t have a kid in school and you’re going to object to 100 books, no I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said DeSantis at the press conference.

He also floated the idea of having the legislature limit the number of challenges and making future challenges contingent on whether you actually have kids in school, a move that could impact Moms for Liberty’s activism. “We’re not trying to incentivize frivolous objections.”

The Florida House is looking to pass a bill (H.B. 7025) which would impose a $100 fine for unsuccessful book objections, which the Florida governor says he would support.

It’s possible that DeSantis is covering his tracks after a lawsuit from PEN America last month was affirmed in federal court. U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell issued a ruling against Escambia County School Board, which has banned above 1,500 books, including the dictionary, under H.B. 1069. The judge ruled that book removals violated the First Amendment and rejected the state’s argument. (DeSantis is not named in the lawsuit.)

DeSantis also on Thursday claimed that “no district in Florida has

This whiny clown just needs to apply for county sherriff like he clearly always truly wanted to be and get the fukk out of law and policy. He failed at his war with Disney. Failing at his anti-woke, anti-sex ed, anti-black, anti-intellectualism book banning campaign. and Failed to run for President. This guy is the most over-confident loser in the history of American politics. He really is an aspiring fascist who was inspired by Trump into believing that being a political leader is about getting what you please and punishing others without question or contention. I don't know where this whole idea that DeSantis was a smarter version of Trump came from when he's every bit as much a narrow-minded, clueless bigot. He's a more shy, reserved, p*ssyhole version of Turmp, but no less dumb.
 

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DeSantis tweaks Florida book challenge law, blames liberal activist who wanted Bible out of schools​

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis admits the book challenge law he enacted two years ago is causing problems for school districts. He signed a bill Tuesday, April 16, 2024, that adjusts the law that made it easy for anyone to have any book removed from school libraries and classrooms, either temporarily or permanently. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis admits the book challenge law he enacted two years ago is causing problems for school districts. He signed a bill Tuesday, April 16, 2024, that adjusts the law that made it easy for anyone to have any book removed from school libraries and classrooms, either temporarily or permanently. (AP Photo/Phil Sears, File)

BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON

Updated 5:42 PM EDT, April 16, 2024

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Two years ago, Democrats repeatedly and forcefully warned Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis that a new law making it easier to challenge school books was so broadly worded that it would create havoc across the state.

Now they can say, “I told you so.”

DeSantis backtracked on the 2022 law on Tuesday when he signed a bill narrowing its focus. He blamed liberal activists for abusing the law, not the citizens whose objections to certain books account for the majority of book removals from school libraries and classrooms.

“The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong,” DeSantis said the day before the bill signing. “That’s performative. That’s political.”

Coincidentally, PEN America, a group that fights book bans, issued a report Tuesday saying Florida is responsible for 72% of the books that have been pulled from the nation’s schools in the first half of the current school year.

The organization said liberal activists are not the ones who should be blamed for abusing the law.

“The majority of books that we see being removed are books that talk about LBTQ+ identities, that include characters of color, that talk about race and racism, that include depictions of sexual experiences in the most broadest interpretation of that understanding,” said Kasey Meehan, Pen America’s Freedom to Read program director.

Those challenges are being made by conservative individuals and groups such as Moms For Liberty, Meehan said.

The original law allowed any person — parent or not, district resident or not — to challenge books as often as they wanted. Once challenged, a book has to be pulled from shelves until the school district resolves the complaint. The new law limits people who don’t have students in a school district to one challenge per month.

The PEN America report says Florida is responsible for 3,135 of the 4,349 school book bans in the United States so far this school year. Just this week in conservative Clay County, one person challenged 40 books, Meehan said.

Before dropping out of the Republican presidential primary, DeSantis campaigned heavily on his education platform, including the law giving people more power to challenge books.

“It’s just a big mess that DeSantis created and now he’s trying to disown it, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to distance himself from this because he campaigned on it so hard,” said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell.

It’s not the only example of the tough-talking governor having to make adjustments to ideology he championed while seeking the White House.

He also has made concessions in the settlement of several lawsuits involving the state and Walt Disney World. The dispute between them erupted in 2022 after the company spoke out against a DeSantis-backed law that opponents dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The law bans classroom lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Associated Press asked DeSantis’ office for examples of liberal activists abusing the law and it provided one: Chaz Stevens, a South Florida resident who has often lampooned government. Stevens raised challenges in dozens of school districts over the Bible, dictionaries and thesauruses.

The change to the law “ensures that book challenges are limited for individuals, like Chaz, who do not have children with access to the school district’s materials,” DeSantis spokeswoman Julia Friedland said in an email. She didn’t reply to follow-up emails requesting more examples.

Stevens, who 11 years ago made national news when he installed a Festivus pole made out of beer cans across from a nativity scene displayed in the Capitol, was delighted DeSantis’ office singled him out.

“When they need to make stupid stupider, they send me up. I’m part comedian, I’m part activist, I’m part artist. I just want a better society,” Stevens said. “I’m an idiot, but a smart guy at the same time.”

While DeSantis’ predecessor, current Republican Sen. Rick Scott, allowed what was then called the “free speech zone” in the Capitol rotunda, the rules changed under DeSantis and new barriers were put in place to use Capitol space for political expression. The League of Women Voters and Stevens are among the applicants who have been denied access under the new rules.

“I didn’t realize that I have the power of millions!” Stevens said. “I’m just one guy. I’m an agitator. I know my role in this.”

Driskell pointed out that DeSantis was warned there would be problems when the book ban law passed in 2022.

“We told him so. The Florida House Democrats on the floor — in our debate, in our questioning — pointed out the vagueness in the original law and how it could be subject to abuse,” she said. “Chaz is not the problem. It’s the folks who are taking liberties with the law who are the problem.”
 
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