PleaseBlitz Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Captain Wiggles said: The Queen of England Camilla Rosemary Shand? She’s Queen Consort, get your **** straight. #NotMyQueen Edited September 29, 2023 by PleaseBlitz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 Ron DeSantis Says His Deranged Vendetta Against Disney Basically Saved America Remember Ron DeSantis’s ridiculous war against Disney? It’s been a minute, so here’s a quick refresher: After Disney spoke out against the Florida governor’s bigoted “Don’t Say Gay” law last year, DeSantis lost his mind and dissolved the company’s self-governing status, forcing it to, among other things, pay more taxes. Shortly thereafter, he installed five handpicked individuals to Disney’s new oversight board, including a guy who had reportedly taught a fake history class in which he claimed Irish immigrants were enslaved in America. Later, he threatened to further punish the company through any array of absurd measures, including building a prison complex next to the Florida theme park. Ultimately, Disney decided it had had enough of this petty tyrant, and sued DeSantis and members of his administration, alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” for “expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain state officials.” That lawsuit is currently pending, yet such details didn’t stop the Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful from claiming in a recent interview that not only had he “won” the battle against the company, but—wait for it—his campaign of retribution had basically saved America. That’s right: Speaking with Family Leader president and CEO Bob Vander Plaats, DeSantis declared, “A lot of these old guard Republicans were telling me that somehow Disney, when they call the shots, you just got to bend the knee…. We fought back against Disney, we had a big battle with them, and we won the battle against Disney.” He added: “I’ll tell you, the fact that we were willing to stand up to [Disney], that had reverberations across this country. Because I think you do have some CEOs that they’re not necessarily bought into this agenda, but it’s the path of least resistance…. Now they can say, Well, gee, I don’t want to end up like Disney. People may fight back from the right now. So I think we helped kind of refocus business and America in a better way. I think it was going off the rails.” Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 Disney's tax district accused of shady dealings amid DeSantis standoff: 'Akin to bribes' The Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board created by Gov. Ron DeSantis released initial findings Monday that accused Disney of taking payoffs and not following through on promises. The report, which examined Disney's controversial special improvement district, found that the company had agreed to build hospitals, affordable housing and other public amenities in exchange for the special governing status, though Disney did not follow through on those commitments as it continued to build more theme parks. "The District is not home to any schools, hospitals, or libraries and instead foists those costs upon the surrounding communities which must supply those services for Disney employees and their families," the report notes. The special district, previously known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, had been nearly totally governed by Disney since 1967, the report claims, giving the company "unchecked" power. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Disney asks for delay in DeSantis appointees' lawsuit, as worker describes a distracted district Disney this week requested a second delay in a state court case involving its legal battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees over who controls Walt Disney World's governing district, as the company accused them and the governor's office of stonewalling requests for documents that are part of the litigation. The entertainment giant's request came as a district employee said in a deposition that the takeover of the district's board by DeSantis' appointees last year, and its subsequent politicization, has caused around 50 of its 370 employees to leave. The board has a scheduled monthly meeting Wednesday. "There is a very, very, very politically motivated board, and I know we try not to acknowledge that, but that is a huge reason why a lot of people are leaving," Erin O'Donnell, the district's public records administrator, said in a deposition, sections of which were filed in court last week. "Other people may have had their own issues with leadership ... but a lot of people have left just due to the entire shakeup of the district." The governing district provides municipal services such as planning, mosquito control, and firefighting in the roughly 40 square miles in central Florida that make up Disney World. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooked Crack Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 So, the only entity in the world affected by a law which was specifically passed for the purpose of only applying to one entity, lacks standing? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I had one reaction initially, but this does actually appear to have a legal basis on multiple precedents in circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooked Crack Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 DeSantis walking back a bunch of stuff now that he isn't running for President. Must have been coincidental. 🤔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 29 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said: DeSantis walking back a bunch of stuff now that he isn't running for President. Must have been coincidental. 🤔 Huh? That’s not what that article says. Disney did a bunch of things just before the takeover of the district, which essentially severely limited the districts control over things. The deals shifted decision making from the district board, to the company. the state sued. Disney settled by agreeing all those deals are null and void. That they’ll go back to the 2020 comprehensive plan, and that decision making is restored to the board (which the state now runs) if anything this is Disney giving up. I’m not seeing where the state gave up anything. All the concessions are on Disney’s side. I imagine because they don’t have a case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Disney lost in District Court. The ruling seemed odd and counterintuitive, but I didn't find anything that really was wrong. This is why they are settling. DeSantis was legally correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) My read is that this puts the relationship back to where it was under the "2020 Comprehensive Plan" and before any of the battle about the Don't Say Gay law started in 2022. It's not entirely clear because the AP report refers to "a comprehensive plan from 2020", but I think they really mean the "Comprehensive Plan 2020" which was actually agreed to in 2010. In either event, Disney was perfectly happy with its arrangement with the State of Florida prior to 2022, so reverting back to a 2020 or 2010 agreement seems like a pretty complete victory for Mickey. This deal just voids all of the legal maneuverings Disney did in reaction to DeSantis' shenanigans which, although hilarious in exposing Florida's lawyers as completely inept, wasn't the deal Disney wanted. They wanted the deal they struck prior to 2022. If anyone recalls, Disney cancelled several billion dollars in planned investments in FLA, so will be interesting to see if those are back on the table (which would be a victory for Florida, in the sense that it'll get something back that it already had before it tried to flex on Disney. Edited March 27 by PleaseBlitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooked Crack Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 32 minutes ago, tshile said: if anything this is Disney giving up. I’m not seeing where the state gave up anything. All the concessions are on Disney’s side. I imagine because they don’t have a case The article was updated but I still don't see this as Disney giving up. I don't think they are going to go into negotiating a new agreement taking the L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 3 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said: The article was updated but I still don't see this as Disney giving up. I don't think they are going to go into negotiating a new agreement taking the L. Well the original comment was that Desantis was walking something back. If the article is correct - Disney gave up all their arguments and I’m not seeing where the state-controlled board gave up anything. They sued because of disneys maneuvering to try to shift power from the board to the company. They got all that reversed. Where’s the details on how Desantis has walked anything back, or Disney won anything here? I understand that Disney might prefer the plans as agreed to before the board shift but that wasn’t on the table. What was on the table was whether Disney would be allowed to continue after shifting power away from the board, or whether the power would be restored to the board. The power has been restored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooked Crack Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 14 minutes ago, tshile said: Well the original comment was that Desantis was walking something back. If the article is correct - Disney gave up all their arguments and I’m not seeing where the state-controlled board gave up anything. They sued because of disneys maneuvering to try to shift power from the board to the company. They got all that reversed. Where’s the details on how Desantis has walked anything back, or Disney won anything here? If they are going back to how it was from 2010 seems like a walk back to me. Disney might have reversed on the power shift most likely because they can come into agreement on something that keeps the status quo. At the end it seems like a long legal battle that was kinda pointless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 i don’t know. I’m totally confused. going back to that plan, and restoring power, is the way things were before Disney did what they did to neuter the power of the board. how that’s a win for Disney or Desantis walking anything back is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 1 minute ago, Cooked Crack said: At the end it seems like a long legal battle that was kinda pointless. Oh come on! The POINT, sir, was to allow Ron DeSantis to show how incredibly tough he is when standing up to wokey wokeism like The Walt Disney Company and its shareholders in order to launch him into the political stratosphere just ahead of a Presidential election that he was sure to dominate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 The state got what it wants and Disney has to unwind everything they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Just now, tshile said: The state got what it wants and Disney has to unwind everything they did. Disney didn't want to do all that stuff, it was forced to to protect its interests. Disney wanted the old deal but DeSantis tried to blow it up. That's why they negotiated the old deal. Now they get the old deal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 5 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said: Disney didn't want to do all that stuff, it was forced to to protect its interests. Disney wanted the old deal but DeSantis tried to blow it up. That's why they negotiated the old deal. Now they get the old deal. But can’t the board, with its power, change that deal now? the boards power was stripped before they got control. It’s not like they made a bunch of changes and then Disney did this i feel like I’m just missing a very important piece of this. Idk I actually don’t really care about the Florida Disney thing, and didn’t follow it closely, so maybe I just totally misunderstand how everything unfolded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 My understanding of the timeline was that Disney commented that DeSantis's Don't Say Gay Policy was bad for the State. DeSantis retaliated by asking the Florida legislature to end the longstanding privileges granted to Disney in Florida. Florida then appointed a new board of DeSantis handpicked supervisors to oversee the district around Disney. Disney sued because of DeSantis retaliation. I suspect the settlement allows both sides to save face and keeps Disney investing in the state. Which that state needs since its population keeps getting older (over 21% of Florida's pop is 65 or order - not exactly a dependable tax base). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 1 minute ago, tshile said: But can’t the board, with its power, change that deal now? the boards power was stripped before they got control. It’s not like they made a bunch of changes and then Disney did this i feel like I’m just missing a very important piece of this. Idk I actually don’t really care about the Florida Disney thing, and didn’t follow it closely, so maybe I just totally misunderstand how everything unfolded. How much power do you think the board has, after it agreed to go back to the old deal rather than start from scratch and renegotiate a brand new deal? Disney got what it wanted, the old deal reinstated. Is there now maybe some oversight that was completely lacking before? Maybe. The whole reason the Reedy Creek deal was controversial before 2022 was it pretty much made Disney sovereign over a big chunk of Florida land, which is pretty bizarre. But Florida was getting (and will now continue to get) billions of dollars a year in economic activity, so it agreed to it before and has now agreed to it again. But before this was a political fight to make DeSantis look big and tough, Florida wanted to let Disney do whatever it wanted. The only thing that changed was DeSantis needed a big target to bully for WOKEWOKEWOKE, and he did, and now his reason for doing it (the GOP primary) is over. So Disney got the old deal back and it's in Florida's interest to let Disney do whatever it wants, just as it has been for decades. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 https://abovethelaw.com/2024/03/ron-desantis-disney-settlement/ Ron DeSantis Claims Victory Over Disney And All He Had To Do Was Give Disney Everything They Wanted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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