Update: Thursday the Florida House passed the bill revoking the special tax and self governing status of Disney World. The successful bill now goes to Governor DeSantis for signature. Analysts predict the bill will cost Disney $200 million in taxes.
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Okay, let me say right off that as a guy who grew up in Florida, I don’t like Disney. Haven’t liked it since I went there in the 8th grade when the park first opened. Though grad nite in 1979, 40,000 high and drunk high school seniors reeling about the park, was fun.
Plus the whole Orlando area doesn’t have that beach/nautical feel requisite for Florida. The joint should be in the middle of Indiana or something.
So when I read this morning that the Florida state senate has passed a bill that bounces Disney’s special perk as a self governing status, I was highly amused. Like any entertainment company that deals primarily in make believe, Disney has no business governing anything or entering their childish views into the political arena. But they did and now they are justifiably being burned not only by the bill, but by massive cancelations and other threats to their bottom line.
You know by now the kerfuffle is over Disney getting publicly left wing over the Florida parental rights bill. For a supposedly family company their political views are decidedly pervy. Let’s let the principals tell the story. First Disney.
“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” Disney said. “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.” That statement is just a collection of leftist agitprop. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis responded.
“What I would say as a matter of first principle is I don’t support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful and they’ve been able to wield a lot of power,” DeSantis said during a presser last month. The aforementioned bill, which he backs, prohibits sex education for “children in third grade or younger or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Common sense stuff. Except for those who want to sexualize little kids.
“Look, there’s policy disputes, and that’s fine,” DeSantis said, “but when you’re trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat. This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated,” DeSantis added. “So in Florida, we take a very big stand against that.” His press secretary echoed the governor.
“It was unfortunate that Disney decided to wade into a political debate and attempt to overturn a common-sense law, enacted by a duly elected legislature and signed by a duly elected governor, with the support of the vast majority of Floridians,” Christine Pushaw said. “In fact, it was Disney that ‘retaliated’ by publicly vowing to ‘repeal’ or have the law ‘struck down.’” Absolutely. Now Disney will take a big hit. But more importantly, Americans will understand their actual leftist agenda and will act accordingly.