Ron DeSantis

[Slim Cognito]

Matlacha still lies in ruins after Hurricane Ian but, sure, let's give duhSantis more money.

[RTH10260]

Ron DeSantis ally Chris Rufo has close ties with ‘dissident right’ magazine
Relationship with IM-1776, which praises dictators and attacks liberal democracy, is collaborative and supportive

Jason Wilson
Wed 21 Feb 2024 06.00 EST

Chris Rufo, a rightwing culture-war celebrity and close Ron DeSantis ally, has maintained a close relationship with IM-1776, a “dissident right” magazine that regularly showers praise on dictators and authoritarians, puffs racist ideologues, and attacks liberal democracy.

The outlet’s editors and writers – many of them so-called “anons” working under pseudonyms – have variously advocated for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act; celebrated figures such as the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and the proto-fascist Italian nationalist Gabriele D’Annunzio; and advanced conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, and what they term the “regime”, a leftist power structure that they imagine unites the state, large corporations, universities and the media.

Rufo and IM-1776

The Guardian has previously reported on Rufo’s links with an outlet that experts described as pushing scientific racism; with a Danish data scientist who had previously co-authored scientific-racist papers; and on co-hosting an audio stream on X in which one participant advocated cooperating with a hypothetical white nationalist leader.

Rufo, who played a leading role in the downfall of Harvard president Claudine Gay, has said such reporting is “guilt by association”, but his relationship with IM-1776 is explicitly collaborative and supportive, and the association is apparently mutually beneficial.

Last month a “manifesto” written by Rufo – The New Right Activism – ran in the online and print versions of IM-1776, and Rufo has publicly urged his audience to buy and subscribe to the outlet. He has also co-hosted a series of Twitter spaces with the magazine’s editors, beginning in July last year.

In one of them, recorded in October, he indicated an interest in incorporating the “dissident right” more fully in mainstream political discourse, saying: “I think there is a room for engaging the dissident right and the establishment right. I think we need to have a bridge between the two and and engage in thoughtful dialogue.”

More recently, he has expressed a personal interest in expanding the range of acceptable political discourse.

On the Pirate Wires podcast earlier this month, he told host Mike Solana of his own activism: “I try to play that game, I try to lay traps, I try to provoke certain reactions, I try to launder certain words and phrases into the discourse.”



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... t-desantis

[raison de arizona]

Florida defies CDC in measles outbreak, telling parents it's fine to send unvaccinated kids to school

With a brief memo, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has subverted a public health standard that's long kept measles outbreaks under control.

On Feb. 20, as measles spread through Manatee Bay Elementary in South Florida, Ladapo sent parents a letter granting them permission to send unvaccinated children to school amid the outbreak.

The Department of Health "is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance," wrote Ladapo, who was appointed to head the agency by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose name is listed above Ladapo's in the letterhead.

Ladapo's move contradicts advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-me ... ds-school/

[Slim Cognito]

Fuck him and every idiot who takes his advice.

[Kendra]

They discussed this on Deadline WH today. Dr. Kavita (sp?) Finished with a grand slam, recommended that FL might not be a good choice to visit until this outbreak is over.

[Slim Cognito]

Who wouldn't want to bring their kids to Florida for red tide, green algae and measles?

[Dave from down under]

“Visit Florida and die.”

[raison de arizona]

“Visit Florida and die.”

I mean, don't a lot of people go to Florida to die there? Nothing new?

[Dave from down under]

Ron is just speeding it up…
Because he’s a results type of guy..

[Dave from down under]

Is he and his backers heavily invested in medical treatment, prevention would cut into their profits.

[Resume18]

Florida defies CDC in measles outbreak, telling parents it's fine to send unvaccinated kids to school

With a brief memo, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has subverted a public health standard that's long kept measles outbreaks under control.

On Feb. 20, as measles spread through Manatee Bay Elementary in South Florida, Ladapo sent parents a letter granting them permission to send unvaccinated children to school amid the outbreak.

The Department of Health "is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance," wrote Ladapo, who was appointed to head the agency by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose name is listed above Ladapo's in the letterhead.

Ladapo's move contradicts advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-me ... ds-school/

What an ignorant maniac.

[sugar magnolia]

Can't wait to find out if that fuckwit is an alcoholic, thief, drug addict or into kinky, illegal sex. You know something's going to come to light eventually.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

He'll be a murderer because some child is going to contract the measles and die.

[Atticus Finch]

I wonder if he is related to Typhoid Mary?

[Volkonski]

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employees will no longer have a job at UF

https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/ ... 807436007/

The University of Florida announced Friday that it is eliminating all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employee positions.

This change, announced through an emailed administrative memo, comes after the Florida Board of Governors labeled expenditures related to DEI programs as prohibited expenditures.

The memo explains that "to comply with the Florida Board of Governor’s regulation 9.016 on prohibited expenditures, the University of Florida has closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors."

The Board of Governors defines DEI as "any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification."

The regulation says a state university "may not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities" that violate section 1000.05 of Florida Statutes, advocate for what it defines as diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in what it defines as political or social activism.

[raison de arizona]

[neonzx]

LOL!

It is Floriduh, after all.

I live here and know it.

[Volkonski]

DeSantis Vetoes Blanket Social Media Ban for Youths Under 16
The statute, passed by the Florida Legislature last week, would have required sites like TikTok and Instagram to deny accounts to underage users, even if their parents permitted them to do so.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/01/tech ... agram.html

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed a sweeping social media bill that would have effectively barred Florida residents under the age of 16 from opening accounts on services like TikTok and Instagram, even if their parents permitted them to do so.

In a post on X, Mr. DeSantis said he had vetoed the teen social media ban bill because the state’s Legislature was “about to produce a different, superior bill” that recognized parents’ rights. Last week, the governor had suggested the measure went too far by superseding the authority of parents.

Soon after the news of the veto, Paul Renner, a Republican who is the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, said in a post on X that the new bill would be “an even stronger product to protect our children against online harms.”

While several states have recently passed laws requiring parental consent for children’s social media accounts, the Florida measure that Mr. DeSantis vetoed was designed as a more blanket ban. It would have required certain social networks to verify users’ ages, prevent people under 16 from signing up for accounts and terminate accounts that a platform knew or believed belonged to underage users.

[AndyinPA]

Explain to me again which party is for big government.

[RTH10260]

In the day and age of the VPN, how do they intend to enforce such state laws? I only see some fines when something gets screwed up and police find a kids user account on a device, and then they need to find a DA who will prosecute.

[Rolodex]

I wouldn't put it past DeSatan for this to be a set up. He gets to swoop in and save the day.

[Slim Cognito]

That's a good point I hadn't considered. A couple of years back, the energy companies were fighting people who had purchased solar panels, like me, trying to change the way we were reimbursed at the end of the year for our excess electricity production. Believe it or not, it isn't just Democrats down here putting solar panels on their roof.(I love it, I haven't paid an electric bill in 2 years other than meter rent of about $25 a month)

Anyway, the bill passed seemingly supported by duhSantis who, surprisingly, vetoed it.

Then at the beginning of this year we were hit with the news that our refund check would be replaced by credits to our meter rent. I guess it's better than not getting a refund but it was still a pretty underhanded thing to do.

[Rolodex]

That's a good point I hadn't considered. A couple of years back, the energy companies were fighting people who had purchased solar panels, like me, trying to change the way we were reimbursed at the end of the year for our excess electricity production. Believe it or not, it isn't just Democrats down here putting solar panels on their roof.(I love it, I haven't paid an electric bill in 2 years other than meter rent of about $25 a month)

Anyway, the bill passed seemingly supported by duhSantis who, surprisingly, vetoed it.

Then at the beginning of this year we were hit with the news that our refund check would be replaced by credits to our meter rent. I guess it's better than not getting a refund but it was still a pretty underhanded thing to do.

Alabama Power is fighting tooth and nail to stop people from having solar panels - you have to pay them to have them installed plus a monthly fee or something. I'm not exactly sure. I get power from an electric co-op and I think they didn't really have a protocol or policy on home panels. We put ours in (48 panel free-standing array) when we built our house 13 years ago. It almost got to the point of getting lawyers involved, but eventually they figured out what they needed to do. They don't "buy back" per se, but I'd call it net metering, as our meter runs backward when we are making more power than the house is using. Do you have battery storage? We do not, so obviously we get power only in real time. Ours provides about 1/3 of our power; I wish it would do more, but we have a giant house w 4 heat pump units.

We had a cold snap (very cold for us) in early Feb. When people started getting their power bills, they were all over online griping about it. I took that opportunity to jump in and tell them that Alabama has one of the highest consumer power rates in the country...and it's thanks to the people they voted into the Public Service Commission. They suck and are in the pocket of Alabama Power. But...they're Republicans so people just blindly votes those jerks into office without a second thought and no idea of what they really do and how they're screwing the people of Alabama. I hope those folks remember at election time (although there's no one opposing one of them and there are no Ds running at all).

[Slim Cognito]

...
. Do you have battery storage? We do not, so obviously we get power only in real time. Ours provides about 1/3 of our power; I wish it would do more, but we have a giant house w 4 heat pump units.
...

I do not, but I've heard, in here Florida, if you have the battery storage, or too many panels and overproduce, your insurance company will cancel you bc it's a "fire hazard" (Not saying it isn't, but color me cynical.)

And speaking of Floriduh insurance, I just got my 2024 bill, which is home plus hurricane. No claims since Ian but this year my premium went up $1200 to $4600. Add the $2500 I pay for flood and I'm coughing up over seven grand for a simple, middle class, 1700 sq ft house with a 2-car garage. I can't get out of this state fast enough. And I had to sign an arbitration agreement after Ian just to keep the policy so if they screw me over, I'm screwed over. No hiring a lawyer. But what could I do. Nobody else was taking on customers and the state insurance company has been deemed insolvent after so many people were canceled post Ian and went there.

[Rolodex]

We have a weekend house in the Panhandle; it got pretty destroyed by Michael. I've been shocked the insurance wasn't cancelled. I'm not sure how much it went up since then, but it seems it goes up every year.
My insurance told me that I was in flood plain and had to have that coverage. But I looked and it had always been in the flood zone and we'd never had to have that insurance (we don't have a loan against it). So I just stopped having that...there's no way our house could flood. But when we filed a claim for Michael, there was an additional amount added to the deductible.