America's #1 Online Cigar Auction
first, best, biggest!

Last post 7 weeks ago by DrMaddVibe. 479 replies replies.
10 Pages123456789>»
DeSantis vs. Disney
rfenst Online
#1 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
DeSantis targets Disney World’s Reedy Creek district in special session

Orlando Sentinel

Escalating his culture war with the Walt Disney Co., Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the special session of the Legislature that started Tuesday to consider eliminating the Reedy Creek Improvement District that independently governs much of Walt Disney World.

But Democrats, legal experts, and even a staff analysis of the GOP bill filed later in the day suggested a full dissolution of the district wouldn’t be possible without a referendum in municipalities that Disney firmly controls.

That didn’t stop swift action on the measure. Just hours later, it passed along party lines 14-7 out of the House State Affairs Committee.

DeSantis said he also wants to eliminate the carve out Disney received from the Legislature from the so-called Big Tech law that would allow people to sue social media companies such as Facebook or Twitter if they are censored. That law has been blocked by a federal judge.

“I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week,” DeSantis said in The Villages. “And so yes, they will be considering their congressional map. But they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968. And that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

DeSantis’ announcement is a major new salvo in his feud with Disney over the so-called “don’t say gay” bill, which Disney CEO Bob Chapek opposed after it was passed by the Legislature last month. Chapek said the company was pausing its political contributions in the state and would work to oppose similar bills in other states.

Representatives for Disney didn’t respond to a request for comment.

State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said the impact on Orange and Osceola counties could be immense.

“Reedy Creek has been doing everything,” Stewart said. “The fire department, they’ve been paying for all that infrastructure. And if they take Reedy Creek away, that responsibility is going to go to a government. And the government’s not going to get reimbursed for what they have to pick up and take care of.”

Bills filed Tuesday addressed both the repeal of special improvement districts prior to 1968 and eliminating the Big Tech carve out for theme parks, which also includes Universal since NBC/Universal launched the Peacock streaming channel.

The original plan
DeSantis originally called the special session, which is scheduled to run through Friday if necessary, for the Legislature to review and approve a map he submitted that eliminates a predominantly Black congressional district in North Florida and creates four new Republican-friendly districts.

The governor is targeting Disney as a “distraction to steer everyone’s attention away from eliminating Black congressional districts including one in Central Florida,” said Democratic State Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando. “He is clearly targeting one company that no one cared about until Disney spoke up. And instead of creating calm and collaboration, he is creating chaos.”

As far as amending the Big Tech bill, which has been ruled unconstitutional and is being appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of appeal, Eskamani said it was another example of “more public money being wasted on unconstitutional laws.”

It cleared the House Judiciary committee on Tuesday by a 13-6 vote.

Reedy Creek covers about 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties. It oversees land uses and environmental protections; building and maintaining roads and bridges; and providing essential public services, including fire/rescue services, drinking water, sewage and garbage pickup, among other typically government functions. Orange County provides Sheriff’s Office protection.

Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando said he and other Orlando-area Democrats visited Disney last week and spoke with Reedy Creek officials.

“I asked them have you heard anything from the Governor’s Office or the Republican lawmakers about any changes to the special improvement district,” he said. “Not a peep. They had not
received one single phone call, email or communication from the governor’s office. This is totally from out of nowhere.”

Smith said it was “political retribution and punishment” for Disney speaking out against the governor over the “don’t say gay” law.

The bill analysis provides no measure of the full economic impact of repealing Reedy Creek, he said. “It may cost thousands of jobs, union jobs, which are good jobs. What are we going to do about flooding? What are we going to do about the power plant? What are we going to do about fire and rescue? These are all outstanding questions that no one has the answer to because none of this was noticed.”

Smith also said that only the members of a special district can abolish it. “The Legislature does not appear to have the authority to do this without the input and a vote from the Reedy Creek electors,” he said.

‘A messy ball of wax’
Richard Foglesong, a retired Rollins College professor who literally wrote the book on Reedy Creek, “Married to the Mouse,” said abolishing it would be even more difficult because of the two Disney-controlled municipalities created at the same time.

“The powers executed by the Reedy Creek improvement district were granted to the two cities, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista,” Foglesong said. “... The powers granted to the municipalities have to be addressed in order to take these powers away. And that’s a messy ball of wax.”

The two towns have populations barely in the double digits, all loyal Disney employees. Disney also controls the Reedy Creek Commission as the sole landowner. Dealing with that reality, Foglesong said, is “a linchpin for accomplishing what [lawmakers] want to do.”

A Senate staff analysis seemed to agree, writing that dissolving an independent district is “subject to approval by a majority vote of the residents or landowners of the district.”

That appears to give Disney the ability to block the Legislature’s attempt to dissolve Reedy Creek.

But David Ramba, executive director of the Florida Association of Special Districts, said he thinks Reedy Creek could be abolished without a referendum under a different interpretation of state law.

The financial impact for both Disney and local government if Reedy Creek was dissolved would be difficult to estimate, said Michael Rinaldi, the head of U.S. Local Government Ratings for the credit analysis firm Fitch Ratings.

“RCID’s general fund and utility budgets are approximately $120 million and $125 million, respectively,” Rinaldi said, adding that its outstanding debts are about $900 million. “At this juncture, it is not clear how the debt would be treated if RCID is dissolved.”

The Senate staff analysis states that, “Unless otherwise provided by law or ordinance,” when a special district dissolves all of its property will be transferred to the local government, either the city or county, “which shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district.”

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county was “monitoring the special session in Tallahassee, particularly when it comes to unfunded cost shifts to local governments. We will await any final legislative actions before offering further comments.”

Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, whose west Orange district includes Disney properties, praised Reedy Creek’s communication with the county, its engineering and planning services, and its stewardship of land.

“I just think what you’re hearing is strange political theater,” Wilson said. “We’ll see what it brings.”


A spokesperson for Osceola County declined comment Tuesday.

Other districts affected
Legal experts spent Tuesday trying to decipher the implication of the bills, filed Tuesday by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, and Rep. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, and how they would affect other special districts. The bills call for all special improvement districts created by special act prior to Nov. 5, 1968, to be repealed as of June 1, 2023.

Any district would be able to reestablish itself as long as it conforms to the requirements and limitations of the updated chapter.

About 132 special districts were created before 1968, including large hospital and water management districts. But the vast majority have been renewed since 1968 and aren’t affected by the legislation, according to the analysis.

The Senate staff analysis mentioned just five other districts besides Reedy Creek that “appear to operate pursuant to a charter” predating the 1968 Florida Constitution and ‘were not reestablished, re-ratified, or otherwise reconstituted by a special act or general law.”

One of those is the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District, which serves about 1,100 customers in Franklin County in the Panhandle. Dissolving it could force water and sewer rates higher in the community, which has struggled economically with the shutdown of oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay, said Billy Fuentes, the district’s administrator.

“The prospect of our district being dissolved is a scary thought,” Fuentes said. “It definitely was a surprise. I had not heard anything about it.”

Foglesong was circumspect about how and why the Reedy Creek district is suddenly facing the biggest threat to its existence.

“I believe it was ill-gotten,” he said of Disney’s powers. “[But] I never would have thought that the Republican Legislature or a Republican governor, branding themselves conservatives, would take on the Walt Disney Company and question their charter.”

“I don’t think there’s a downside of what he’s doing,” he said of DeSantis. “Because in the cultural wars, you don’t really have to do anything. You just have to say things that [appeal to] your supporters and their anxieties. And that’s winning.”
DrMaddVibe Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Disney wants to say gay in a bill that restores family rights and gets caught in a bear trap of their own demise. You want to be gay, be gay. Don't push it on children. That's not cool and that's over the limits.

They don't deserve the "special rights" they have and the state should take them away. Disney will be just fine. What are they going to do...move Disney World??? BigGrin

Trying to deride the governor by signing into law they showed who and what they are...

https://nypost.com/2022/03/30/disney-producer-cops-to-adding-queerness-to-animated-shows/

https://nypost.com/2022/04/13/ex-espn-star-jason-whitlock-blasts-disney-for-feminizing-sports/


Well, They want a full court assault on families? They got one. Does Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens have these same rights? That sounds more like a monopoly to me than anything by an organization that has wielded its sword over the heads of Central Florida for far too long.


DeSantis Announces Special Legislative Session Will Debate Removal of Disney World Special Districting Status in Florida


Jumpin’ ju-ju bones, Governor Ron DeSantis detonated a thermonuclear political bomb on the Disney Corporation today.

A special legislative session has been called to approve the new congressional districting map. However, in an unexpected announcement, the Florida governor said that, in addition to a new congressional map they’re voting on, lawmakers “will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

As NBC notes, “The Reedy Creek Improvement District in the Orlando area shields Disney from local government regulations and from local property taxes, which could be worth as much as $200 million per year, by one lawmaker’s estimate. Legislators in both chambers predicted the legislation — which could end the 55-year-old taxing district next summer — would pass by Friday.” WATCH:

https://youtu.be/tA3j_7BJ86A


DeSantis knows he has a sky-high approval rating in the state, and he is moving fast while the public still has the cultural antagonism and political weaponization by the Disney Corporation in the headlines.

The Disney Corporation previously announced they were going to fund political attacks against the Florida Legislature for creating laws that protect children from sex predators in schools. Disney openly announced they support grooming efforts by teachers in K-3 education to sexualize children and discuss gender identity issues for children under 9-years-old without parental consent.

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican Legislature are about to deliver big revenge against Disney for that decision. In the political, cultural and all things corporate business world inside Florida, the removal of Disney’s special district status is huge.

(NBC , FLORIDA) – […] The prospect of the Legislature taking such a direct shot at Disney, the state’s largest private employer and traditionally one of the most powerful political players in the Florida capital, was unthinkable until the DeSantis era.

“This is a governor who is willing to buck your traditional elite establishment and corporate America,” Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls said. “And maybe that’s a difference in politics over the last 20 years, but I think that we’re starting to live in this really unique time.”

DeSantis is in a uniquely powerful position as governor. His favorability ratings are so high in the GOP that they rival those of former President Donald Trump’s in Florida, according to polls. If Trump doesn’t run for president in 2024, polls suggest, DeSantis is well positioned to be his heir apparent in two years as an early front-runner for the Republican Party’s nomination.

In a sign of his political clout, DeSantis had already forced legislators back to Tallahassee this week for a special session to rubber-stamp a proposed congressional map he drew after vetoing maps drawn by the Legislature — both unprecedented acts for a Florida governor. (read more @ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-gov-ron-desantis-asks-legislature-consider-eliminating-disneys-rcna25012)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/04/19/desantis-announces-special-legislative-session-will-debate-removal-of-disney-world-special-districting-status-in-florida/



Remember the Disney CEO has stated he won't stop until the Parental Rights bill is repealed. Read that slowly. The head of Disney wants to groom your children and is pissed that a state is taking steps to block that. No, Disney can take a leap into a gator pond during mating season.
RayR Online
#3 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,796
I don't think Woke Disney is paying their FAIR SHARE. Bwahaha!!!

Psaki's Cryin' over "HARSH & CRUEL" Anti-WOKE law...Cry Baby Cry

https://rumble.com/v11m6hd-listen-psaki-brought-to-tears-over-gops-anti-grooming-laws.html
DrMaddVibe Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
The counties (Orange and Osceola) are missing out on approximately 200 million a year thanks to these "special rights" that Reedy Creek have. Waste water, power, fire and police departments and not to mention the forgivness of permitting new construction since 1968...hint Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Boardwalk and the resorts and water parks. Remember hardly anyone actually works FOR Disney. Most work for LLC's that purchase the right to work at the Disney parks. There's very little in the way of unions, benefits and pensions. They've abdicated those decades ago.

No, the Disney CEO wants to fight to groom children in elementary schools? Yeah..he's not going to have his job for very long.
Speyside2 Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
The whole world has went crazy about inclusiveness. I think DeSantis in an over the top political whore shooting for the presidency. I have 0 respect for him. Note, that is just my opinion which I have a right to.

That being said, it is really bad business for Disney to have an political opinion. It is even worse to have opinion that is not the majority opinion. The majority is the GBLT whatever else. As Disney's main characters are asexual, why comment on adding LBGTQ characters? If we are going to assign sexual identity to Disney characters then about 90% need to be heterosexual. Though with his high pitched voice Micky does seem a little Gehy. I must say I would pay for pictures of Elinor Roosevelt using a strap on, on a you J Edgar Hoover that supposedly exist.
HockeyDad Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 09-20-2000
Posts: 46,065
I am amazed over the outrage of NOT being able to teach K-3 graders about sexuality and LGBTQ. Apparently it is very important to some to be teaching this. (In California we absolutely groom kids in these age groups to become queer. Public school enrollment also shrinks every year.)

As for Reedy Creek Improvement District, they are a former client of mine. That was a very fun project! With RCID and the underlying cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Walt Disney World is basically an autonomous country. This was all set up so no city or country could could reap the property taxes benefit and all that property tax revenue stayed in property to fund electric, water, sewer, roads, and fire.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Walt would be pissed at whats going on and that they lost their exemptions.


Florida senate passed to repeal...moves to the house
Speyside2 Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
Meant to print GBLT is a small minority.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Get woke...go broke.
Abrignac Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 02-24-2012
Posts: 17,217
One of the first lessons taught in a business curriculum is that of opportunity cost. Seems someone forgot that lesson.
Mr. Jones Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,359
DeSantis's NEWEST BILL IS GONNA BE CALLED...

"YOU WANNA UpSET THE Apple CART"

"You wanna go G.A.Y. TO 3-9 YR OLDS???"

THEN.....

ITS GONNA BE NAMED:

"YOU WANNA GO GAY....THE A YOUSE GOTSA P.A.Y. THE PIED PIPER IN CASH...YOU MOFO'S"

SINCE 1968???

WTF???

ADD UP ALL THAT MONEY FLORIDA Shoulda GOT IN TAXEs
...it's gotta be near a billion or multi billions??

Sometimes ??? You gotta know when being WOKE IS NOT A GOOD CHOICE OR EVEN ECONOMICAL....

THEY JUST FOUND OUT....

IN S.P.A.D.E.S....

DUPIT F**KERS
MACS Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,593
Huh... Disney should probably quit with their woke sh*t, eh?

More people are getting tired of it.
MACS Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,593
Speyside2 wrote:
The whole world has went crazy about inclusiveness. I think DeSantis in an over the top political whore shooting for the presidency. I have 0 respect for him. Note, that is just my opinion which I have a right to.

That being said, it is really bad business for Disney to have an political opinion. It is even worse to have opinion that is not the majority opinion. The majority is the GBLT whatever else. As Disney's main characters are asexual, why comment on adding LBGTQ characters? If we are going to assign sexual identity to Disney characters then about 90% need to be heterosexual. Though with his high pitched voice Micky does seem a little Gehy. I must say I would pay for pictures of Elinor Roosevelt using a strap on, on a you J Edgar Hoover that supposedly exist.


Yeah... they want to teach kids about including the absolute fringe of society. Less than 2% of the entire world population is part of the alphabet soup community.
Gene363 Offline
#14 Posted:
Joined: 01-24-2003
Posts: 30,669
Seriously, is there any compelling reason to discuss sex with grade school students, other than grooming them?
Gene363 Offline
#15 Posted:
Joined: 01-24-2003
Posts: 30,669
MACS wrote:
Huh... Disney should probably quit with their woke sh*t, eh?

More people are getting tired of it.


Indeed, I try to avoid doing business with companies that are apparently so profitable they can spend money on "woke" projects and not return it to investors or improve their business or services.
Sunoverbeach Offline
#16 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,586
Speyside2 wrote:
As Disney's main characters are asexual,

I call BS. Nala was absolutely giving Simba f**k me eyes in the Lion King
Sunoverbeach Offline
#17 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,586
There are only two pieces of pu$$y you're gonna get in your entire life, that's your first and your last.
- RP
DrMaddVibe Offline
#18 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Speyside2 wrote:
That being said, it is really bad business for Disney to have an political opinion. It is even worse to have opinion that is not the majority opinion.


Mickey Mouse & The Mouse House f*cked around and found that out.

They're not used to going up against Alpha males with testicular fortitude that won't allow political correctness to run all over family values. They're used to get along to go along wishy washy you tell em what to kneel for today social justice warriors and got steam rolled. They held a monopoly for over 50 years that no other corporation was allowed to wield. Yesterday Florida's senate voted to repeal those special rights. Today its expected that the house follows suit. Notice how quiet that CEO is now? He's drinking a cold mug of STFU and wondering how strong his golden parachute is.

Nobody is advocating a one way street opinion on anything. It would be a sad blow to Free Speech if it were. What we have here is a state doing what they're allowed to do and a corporation saying they're going to meddle and have their way. IDGAF about the whining about DeSantis because he's an elected official. Voters will decide his fate. So far, since his election I cannot think of another politician in office that has adhered to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights more than him. His leadership through the Covid debacle was a strong testimony to that and more states should've followed. I'll proudly vote for him again as Crist will join any party (and has!) to put his ass back on the taxpayer's dollar.
RayR Online
#19 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,796
Woke Disney says "reimagine tomorrow" where there are no more "ladies," "gentlemen," "boys," and "girls", that "magical moment" where “dreamers of all ages” will be free from that stifling stranglehold of carbon unit based biology.

As O'Bummer would say, that is CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!
DrMaddVibe Offline
#20 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
House just voted to end the exemption and it goes to DeSantis to sign!


whip whip whip whip

Florida House passes bill to dissolve Disney’s special self-governing status



The legislation now goes to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called on the Legislature to back the measure during its special session this week.


WASHINGTON — The Florida House passed a bill Thursday to eliminate the special district that allows the Walt Disney Co. to self-govern its Orlando-area theme park, sending the measure to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.

DeSantis, a Republican, called on the Legislature to back the measure during its special session this week. House lawmakers passed the bill in a 68-38 vote after the Senate's 23-16 vote on Wednesday.

The legislation would dismantle Disney’s special district on June 1, 2023. The district, which was created by a 1967 state law, allows Disney to self-govern by collecting taxes and providing emergency services. Disney controls about 25,000 acres in the Orlando area, and the district allows the company to build new structures and pay impact fees for such construction without the approval of a local planning commission.

The effort to eliminate Disney’s district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, comes after DeSantis began targeting the corporation over its leaders’ criticism of legislation he recently signed that would prevent classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through the third grade.

DeSantis had suggested in recent weeks that he wants to remove Disney’s protections, saying he doesn’t "support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful."

The House on Thursday also approved a Senate-passed bill in a 70-38 vote that would remove Disney’s exemption in a 2021 law about big tech censorship


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-house-passes-bill-dissolve-disneys-special-self-governing-stat-rcna25337
MACS Offline
#21 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,593
People are waking up and getting tired of the woke bullsh-t... and it's about damn time.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#22 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
MACS wrote:
People are waking up and getting tired of the woke bullsh-t... and it's about damn time.



I about sprayed my PC screen when I saw this clip...

https://tinyurl.com/2p9bber9

Let it loop and it becomes even funnier!

She lost her weave money already!
Krazeehorse Offline
#23 Posted:
Joined: 04-09-2010
Posts: 1,958
Go after that 1-2% demographic. That’s where the money is.
Speyside2 Offline
#24 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
This is about brinksmanship. The way the existing laws are written it will likely never happen. At the same time it is a game of chicken. Disneyworld has been bleeding red since Covid started. Disney is Florida's largest employer. If Disney were to close the Florida economy would be in dire straights.
Sunoverbeach Offline
#25 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,586
When the show don't be funny, I take my dicq out and piss. This is called The Garden Row.
- RP
HockeyDad Offline
#26 Posted:
Joined: 09-20-2000
Posts: 46,065
Disney is not closing down and is not Florida’s largest employer. The Disney Corporation is vastly larger than Walt Disney World.

Walt and Roy are turning over their graves over losing RCID’s tax status over wanting to educate kindergarteners about LGBTQ+.
RayR Online
#27 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,796
It's all that perv O'Bummer's fault...

NEVER FORGET: It Was Barack Obama Who First Pushed Teaching Sex Education to Kindergarteners Back in 2007 – He Even Pushed Sex Ed to Kiddies Legislation (VIDEO)

By Jim Hoft
Published April 21, 2022 at 9:56am

Quote:
Back in July 2007, as The Gateway Pundit reported at the time, Barack Obama gave a speech to Planned Parenthood where he pushed teaching sex education to little kindergarteners.

The media mostly hid this from the American public.

To his credit John McCain confronted Obama on his legislation to teach kindergarteners sex education back in 2008.

Today you have to go to the WayBack Machine to read more about this shocking radical proposal.
Via ABC News Blog from The Wayback Machine.

More...

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/04/never-forget-barack-obama-first-pushed-teaching-sex-education-kindergarteners-back-2007-even-pushed-sex-ed-kiddies-legislation-video/
Mr. Jones Offline
#28 Posted:
Joined: 06-12-2005
Posts: 19,359
Everyone living In ORANGE COUNTY AND OSECOLA COUNTY WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL OF THE DISNEY PROPERTY WITHIN ITS JURISDICTION.....
IS going to take on billions in debt....

It is estimated that ....


Each and every business and every family will have an added
Property tax burden OF AN ADDITIONAL $2,200 TO $2,600

PER FREAKIN YEAR....
ADDITIONALLY added to their current property tax bill...

Sooooo

If you pay $3,000 a yr now...after June 1 , 2023 when Disney special status goes ERR ESS KAPUT....
YOU WILL NOW PAY $5,200 OR $5,600 !!!!

YOU WILL Pay almost 50% more...
DrMaddVibe Offline
#29 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Reading the DNC talking points eh?
Speyside2 Offline
#30 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
Le Hockey dad, read again I said Disney, not Disney World in regards to the economy. Disney could easily leave Florida if they chose to.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#31 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Speyside2 wrote:
Le Hockey dad, read again I said Disney, not Disney World in regards to the economy. Disney could easily leave Florida if they chose to.



Disney World/Disney isn't leaving Florida.

Drill that.

You can fit the entire Disneyland operation in California into the parking lot at Disney World and STILL have room.

Disney World is the defacto theme park for Disney like it or not. Their overseas ventures haven't fared as well as they wanted them to and the foreign traffic to the Orlando Metro area to see not only Disney World but Sea World and Universal Studios is testament to that.

They threatened Florida politicians over something that wasn't even in a piece of legislation that several minimum wage earners walked off the job over. Our governor wasn't going to let that happen as that particular corporation was getting away with murder to begin with. For decades politicians had tried to unwind the stranglehold Disney held on the Orlando area with their special benefits. The CEO gave them that opening in spades! They had NO oversight with planning or building most of what is standing there now. Who's to say what environmental damage was done with slabs of concrete, underground cities and waste water/sewage all sitting on an aquifer? We're gonna find out now.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#32 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301

Disney Stock Drops after Florida Republicans Pass Bill to Strip Company of Autonomous Status




Disney stock continued to fall this week after the Florida House passed a bill revoking the company’s autonomous governmental status.

While Disney stock reached an all-time high in March 2021 of nearly $200 per share, according to Fox Business, it has been declining ever since. When the market closed on Thursday, the stock was around $120 per share, a 33 percent drop from one year ago and an eight percent drop from just two days earlier, prior to the passage of the bill.

The company’s stock woes come as Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have become embroiled in a political spat over the state’s Parental Rights in Education law. Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced in March that the company would suspend political donations in Florida over the bill, which prohibits lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third-grade.

“You have a company like Disney, who takes this special power and privileges that have been granted to them by the people and by the taxpayers,” Florida House speaker Chris Sprowls told National Review on Wednesday. “To use that power and privilege to mislead the public, on laws that are being discussed and passed in the legislature is wildly inappropriate.”

The state house voted 68-38 in favor of the bill, one day after the bill passed the state senate 23-16. The bill now heads to Governor Ron DeSantis for approval.

The measure would dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District near Orlando, a zone that allows Disney to act as a self-governing body and create its own regulations, building codes, and other municipal services. The company receives tax exemptions under the arrangement.

DeSantis had called on the legislature to consider such a measure on Tuesday.

“Disney and other woke corporations won’t get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer,” DeSantis said in a fundraising email on Wednesday. “If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now.”

Meanwhile, families are turning away from Disney as it wades into the culture war, a recent poll found.

More than 68 percent of general-election voters say they are less likely to do business with Disney after reports that it plans to include sexual ideology in new content for children, according to the Trafalgar Group’s new National Issues Survey on Disney, which was sponsored by the Convention of States Action. The poll found that more than 69 percent of respondents said they were likely to support “family-friendly alternatives” to Disney.

The survey comes after an executive producer admitted to advancing a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” to insert queerness into children’s animation during a Disney staff meeting on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation last month.

“Our leadership over there has been so welcoming to my, like, not-at-all-secret gay agenda,” said Latoya Raveneau, an executive producer for Disney Television in a video obtained by journalist Christopher Rufo. “I was just, wherever I could, just basically adding queerness. . . . No one would stop me and no one was trying to stop me.”

The poll found 85.3 percent of Republicans said they are less likely to continue using Disney products, while 72.5 of independents and 48.2 percent of Democrats said the same.

Almost 78 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of independents and 59 percent of Democrats said they would support a family-friendly alternative to Disney.


https://news.yahoo.com/disney-stock-drops-florida-republicans-122704957.html


Hope that CEO enjoys his cold mug of STFU.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#33 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
Another take on the matter...


How Florida's Disney-Loving Corporate Welfare Helps Crush Real Market Freedom



Florida’s government is poised to revoke the Disney corporation’s longstanding cronyist, anti-competitive special favors that the state granted to the corporation nearly five decades ago. As of Thursday afternoon, both the House and the Senate in Florida have voted to end the mega-corp’s special district which has long enabled Disney to engage in activities prohibited to other private groups and individuals in the state. The governor is expected to sign the legislation.

The impending change in status comes after senior Disney representatives repeatedly criticized the GOP in Florida—currently the ruling party in the state—for legislation that had nothing to do with Disney’s ability to do business in the state. Perhaps not surprisingly, this caused numerous GOP officials to question why Disney was receiving special privileges denied even to Disney’s direct competitors. In the past, Disney would normally be shielded from dangers to its special status, as Disney has famously showered politicians in the state with gifts and campaign cash and other types of special favors that normal people would identify as bribes. Many of the same people who are now voting to repeal Disney’s special status have accepted such “gifts” in the past. But for whatever reason, the political landscape has changed enough in recent years that it appears to many policymakers that it is now more politically rewarding to punish Disney rather than cater to its whims. The effort to strike back at Disney was likely also fueled by national politics and the fact that Disney has long been a platform for leftwing politics through its media outlets like ABC and ESPN.

The situation has led to some strange political rhetoric and bedfellows. The GOP is now being accused of being “anti-business” while dissenting Democrats appear to have suddenly become laissez-faire capitalists, pontificating on the virtues of low taxes and leaving corporations alone to manage their own affairs.

But does revoking Disney’s special status really constitute an attack on markets or on private property? That depends on how one looks at it. Let’s first look at what privileges Disney enjoys in Florida. The special district, called Reedy Creek, was established in 1967, and allows Disney corporation to function with no local government oversight on its San Francisco-sized property outside Orlando. The special status means Disney can issue tax exempt bonds and build new development without having to deal with any local government obstacles to development such as zoning laws.

Supporters of the global conglomerate often describe this situation as some sort of favor to the taxpayers. For example, CNBC frames the special district as an arrangement to “established by the Florida legislature so Disney could develop the infrastructure for Walt Disney World at no cost to Florida taxpayers.” In reality, of course, this infrastructure exists—and only exists—to funnel paying customers into Disney’s theme parks. It would be absurd to expect taxpayers to pay for this sort of development under any circumstances, and this could be ensured without a special district like Reedy Creek.

But perhaps the most important aspect of the special district is that none of Disney’s competitors enjoy a similar arrangement. At least one GOP legislator has noted this in defending the new bill, pointing out that Universal, Seaworld, and Legoland have not been granted their own special districts. And these are just the existing competitors who could muster up the capital necessary to compete with Disney on an uneven playing field designed to favor Disney. It’s impossible to know how many other entertainment venues and private owners might have also been able to compete in Orlando had Disney not sucked all the air out of the local market with its cronyist deal.

Consequently, Universal has operated at a disadvantage for its entire existence in Orlando. Unlike Disney, Universal must deal with local ordinances, local zoning laws, and can’t enjoy the benefits of tax-free bonds.

For example:

Reedy Creek's control of its own zoning and building codes is the most important advantage Disney has among tourist destinations in Central Florida.

Take Universal Studios Florida, for example. Planning for USF began in the early 1980s, but it wasn't until around 1986 that the plans for the park were officially announced. In what must have been a remarkable coincidence, Disney announced plans for their own movie-themed park in 1987.

But despite Universal having a sizable head start on Disney, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened first in 1989. Universal Studios Florida didn't open its doors until 1990.


It’s possible, of course, that Disney’s plans proceeded more quickly than Universal’s due to better internal management. But it’s also quite plausible—even likely—that Disney was able to push through its development at a much faster speed that its competitors due to its special legal status.

In other words, by picking and choosing who gets a special district and who doesn’t, the legislature is in the business of picking winners and losers in the theme park business. Viewed this way, removing Disney’s special status constitutes nothing more than ending a longstanding policy of using the coercive power of the state to hurt Disney’s competitors. Disney, of course, is fine with this arrangement and would surely lobby—and likely already has lobbied—to prevent any of its competitors from enjoying similar advantages.

In other words, Disney’s special deal acts as a tax on everyone else in the form of enhancing Disney’s monopoly power and preventing consumers from realizing the benefits of competition. It’s all just the usual sort of corporate welfare scheme we’ve long seen in the form of “economic development” policies favored by governments for decades. These policies favor certain large, powerful businesses, but won’t extend the same favors to smaller businesses and competitors. Then, the corporate shills and their friends in the legislature or city council take credit for “jobs created” as if the economy would not have grown were the laws not written to favor a select few. These deals use phrases like “low taxes” and “free markets” but really have nothing to do with laissez faire or free markets. They’re about sweetheart deals for the politically well-connected.

When we understand this we see Disney’s Reedy Creek deal for what it is and has always been.

Admittedly, the whole thing makes die hard consistent free market people uncomfortable. We hate to see taxes raised or government control enhanced over a private enterprise which Disney—for the most part—still is. But there’s an unseen factor here as well. The unseen is how much private enterprise has been prevented, stifled, and shunted aside by writing laws to favor a single corporation. How much would the public benefit from other competitors in the Orlando area? How much less might have consumers paid for tickets at Disney parks had Disney not been able to legislatively keep competitors out of the marketplace? We’ll never know.

https://mises.org/wire/how-floridas-disney-loving-corporate-welfare-helps-crush-real-market-freedom


Now, we'll begin to find out. Are ticket prices going to drop? Doubt it. You can bet that the other parks and their management chains are smiling right now. Big toothy smiles because the mouse is DOA now.
8trackdisco Offline
#34 Posted:
Joined: 11-06-2004
Posts: 59,992
Gene363 wrote:
Indeed, I try to avoid doing business with companies that are apparently so profitable they can spend money on "woke" projects and not return it to investors or improve their business or services.



^

This. Exactly this.
HockeyDad Offline
#35 Posted:
Joined: 09-20-2000
Posts: 46,065
Speyside2 wrote:
Le Hockey dad, read again I said Disney, not Disney World in regards to the economy. Disney could easily leave Florida if they chose to.



I would like to see that moving truck! I’d pay admission.

Disney is not going anywhere. Disney World is not going anywhere.
DrMaddVibe Offline
#36 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
I bet that dumbass CEO with the big mouth is going somewhere though.

DeSantis should get a wheelbarrow to haul his balls around in and take the whole family to Disney World!

EPIC WIN!
DrMaddVibe Offline
#37 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
'I APPLAUD HIM FOR HAVING THE BACKBONE': Disney Employee Running for Congress Backs DeSantis


Florida congressional candidate and current Disney employee Jose Castillo spoke with Fox & Friends First about the ongoing feud between Governor Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company. The Florida legislature is set to revoke Disney World’s special tax privileges in response to CEO Bob Chapek’s vow to fight against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. Castillo applauds DeSantis for standing up to the house of Mouse.

“There’s a lot of controversy right now and a lot of people in the media will say Governor DeSantis is going after Disney but it’s actually the other way around. Disney has been going after our laws and going after Governor DeSantis,” Castillo says. “When they came out with the statement saying they’re going to repeal that law, you got to read between the lines. They said their goal was to achieve that —to achieve that goal they have to get rid of Republicans.”

“I applaud the Governor for having the backbone to stand up to corporations like this and to protect children in Florida.”

https://hannity.com/media-room/i-applaud-him-for-having-the-backbone-disney-employee-running-for-congress-backs-desantis/


Revenge? Nope.

Florida played defense and won.
Sunoverbeach Offline
#38 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,586
If you want some pu$$y, you'll talk all that sh1t with them. 'Hey, yeah, sure,, the cosmos.. sure..'
- RP
Dg west deptford Offline
#39 Posted:
Joined: 05-25-2019
Posts: 2,836
So what's everyone's put option play on DIS?

rfenst Online
#40 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
DrMaddVibe wrote:
Disney wants to say gay in a bill that restores family rights and gets caught in a bear trap of their own demise. You want to be gay, be gay. Don't push it on children. That's not cool and that's over the limits.

They don't deserve the "special rights" they have and the state should take them away. Disney will be just fine. What are they going to do...move Disney World??? BigGrin

Trying to deride the governor by signing into law they showed who and what they are...

https://nypost.com/2022/03/30/disney-producer-cops-to-adding-queerness-to-animated-shows/

https://nypost.com/2022/04/13/ex-espn-star-jason-whitlock-blasts-disney-for-feminizing-sports/


Well, They want a full court assault on families? They got one. Does Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens have these same rights? That sounds more like a monopoly to me than anything by an organization that has wielded its sword over the heads of Central Florida for far too long.


DeSantis Announces Special Legislative Session Will Debate Removal of Disney World Special Districting Status in Florida


Jumpin’ ju-ju bones, Governor Ron DeSantis detonated a thermonuclear political bomb on the Disney Corporation today.

A special legislative session has been called to approve the new congressional districting map. However, in an unexpected announcement, the Florida governor said that, in addition to a new congressional map they’re voting on, lawmakers “will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

As NBC notes, “The Reedy Creek Improvement District in the Orlando area shields Disney from local government regulations and from local property taxes, which could be worth as much as $200 million per year, by one lawmaker’s estimate. Legislators in both chambers predicted the legislation — which could end the 55-year-old taxing district next summer — would pass by Friday.” WATCH:

https://youtu.be/tA3j_7BJ86A


DeSantis knows he has a sky-high approval rating in the state, and he is moving fast while the public still has the cultural antagonism and political weaponization by the Disney Corporation in the headlines.

The Disney Corporation previously announced they were going to fund political attacks against the Florida Legislature for creating laws that protect children from sex predators in schools. Disney openly announced they support grooming efforts by teachers in K-3 education to sexualize children and discuss gender identity issues for children under 9-years-old without parental consent.

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican Legislature are about to deliver big revenge against Disney for that decision. In the political, cultural and all things corporate business world inside Florida, the removal of Disney’s special district status is huge.

(NBC , FLORIDA) – […] The prospect of the Legislature taking such a direct shot at Disney, the state’s largest private employer and traditionally one of the most powerful political players in the Florida capital, was unthinkable until the DeSantis era.

“This is a governor who is willing to buck your traditional elite establishment and corporate America,” Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls said. “And maybe that’s a difference in politics over the last 20 years, but I think that we’re starting to live in this really unique time.”

DeSantis is in a uniquely powerful position as governor. His favorability ratings are so high in the GOP that they rival those of former President Donald Trump’s in Florida, according to polls. If Trump doesn’t run for president in 2024, polls suggest, DeSantis is well positioned to be his heir apparent in two years as an early front-runner for the Republican Party’s nomination.

In a sign of his political clout, DeSantis had already forced legislators back to Tallahassee this week for a special session to rubber-stamp a proposed congressional map he drew after vetoing maps drawn by the Legislature — both unprecedented acts for a Florida governor. (read more @ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-gov-ron-desantis-asks-legislature-consider-eliminating-disneys-rcna25012)

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/04/19/desantis-announces-special-legislative-session-will-debate-removal-of-disney-world-special-districting-status-in-florida/



Remember the Disney CEO has stated he won't stop until the Parental Rights bill is repealed. Read that slowly. The head of Disney wants to groom your children and is pissed that a state is taking steps to block that. No, Disney can take a leap into a gator pond during mating season.


Well, at least we know know how you feel about free speech.

And, what would the burden be on Orange County?
You think it wants the responsibility and costs?
Tourism is our number one industry and DeSantis isn't helping by this crap.
rfenst Online
#41 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
Gene363 wrote:
Seriously, is there any compelling reason to discuss sex with grade school students, other than grooming them?

Yes. I believe human reproduction biology (not sex/sexuality/alleged "grooming") should be taught in schools in higher grades (like fifth grade and on). Just for like 30-60 minutes or so or by standardized movie or video. And, the boys and girls can be separated, as is the usual way it's done.

The bill doesn't say anything about "don't say gay", but it could penalize teachers for merely acknowledging that some kids have two dads or two moms when the subject is brought up solely by the student, or the like.

If the subject of families comes up in third grade and little Johnny raises his hand and says "my family has two dads, what should the teacher do? Ask him to leave the class for innocently bringing up a harmless topic? Kick him out in to the hallway Or, put him in the corner with a dunce cap?

Should a grade school teacher be penalized, fined, fired and/or prosecuted because a child in the classroom sys he /she has two dads?

Any teacher who acknowledges out loud that little Johnny's family differs in response to him few second risks there career now.

And, over what? An answer in search of a problem.
rfenst Online
#42 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
RayR wrote:
Woke Disney says "reimagine tomorrow" where there are no more "ladies," "gentlemen," "boys," and "girls", that "magical moment" where “dreamers of all ages” will be free from that stifling stranglehold of carbon unit based biology.

As O'Bummer would say, that is CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!

What's the matter, Ray?
Never brought your kids down with the family to have a nice vacation and a good time?
Speyside2 Offline
#43 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
Also, if any school staff member is told by a student that they are not heterosexual the staff member by law must report this and the parents must be informed.
rfenst Online
#44 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
DrMaddVibe wrote:
There's very little in the way of unions, benefits and pensions. They've abdicated those decades ago.


Toatally innacurate.

"Are Disney World cast members unionized?

STCU is the largest union associated with Disney, and represents over 30,000 Disney cast members."
rfenst Online
#45 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
Understanding Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

A conservative movement to restrict objectionable curricula and educational materials began about a year ago, when groups began targeting "critical race theory." They then expanded their aim to objectionable books in school libraries. In both areas, Republican lawmakers joined the crusade by passing laws giving parents greater power over what goes on in local schools.

Now activists have a new target: classroom discussions about sexual orientation. And with the Florida Senate's recent passage of a bill that would restrict those discussions in the state's public schools, the combat is certain to intensify elsewhere.

The Florida Bill
That bill, titled Parental Rights in Education, states that lessons about sexual orientation are banned outright in kindergarten through third grade. It also prohibits lessons in other grades unless they are "age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate."

The measure, which would give parents the right to sue school districts, awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature. It is scheduled to go into effect on July 1.

The bill's supporters say it strengthens parental rights by preventing teachers and school staffers from withholding information about gender issues from parents. (An earlier version of the bill went even further, requiring principals to tell parents if a student came out as other than straight. That provision was pulled last month.)

Opposition to the bill has been fierce. Democrats and LGBTQIA supporters, who have derisively dubbed it the "Don't Say Gay" bill, say the law would stigmatize marginalized students and lead to bullying and attacks.

Other States Poised to Follow
Nevertheless, other states are considering similar measures. The free-speech organization PEN America is tracking the issue and counts 15 proposals in nine states. Here are some examples:

A bill in Kansas would make it a misdemeanor for any teacher who uses materials depicting homosexuality in any way, not just if the depiction is sexually explicit or celebratory.

Tennessee is considering a bill that would prohibit schools from using any books or instructional materials that mention "gay, bi-sexual, or transgender issues or lifestyles" in any way.

Indiana's House Bill 1040 would prohibit teachers from discussing in any context "sexual orientation," "transgenderism," or "gender identity" without parental consent.

Constitutional Issues?
The opposition to these efforts is fueled by indignation at what they perceive as the sheer meanness of these bills. But opponents also make a constitutional argument. They contend that muzzling classroom speech of teachers may run afoul of the First Amendment.

When it comes to teachers in public schools, however, this is not a black-and-white issue. Public school teachers have limited First Amendment rights. School districts make the decision on curricula, and teachers must follow it. Therefore, the argument that the bills are posing unconstitutional limits on public school teachers may not hold up because teachers are already limited in what they can say.

But as Clay Calvert, the director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida, told Changing America, the "Don't Say Gay" law could have a "chilling effect." Teachers may be inclined to censor themselves for fear of retribution by parents who might even sue.

Students Have Power
But this does not mean there is not a constitutional issue involved with laws like the "Don't Say Gay" bill. The issue is the free-speech rights of the students.

In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court made it abundantly clear in Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. that students of every age have First Amendment rights. Calvert says that means students have the right to sue if their discussions or questions about sexual identity are stifled.

"You can imagine a child who is questioning their sexual orientation at a young age and then being shut down by a teacher who says, 'Well, by law, unfortunately, we can't encourage discussion of this,'" Calvert said.

"It's a complex issue because it really is about how much a state legislative body can do to limit speech and limit expression in the classroom," he added.

In other words, when DeSantis signs the "Don't Say Gay" bill into law, look for an immediate constitutional challenge.


https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/understanding-floridas-dont-say-gay-bill/
ZRX1200 Offline
#46 Posted:
Joined: 07-08-2007
Posts: 60,476
Tell me you don’t know how far the culture war has gone without telling me you don’t know how far the culture war has gone….

If you think K-3rd grade need to learn about this stuff you might be part of the problem.
Speyside2 Offline
#47 Posted:
Joined: 11-11-2021
Posts: 2,304
Good update Robert. I am glad they took out the must inform part.
rfenst Online
#48 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
ZRX1200 wrote:
Tell me you don’t know how far the culture war has gone without telling me you don’t know how far the culture war has gone….

If you think K-3rd grade need to learn about this stuff you might be part of the problem.

No one teaches reproduction in third grade. And, if some innocent third grader brings something non-heterosexual up and the teacher responds improperly, he/she could get sued and fired? Merely acknowledging the statement without even addressing it shouldn't be a problem in 2022, unless one is in search of a solution for a problem that doesn't exist or that isn't really that great . And, yes, I want to be a problem to small minded, fearful people, who believe in this kind of B.S. It is not "grooming" and won't make/turn any kid gay (god forbid).
rfenst Online
#49 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,100
Speyside2 wrote:
Good update Robert. I am glad they took out the must inform part.

Yeah, I am too. Like some kid in third-grade needs to be ratted-out for inquiring or expressing themselves.
HockeyDad Offline
#50 Posted:
Joined: 09-20-2000
Posts: 46,065
rfenst wrote:
Yes. I believe human reproduction biology (not sex/sexuality/alleged "grooming") should be taught in schools in higher grades (like fifth grade and on). Just for like 30-60 minutes or so or by standardized movie or video. And, the boys and girls can be separated, as is the usual way it's done.


So you’re in favor of the law?!

If it is an answer in search of a problem, why are some people so outraged? It would imply that they think not being able to freely teach sexuality to K-3 is a huge deal.
Users browsing this topic
Guest (2)
10 Pages123456789>»