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You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / The Mouse takes a billion-dollar bite

The Mouse takes a billion-dollar bite

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DeSantis will announce he’s running for president next week, according to multiple news outlets. Here’s a stinky turd for his launch party’s punchbowl: (NYT gift link)

Disney Pulls Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida
A new office complex, and relocation of a division from California, would have created more than 2,000 jobs but was scuttled as the company and Gov. Ron DeSantis continue to feud.

In March, Disney called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “anti-business” for his scorched-earth attempt to tighten oversight of the company’s theme park resort near Orlando. Last month, when Disney sued the governor and his allies for what it called “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” the company made clear that $17 billion in planned investment in Walt Disney World was on the line.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts last week.

On Thursday, Mr. Iger and Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chairman, showed that they were not bluffing, pulling the plug on a nearly $1 billion office complex that was scheduled for construction in Orlando. It would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region, with $120,000 as the average salary, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Thank you, The Mouse. I hope Disney’s move brings more attention to how DeSantis is turning a formerly laid-back vacay state into a hellhole ruled by puritanical authoritarians. It’s really important to make sure this fascist prick DeSantis crashes and burns nationally.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

207Comments

  3. 3.

    Cameron

    I’ve heard of ratfucking, but mousefucking appears to take things to a whole new level.  Can’t think of anybody more deserving than the pudding-fingered one.

  5. 5.

    Josie

    How did DeSantis not see this coming when Iger put himself back in charge at Disney? It seemed rather obvious to me what would happen.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    @Josie: I don’t think he gives a shit; everything is aimed at capturing the wingnut base for his presidential run.

  9. 9.

    ArchTeryx

    This is a pretty rare treat.  the Mouse usually just goes after small fry that can’t defend themselves because they don’t have an auditorium full of lawyers on retainer.  But now The Man Who Would Be King has decided to take on the Mouse.  A major Republican trying to destroy a multinational corporation over Kulturkampf bullshit is… novel.  And now the Mouse has an opponent where they are going to NEED their entire flotilla of lawyers, because the only way this ends is either DeSantis is throughly ground into the dirt, or the state police occupying Disney World like the U.S. Army occupying Baghdad during the Iraq war.  That’ll do wonders for the tourist industry

    Subverting corporations in service of the state’s about as fash as you can get without going back to the 1930s.

  10. 10.

    Ruckus

    It seems that if something might be in any way positive for even one liberal, the Greasy Old Poop party is agin it. As the world grows up, very slowly mind you, it seems that the greasy old poop party is losing what little ever existed of it’s tiny, tiny mind. Now I’ve seen them lose a lot of ground in CA over the decades but they still exist and still somehow think that the world was/is a better place when they have power. And it never, ever has been or will be, because their entire concept of power is “We have power fuck everyone else on the planet.” And. “Can we please have our power back so we can fuck up your lives and make them far worse?”

  12. 12.

    Suzanne

    @ArchTeryx:

    A major Republican trying to destroy a multinational corporation over culturekampf bullshit is… novel. 

    I cannot help but think that this will destroy Puddin’ Cup’s post-gubernatorial employment prospects. I mean, he isn’t going to be president ever.

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    Also….can we please dunk on Josh Hawley’s book in which he tries to tell me all about his Manhood?

  14. 14.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:

    When someone’s entire stick is “to make things far worse!” it’s not that they don’t care, it’s exactly that, make it far worse. In his case that’s the only thing he knows – how to fuck up everything.

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    I loved that. And think of all the auxiliary jobs that putting the Disney development in would have caused. Housing, the purchasing power, the extra workers.

    of course, another issue is who knows if the Imagineers wanted to send their kids to DeSantis’s Taliban university program?

    what is the point of enjoying in-state tuition rates if your child is going to be equipped to deal with the 19th or early 20th century?

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @Ruckus: As long as there is a group of people who will say “Amen!” when the GOP blames Dems and libs for the GOP’s actions, they will continue to have an incentive to make things worse.

  20. 20.

    Alison Rose

    To paraphrase a line from my favorite Disney movie, The Aristocats: “The Mouse didn’t start this fight, but they can finish it.

    ETA: This part – “and relocation of a division from California” – is delicious, as a Californian, especially considering how much Ronnie Boy hates us.

  22. 22.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    what is the point of enjoying in-state tuition rates if your child is going to be equipped to deal with the 19th or early 20th century?

    I believe that you are giving the greasy old poop party way too much credit in the time department. I think you need to go back a couple more centuries. At least.

  24. 24.

    Kirk

    @ArchTeryx:

    I really think the end state is going to be Florida being the House of the Mouse, for good and ill.

    I have mixed feelings about this, but in the end anyone willing to punch nazis is going to be my ally while the nazi punching needs done, and that is going to influence how I think of them after the punching is done.

  26. 26.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus: I was trying to be nice. All the forward thinking of the inquisition.

    I hope hope Pope Francis disses him next.  And then BTS, for good measure.

  27. 27.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @ArchTeryx: I see Random House is suing a Florida school district over removing their books too. It’s sort of boggling that DeSantis has managed to provoke companies like this rather than,  as you say, going after small fry.

  28. 28.

    Chief Oshkosh

    I’m rooting for injuries. The Mouse can go fuck itself. So can Puddin’ Boots. But to watch both of them trying to fuck one another while the whole place sinks under the rising waves…priceless.

    Sorry, Betty – get out now!

  34. 34.

    MazeDancer

    “I fought the Mouse, and the Mouse won…I fought the Mouse and the Mouse won…”

    Imagineers in LA who did not want to move are also happy.

    Opponents at the GOP debate, if there is one, will just point and laugh.

  35. 35.

    TaMara

    @Betty Cracker: I know his intention is very clear, but doesn’t it seem super stupid? He’s never going to beat trump, I don’t think he could even beat the corpse of trump, and once he’s done fucking FL, what’s left for him? I mean he’s got the personality of an old dishrag (apologies to dishrags), so I don’t even think he’d be prime for the wingnut gravy train – especially if he’s pissed off Disney.

    I think despite his ability to create a fascist state, he’s not very bright.

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    @MattF:

    Just in reflection, it seems the Governor of Florida is not all that bright. Now I could be wrong, it has happened once or twice prior but the evidence does seem rather overwhelming…..

  37. 37.

    Cameron

    @Elizabelle: By terrorizing immigrants, he’s already put the blocks to Florida agriculture (showing that he learned exactly nothing from Georgia’s attempt to do the same shit a few years ago).  I suspect construction’s going to take a hit.  And the senior living facilities are going to be moving to a self-serve model.  Fuck around and find mouse.

  39. 39.

    Roger Moore

    An important point is Disney isn’t doing this just, or even primarily, to retaliate against DeSantis. This is because Disney was getting push back from the employees who would have to move as part of the project. It turns out a lot of those employees are LGBTQ, and even more are allies, and they really, really don’t want to move to a state that isn’t welcoming to them.
    My understanding is this is exactly the issue that convinced Bob Chapek to speak out on “Don’t Say Gay” in the first place. The employees who would have to relocate to Florida told him in no uncertain terms that they weren’t going to go if Florida was hostile toward them.

  40. 40.

    Chief Oshkosh

    Also, as pointed out by the GOS (in turn, pointing to Beau), red states with new anti-abortion laws will no longer see military base expansions, and may soon see degradation or total loss. This will just hammer places like Jacksonville in Florida and Huntsville in Alabama and vast swaths of NC shore communities. Of course, it would be absolutely great if bases are downgraded or closed in Texas. Hell, there’d be nothing economically left of HUGE areas of that state.

    youtu.be/Kqi_wbk2YGw

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    Governor: what do the words Tax Base mean to you? Can you draw us a picture?

    The presidential campaign rollout is going to be lit.

  46. 46.

    Cacti

    The only side I’m rooting for is injuries.

    Disney and DeSantis both suck donkey balls.

  47. 47.

    PaulB

    @TaMara:  He’s never going to beat trump, I don’t think he could even beat the corpse of trump, and once he’s done fucking FL, what’s left for him?

    Well, he could always be hoping for Trump’s imprisonment, severe mental deteroriation, or death, all of which are definitely possible.

    And, of course, he may really be running as the “heir apparent,” aiming for 2028 rather than 2024, but needing to get his name out there now.

    For the latter position, I don’t know how he’ll be able to keep his name front-and-center in the minds of Republican voters, given that he’s basically screwed over Floridians about as badly as they possibly can be. What’s left?

  49. 49.

    Doc Sardonic

    Sitting across from a large healthcare construction site in downtown Orlando right now while my wife is having some tests done. 160,000 sq ft multi-specialty clinic, 8 guys trying to put windows in. Normally there would be 30

  50. 50.

    Mallard Filmore

    formerly laid-back vacay state into a hellhole ruled by puritanical authoritarians.

    I wonder if they have the dedication to Godliness to ban thongs at the beach.

  57. 57.

    twbrandt

    @Roger Moore: I think a lot businesses located in deep red states are going to start facing this. Not only will employees be reluctant to relocate to them, but those businesses are going to have problems with recruitment and retention. If I as a gay man have an offer from a firm in Texas and another from a firm in, say, Massachusetts, guess which one I’m accepting.

  58. 58.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Doc Sardonic:

    8 guys trying to put windows in. Normally there would be 30 

    That construction project is going to be a bit delayed – and not just because there are only 8 window installers.

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    @Suzanne: A screenshot from a “Manhood” book tour event:

    The Mouse takes a billion-dollar bite

    I don’t care how much time he spends in the gym; he’s still a pathetic, pencil-necked worm.

  60. 60.

    Mike in NC

    Here’s hoping reporters dog Meatball Ron about the billion dollar Disney blowup and he loses his shit on camera.

  61. 61.

    Roger Moore

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    It’s sort of boggling that DeSantis has managed to provoke companies like this rather than, as you say, going after small fry.

    He thought he was going after small fry.  The whole point of going after LGBTQ people is that they’re supposed to be the easiest targets.  It’s just that it’s no longer possible to go after them in isolation.  When you go after them, you’re also going after their employers and people who want to sell stuff to them.

    If anything this is the thing the social conservatives are really maddest about.  They want to go back to the kind of society where the people at the bottom of the totem pole are really helpless, and all the big companies are in on the oppression.  Big companies standing up for the little guy they’re trying to oppress is just not the way things are supposed to work in their world.

  66. 66.

    Roger Moore

    @PaulB:

    I don’t know how he’ll be able to keep his name front-and-center in the minds of Republican voters, given that he’s basically screwed over Floridians about as badly as they possibly can be.

    You’re forgetting Davis X. Machina’s principle.  Most conservatives would be happy living under a bridge roasting sparrows on a curtain rod if the Black, gay, or whatever they’re mad about didn’t have a bridge to sleep under or a sparrow to roast.  They don’t care if DeSantis ruined his state as long as he ruined it worse for Those People.

  68. 68.

    Suzanne

    @twbrandt:

    If I as a gay man have an offer from a firm in Texas and another from a firm in, say, Massachusetts, guess which one I’m accepting. 

    The thing is, the under-40 set rates “working for a company that shares my values” as a really important thing. (This is what they get instead of fair compensation, I will note.) And despite what the right wing will tell you, college-educated workers are in demand. And college-educated people under 40 are much more socially liberal, and they want to work for companies with a similar value set. So companies that need those younger college-educated workers will also think twice about going to red-state shitholes, because they need a labor pool.

    Honestly, this is why companies go to or stay in California, despite the insanity: a large cohort of the kind of workers they need.

  69. 69.

    cmorenc

    DeSantis would have been much smarter to have kept to using his megaphone as a moral scold to have attacked Disney’s inclusion of “woke” characters like openly LBGT characters, using his army of RW Fox-Watchers across the country (of course especially Florida) to extract max political benefit and pressure.  By instead taking Disney on by attempting a power-play forceful takeover of Disney, he projects “thin-skinned vengeful tyrant” rather than merely “anti-woke crusader”.  That scares off not just business, but the portion of the MAGA base who admit Trump is a horrible person, but like his policies, and hold their nose against the stink to get them.

  71. 71.

    FelonyGovt

    @twbrandt:  Of course. Also, female employees, and male employees married to women who might become pregnant, are going to be reluctant to move to a place that thinks of them as nothing more than baby incubators.

  72. 72.

    raven

    Wait till you get a load of Jordan’s defense of the bullshit “whistleblower” taking more from Patel. “Of course he did, he has a family to feed”!!!

  74. 74.

    Mai Naem mobile

    You just know there’s some creative type working at Disney who is going to make fun of Puddin Boots in some movie in a very clever way.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    @Ohio Mom:

    @Elizabelle:

    I got to go to Disneyland when I was 6 yrs old. The year it opened, 1955. The daughter of a friend of my dad got a job there. She was in the first batch of employees, when it opened. The last time I went was I recall, in the 90s. I rode the Matterhorn 6 times. It was a week day so not all that crowed.

    My point is that the parks are nice, well kept up and a lot of fun. Sure they are not all that cheap and while I get that some people wouldn’t like them, they are what they are and millions upon millions of people have gone and enjoyed their day.

  76. 76.

    louc

    It’s only downhill from here. With the new anti-trans bathroom laws, a lot of associations and conferences aren’t going to come to Florida anymore. I work for an association that holds conferences across the country. We don’t generally do boycotts and try to stay politically neutral. But we have members who are trans so why we would we hold a meeting in a place where they could be in danger if they attend? I’m sure we’re not the only ones weighing this.

  84. 84.

    Roger Moore

    @Suzanne:

    Honestly, this is why companies go to or stay in California, despite the insanity: a large cohort of the kind of workers they need.

    And you can legally hire them away from the competition, because California doesn’t allow non-compete clauses in employment contracts.  This is a critical, and under-discussed, reason California is home to so much of the tech industry.  Startups have a much harder time functioning in places where everyone has a hard time moving to a new job because their contract forbids them from doing so.

  85. 85.

    FelonyGovt

    @Ruckus: Heck, I know a number of young adults who have Southern California resident passes to Disneyland, and go multiple times each year.

  87. 87.

    Hoodie

    @Roger Moore: The problem is that political feedback for actions like DeSantis’ can be muted by the demographic distribution of the state, particularly with gerrymandering.  Here in NC, I would not be surprised if new abortion restrictions could put a real damper on development in areas like the Research Triangle, as companies might think twice about asking female employees to move here.  However, the Triangle is a blue area and the insipid hicks in the GOP gerrymandered state leg would love nothing better than to screw the Triangle.  In fact, a lot of their actions really seem to lie in resentment of more prosperous urban areas.   The same might be true in Florida, given that Orlando is one of the bluer areas of the state.

  89. 89.

    PST

    @TaMara:

    I know his intention is very clear, but doesn’t it seem super stupid? He’s never going to beat trump, I don’t think he could even beat the corpse of trump, and once he’s done fucking FL, what’s left for him? I mean he’s got the personality of an old dishrag (apologies to dishrags), so I don’t even think he’d be prime for the wingnut gravy train – especially if he’s pissed off Disney.

    I 100 percent agree that DeSantis can’t beat Trump, but he may not have to. In a sense, he has nothing to lose. He is term limited as governor, and neither of the two Republican senators is likely to want to leave. It’s president or bust. For 2024, someone may have to step in if Trump becomes unavailable as a candidate. Maybe the chance of this is only 5 percent, but many people vie for the presidency knowing their chances are no greater than that. If God or the law somehow strike Trump down, especially late in the game, no one else will be in a better position with fundraising and national recognition. And however badly his policies may ultimately harm Florida, that will take time and probably won’t hurt DeSantis much on the national stage. Moreover, Trump is utterly transactional and often embraces those who opposed him. He might tap DeSantis as his running mate, although I doubt it. More plausibly, if Trump is nominated and loses, DeSantis has the inside track for 2028. He’s got a head start now, and he’ll be done as governor all of 2027 and free to run run run. He’s making his bones now with the MAGA right, and again, how that affects the Florida economy won’t matter to the national voters he’s courting. They’re all id. He can hope to wrap up the nomination early and have plenty of time to tack toward the center for the general. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t ever expect to see a President DeSantis, but I think he might well be rationally taking his best shot. What else is he going to do? And he can always patch things up with the mouse. Old Mickey is pretty transactional himself.

  90. 90.

    Ruckus

    @BlueGuitarist:

    Why do people like Pudding fingers and Run-away Josh hate people, freedom, equality, democracy, and decency?

    Because they are the people that very few want to be around. Especially if you’ve ever met them. Freedom, equality, democracy and decency are things that give other people the same standing in life that these chodes think only they deserve. They are anything but special, other than being especially shitty, and they have zero idea how or even to improve themselves. The only way they can have equality is if everyone else gets DOWN to their level. Or below.

  94. 94.

    Almost Retired

    I wonder if the Republicans are inadvertently shoring up our corporate and industrial base here in California?  That big house you could get in Plano or Lakeland for your money may look a little less appealing.

  95. 95.

    tokyokie

    @Suzanne:

    Also….can we please dunk on Josh Hawley’s book in which he tries to tell me all about his Manhood?

    I wouldn’t think that something so insignificant could provide material for an entire book.

    And although I really, really, really hate the Mouse, I’m rooting for the company to serve deSatan such a large helping of refried shit that he’ll be swallowing it the rest of his life.

  97. 97.

    Burnspbesq

    @Elizabelle:

    They might not have had any choice. By the time DeSantis gets done  “remaking” Florida public K-12, its graduates won’t be attractive to anywhere but “remade” Florida public universities.

  98. 98.

    geg6

    @Catnaz:

    YES!

    And it’s doubly weird for me because I usually despise anything having to do with Disney.  I think the parks suck and I really, really don’t like animation.  So I’m not a natural Team Disney person.  But now I am totally in the bag.

  99. 99.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @FelonyGovt: Oh, it’s much more than that. I was just at a professional function with JDs, MDs, and PhDs from around the country. A LOT of them are thinking in terms of their daughters’ needs and are moving to blue states. So, in addition to the directly-impacted female employees and male employees with female SOs who might become pregnant, red states are now losing professional families with female children.

    Somebody remind me, do families with parents in law and medicine and with 2, 3, or 4 kids ages 9-16 spend much money?

  101. 101.

    `

    @Ruckus:

    You would think that since, like Putin, his sole political paradigm is bullying, he had gone to the same KGB school as Putin.

    Instead, it was Yale.

  102. 102.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @PST: ​

    if Trump is nominated and loses, DeSantis has the inside track for 2028.

    I don’t think that’s remotely true, because DeSantis will have been a nonentity for four years and the base will barely remember the reign of terror that they once enjoyed so much. But I totally believe DeSantis might believe it. The man has ’11 year old who thinks he’s clever’ written all over him.

  103. 103.

    Delk

    Just went to the website of a neighborhood restaurant to see what time they opened and saw this.
    It’s next to a cemetery in case any proud boys want to FAFO.

  104. 104.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @louc: Yep. One of the organizations I’m involved with, about 15,000 members (about 12k go to our meetings) used to almost-exclusively hold our conferences in Florida. We decided our last Fla conference would be Orlando in (I think) 2016. We’re never going back. The membership overwhelmingly now prefers Seattle, Vancouver, Denver, and SF. More expensive (except for Denver), but way, way worth it.

  105. 105.

    Suzanne

    @PST:

    In a sense, he has nothing to lose. He is term limited as governor, and neither of the two Republican senators is likely to want to leave. It’s president or bust. 

    He is young, probably not really rich, and will probably need a nice lobbying gig or university presidency to maintain a lifestyle in his post-governmental years. I bet he’s fucked his chance of the latter! And he seems to be shitting allllllll over the former.

  107. 107.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker:I don’t think he gives a shit; everything is aimed at capturing the wingnut base for his presidential run.

    This…except he’s not very good at it.

    All trump has to do is say “fighting with Disney is stupid” and a majority of the Rs will go, “yeah, Ron, what are you doing?”

    Although I notice that trump appears to have abandoned his “nuanced” stance on abortion restrictions and is (for the moment) all-in.  Rhonda might want to make some hay with that.

  109. 109.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jeffro: ​

    All trump has to do is say “fighting with Disney is stupid” and a majority of the Rs will go, “yeah, Ron, what are you doing?”

    Naah, that’s not an argument that will work on R primary voters. One of their specific angers is that entertainment companies like Disney are creating diverse media. They want those companies punished. They want ‘go woke and go broke’ to be a thing, both because they’re mean shits and because they’re desperate to think they’re still the ‘normal’ that are the only people worth catering to.
    But really, it doesn’t matter what argument Trump uses. That DeSantis responds by standing there and peeing his pants is what makes the difference.

  111. 111.

    Mallard Filmore

    @FelonyGovt:

    Also, female employees, and male employees married to women who might become pregnant, are going to be reluctant to move to a place that thinks of them as nothing more than baby incubators.

    “Baby factory” has a sharper edge.

  112. 112.

    JMG

    DeSantis has to win in 2024 or he’s pretty much done politically IMO. If he doesn’t even get the nomination, he’ll return to a Florida where no Republicans will be afraid of him anymore, and he won’t be able to give them much if anything to keep them on board. He doesn’t seem like the type who has many allies through personal loyalty or friendship.

  113. 113.

    Juju

    @TaMara: DeSantis’ laughing mannerisms are similar to the character Dude in “Free Guy”. It looks like DeSantis’ programming is off or half finished.

  114. 114.

    James E Powell

    @TaMara:

    I know his intention is very clear, but doesn’t it seem super stupid? He’s never going to beat trump,

    I think he believes the various prosecutions & lawsuits will take Trump out & he will be the only one in the field with an organization, money, and name recognition.

    Unless there is a significant recession, I do not see DeSantis beating Biden.

  115. 115.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus: I like Disneyland, a lot. It’s sad that it’s gotten so incredibly crowded, and way too expensive. Never been to Disney World. We did go to Disneyland as little kids, and road in the tea cups. I think it’s a special place.

  116. 116.

    Jeffro

    @Frankensteinbeck: does that make sense, that it won’t work “on [all] R primary voters'”?

    trump is already way ahead of Rhonda with R primary voters.  Whatever trump tells his people to think or believe, they think or believe.

    And some ridiculously large % of Americans (which surely includes a fair number of Rs) like Disney just fine.

    Now, the last sentence, I agree with: Rhonda has no response to trump’s attacks other than to shrug and pee his pants.  Same with the rest of them.  If they’re not willing to go at him, they should just drop out.  I know they’re all only running in the event that trump keels over, but still.

  117. 117.

    Burnspbesq

    @Roger Moore:

    California doesn’t allow non-compete clauses in employment contracts

    Actually it does, but only if given in connection with the transfer of a substantial equity interest in the employer seeking enforcement.

    The really big thing is that California courts consider this an important public policy, so they go out of their way to apply California law to agreements that explicitly say another state’s law applies.

    I played the “yeah, I signed it, but it’s unenforceable” card a couple of times during my career. It works.

  119. 119.

    Roger Moore

    @Josie:

    The biggest thing, IMO, is that the Democrats have actually done a really good job of coalition building.  We don’t talk about it as much because too many people like to doom and gloom, but minorities seem to have bought into the message that they need to stick together to fight the bigots.  The net result is that we have an effective coalition consisting of groups that previously would have been easily picked off one by one.

    When Republicans go after trans people, they aren’t just facing the tiny percentage of people who are trans.  They also have to deal with other LGBTQ people, and women who are worried about abortions, and racial and ethnic minorities who are worried about legalized discrimination.  That’s enough people to make a difference and to bring in companies who don’t want to lose employees and/or customers in all those groups.  Instead of being able to bully some tiny group while every other tiny group is trying to hide so they aren’t next on the target list, the Republicans are facing a solid coalition of people who want to stop them here so they don’t have to try to stop them when their own rights are under threat.

  120. 120.

    azlib

    In general I am not in favor of industrial policy of which the Reedy Creek District is an example. The biggest benefit Disney gets from the agreement is the tax exempt bonds. What is astonishing about DeSantis’ approach is his objection to Reedy Creek based directly upon Disney’s supposeldy “woke” agenda. His actions are clearly retalitory and he and the State of Florida are very likely to lose the lawsuit Disney brought.

    A less hamhanded approach would have been to make sure any legislation which impacted Disnesy was more generally in alignment with so called ‘Conservative” principals. A more general law to reign in the powers of all special districts in Florida in the name of a fair economic playing field would have been more nuanced and made it much harder for Disney to object.

    At the end of the day it does not appear DeSantis is politically astute at all. Any rational person would have gamed this action out to get a handle on what was likely to happen. Disney is a large and powerful corporation with some extremely good and well paid legal talent. Against what the State of Florida could muster, it was hardly going to be a fair contest.

  122. 122.

    Geminid

    DeSantis’s prospects sure looked a lot better 6 months ago than they do now! His big win in the Governor’s race seemed like a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Republican midterm. Looking back, now it seems more like an iridescent sheen.

    But DeSantis made his decision then, and he’s been running an unannounced campaign ever since. At first, he found a receptive audience among party elites who were desperate for a candidate who can beat Trump. Now, they’re just desperate. DeSantis has shown that he doesn’t have “the right stuff,” and the anti-Trump elites have no one else.

    I can see DeSantis running a “respectable” 2nd in this race, but as long as Trump’s a candidate I don’t see DeSantis winning the nomination. If he does, Trump won’t let DeSantis win in November. He’ll undermine him, and there are a lot of ways he can do that.

    DeSantis might possibly win the nomination by default, if Trump is somehow taken off the board. But he lacks the capacity to capitalize on that opportunity, I think. I don’t see him parleying a second place finish into an inside track position for 2028 either. Not unless he shows abilities we have yet to see.

    So I think there is a very high likelihood that two years from now, Governor DeSantis will be very lame duck.

  123. 123.

    JWR

    @BlueGuitarist:

    Why do people like Pudding fingers and Run-away Josh hate people, freedom, equality, democracy, and decency?

    Well, they both tried Pray Away The Gay*, and that didn’t work, so now they’re (self)hating on the people they truly are.

    *Or so I’ve heard. ;)

  124. 124.

    rikyrah

    @Ruckus:

    Disney is best seen through the eyes of children.

    Or, through the eyes of adults who never could go when they were children.

    Disneyworld is an amazing masterpiece of marketing.

     

    Expensive as phuck. But, the entire experience is something I think everyone should have once.

  125. 125.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jeffro:

    Whatever trump tells his people to think or believe, they think or believe.

    Often said, not true.  When Trump told his staunchest supporters to get vaccinated, they booed him to his face.  Trump’s power is in knowing what they want to hear.  Shit, do you think they believe the election was stolen because Trump said so?  HELL, no.  ‘Democrats steal elections’ has been an article of Republican faith for decades.  Trump validated them and made them believe something could be done about it.  They’ll go along with whatever he says if it’s on a topic they don’t care about, because… they don’t care, so why not?  But this?  I see no traction in this.

    Now, attacking DeSantis for having tried and Disney making a fool of him, that might work.

  126. 126.

    rikyrah

    @Roger Moore:

    When Republicans go after trans people, they aren’t just facing the tiny percentage of people who are trans.  They also have to deal with other LGBTQ people, and women who are worried about abortions, and racial and ethnic minorities who are worried about legalized discrimination.

     

    And, because their aims against trans folks are so clear.

    On the one side, it’s genocide of trans people.

    The other side has to be anti-genocide.

    This ain’t rocket science.

    There is no middle ground with these people. And, anyone with brains knows THEY WILL NEVER JUST STOP WITH TRANS PEOPLE.

    THEY WILL COME FOR ALL OF US.

    So, it’s best to cut this shyt off at the path right now.

  127. 127.

    Cameron

    “First they came for the Mouse/And because I was not a rodent, I said nothing….”

  128. 128.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @rikyrah:

    I was talking to my mother, and even most orthodox Jews, who are pretty damn culturally conservative, are turning against Republicans.  Why?  Because they have always known “We’re next.”

  129. 129.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    Considering what the area was like when it was built, I imagine that Walt could not have possibly considered it would ever be like it currently is. Even on holiday weekends it wasn’t all that packed. Maybe considered rather full but not packed. Think about it, it’s 68 years old and it is still running strong. It’s fun and there is actually a lot to do but I’d never go Friday – Sunday.

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Looks like somebody noticed that DeSantis, politically, has two left feet (or… far-right feet?) and more thumbs than is usually considered useful.

    Glenn Youngkin @GlennYoungkin 9h
    It’s time to usher in a new era of American values. It’s our turn to choose life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

    there’s a video filmed at the Reagan Library, if you’re really bored

  134. 134.

    Roger Moore

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I don’t think that’s remotely true, because DeSantis will have been a nonentity for four years and the base will barely remember the reign of terror that they once enjoyed so much.

    Not quite.  The FL legislature recently changed the law so the governor doesn’t have to resign to run for president, so DeSantis can keep governing through 2026.  Yeah, there will be a year between the end of his term and the first primaries, but he can campaign during that time to keep his name in people’s memories, the same as any candidate does.

  135. 135.

    eversor

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    Here’s a slong that just needs a bit of tweaking…

     

    [Little John:] Oh, the world will sing of an English King
    A thousand years from now
    And not because he passed some laws
    Or had that lofty brow
    While bonny good King Richard leads
    The great crusade he’s on
    We’ll all have to slave away
    For that good-for-nothin’ John

    Incredible as he is inept
    Whenever the history books are kept
    They’ll call him the phony king of England

    [Chorus:] A pox on the phony king of England!

    [Little John:] He sits alone on the giant throne
    Pretendin’ he’s the king
    A little tyke who’s rather like
    A puppet on a string
    And he throws an angry tantrum
    If he cannot have his way
    And then he calls for Mom while he’s suckin’ his thumb
    You see, he doesn’t want to play

    Too late to be known as John the First
    He’s sure to be known as John the Worst
    A pox on that phony king of England!
    Lay that country on me, babe!

    While he taxes us to pieces
    And he robs us of our bread
    King Richard’s crown keeps slippin’ down
    Around that pointed head
    Ah! But while there is a merry man
    In Robin’s wily pack
    We’ll find a way to make him pay
    And steal our money back
    A minute before he knows we’re there
    Ol’ Rob’ll snatch his underwear

    The breezy and uneasy king of England
    The snivellin’, grovellin’
    Measly, weasely
    Blabberin’, jabberin’
    Gibberin’, jabberin’
    Plunderin’, plottin’
    Wheelin’, dealin’
    Prince John, that phony king of England
    Yeah!

  139. 139.

    JWR

    @Jeffro:

    Although I notice that trump appears to have abandoned his “nuanced” stance on abortion restrictions and is (for the moment) all-in.

    FYI, I heard Chris Christie on some middle of the night program on PBS, and he was trying hard to sound like a normal human being, but he’s all in on Abortion, too, meaning that he’s firm in his belief that it belongs in the states, regardless of the pain and suffering that will cause. Screw ’em. He’s just like the rest of them.

  140. 140.

    Dan B

    @Chief Oshkosh: Seattle just opened its new and much larger convention center.  The waterfront elevated, and noisy, freeway from the 50’s is gone.  Ask Satby what she thinks of Seattle.

  141. 141.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: Dude. You know what’s the best thing at Disneyland?! DOLE WHIP OUTSIDE THE ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM. Last year, I found it randomly at a Sheetz in Frederick, Maryland, and I was so excited that I took a selfie with it. And I used the Birdsite to ask them if there was a local Sheetz that had it. AND THERE IS, AND I DROVE TEN MILES TO GET MORE DOLE WHIP.

  143. 143.

    different-church-lady

    If just one more trans person dies in despair, DeSantis will feel it was worth it.

  147. 147.

    Roger Moore

    @azlib:

    A less hamhanded approach would have been to make sure any legislation which impacted Disnesy was more generally in alignment with so called ‘Conservative” principals. A more general law to reign in the powers of all special districts in Florida in the name of a fair economic playing field would have been more nuanced and made it much harder for Disney to object.

    It wouldn’t work.  The whole point is to be flagrant.  That’s what gets political attention, and that’s what keeps the base riled up.  More importantly, they don’t actually believe in those “conservative” principles.  They want to keep being able to use special districts to make sweetheart deals for big businesses, so those big businesses will keep the money flowing to Republican campaigns and pockets.  The goal is to send the message that businesses that line up with the Republican priorities will be rewarded and ones that line up against will be punished.

  148. 148.

    Ruckus

    @rikyrah:

    They want everything to be exactly like they think life should be. No deviation. None. OK except for them of course.

    They are the people that start wars because of this. They are the people that have very narrow views of life and the world and the differences allowed. People that look different than them, that go to different religions or no religion, that don’t like the same color cars or beer as they do. People that can not stand or understand any relationship other than what their religion tells them is OK. They have more restrictions than ideals. They need conformation that they are right, by not allowing any differences. And humanity is all differences, both big and small. They need everything controlled, confined. And they are losing because the world is no longer only their small town or neighborhood. TV, movies, the web, things like this blog – communications and populations have changed significantly in my lifetime, hell in half my lifetime.

  149. 149.

    eclare

    @Roger Moore:

    The Daytona Speedway and The Villages have special districts similar to what Disney had.  Meatball only cracked down on Disney…

  150. 150.

    Roger Moore

    @rikyrah:

    So, it’s best to cut this shyt off at the path right now.

    Exactly.  The other really big thing is that there is now a big enough coalition of people who understand this to make the bigots take notice.  You mess with one part of that coalition, and you’re going to get the whole thing coming after you.  Very important, IMO, is that the coalition isn’t something that just happened; it’s the result of countless hours of work over decades.  It’s been a huge success, and we need to keep working on it so it stays a success and gets even bigger.

    The down side is the Republicans know it’s a big success and are doing everything they can to destroy it.  Every time you hear someone trying to set one minority group against another, they’re doing the Republicans’ work, consciously or unconsciously.

  151. 151.

    NutmegAgain

    @ArchTeryx: Well, uniforms of course. I believe Hugo Boss is still in business. (But I’d say Disney has the uniform thing pretty nailed down. Hard to compete with that.)

  152. 152.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    I am so fucking far behind the times!

    I have never heard of Dole Whip. Of course I am lactose intolerant and sugary stuff seems to not be all that good for me at my age… (Possibly too much sugar earlier in my life wasn’t my best decision…) Oh well nothing good is ever good for you….. Which I think is the reason we like things that aren’t good for you…

  153. 153.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: Dole Whip is dairy-free! My vegan friends love it.

    Now they have other flavors besides the pineapple…. but that pineapple is the best.

  155. 155.

    Roger Moore

    @Suzanne:

    I had a moment the last time I went to the Tiki Room.  While we were waiting to get in, they were doing a big thing about how Dole had helped to spread the pineapple to other countries, and I just couldn’t help talking about how they did it with the help of the USMC.  Also, too, if they’re revamping Splash Mountain to extinguish traces of racism left over from Song of the South, they need to take a long, hard look at the Tiki Room.  It’s way worse.

  156. 156.

    Suzanne

    @Roger Moore: You mean the Mexican and German toucans (WTF?) aren’t in touch with modern sensibilities?!

    It also would not be hard to update.

  157. 157.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    I looked it up and the site I saw said it had milk products. I just checked a different site and it said dairy like products, and that it could be made at home with a blender.

    The web was WRONG. What is this world coming to?

  158. 158.

    Andrew Abshier

    @Chief Oshkosh: We have a big veterinary conference that happens every year in Orlando.  I suspect they will go through with the 2024 meeting but I would not be surprised if they pulled out after that.  While my profession is often politically conservative, we have a very large cohort of young women in the profession who don’t like this nonsense going on in Florida and probably would not come to a meeting here.

  159. 159.

    Scout211

    @Suzanne: I’ve never heard of Dole Whip but I know I would love it. I googled it and found this:

    Dole Whip Recipe {Disney Copycat}

     

    Dole Whip (Disney Copycat)

    5 from 27 Ratings

    The iconic Disney Pineapple Dole Whip can easily be made at home with only a few simple ingredients! This frosty treat is perfect on a hot summer day.

    Prep Time 5MINUTES MINUTES
    Chill 30 MINUTES
    Total Time 35 MINUTES

    Servings: 2

    Ingredients

    4 ounces pineapple juice
    1 big scoop vanilla ice cream (about 3/4 cup)
    2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
    2 tablespoons sugar , optional but recommended
    splash of lemon juice
    pinch of salt

    Instructions

    Combine all the ingredients in a blender (in the order listed); blend until smooth and ultra creamy, pushing down the pineapple chunks if necessary, about 3 minutes.

    At this point you can pour into dessert cups. But I like to freeze the mixture for 30-40 minutes, then transfer to a piping bag with a 1M “star” tip (to get that iconic Dole Whip swirl.)

    Swirl into glasses.

    (To help the soft-serve hold its shape even longer, freeze the swirled whip another 20 minutes.)

  160. 160.

    Roger Moore

    @Suzanne:

    You mean the Mexican and German toucans (WTF?) aren’t in touch with modern sensibilities?!

    I was thinking of the very racist talking statues outside.  I didn’t pay attention to the actual show because I was too busy napping; we were mostly there to get some AC for a while.

  161. 161.

    sdhays

    DeSantis is the person who is spearheading all of this fascism, so it’s absolutely accurate to talk about these horrible things happening in Florida as being stuff he’s doing. However, he couldn’t do any of it without the Florida Republican Party backing him 100%.

    It’s easy to see that DeSantis wants to move to DC and doesn’t give a shit if he burns Florida to the ground to get there. But most Republicans in the legislature have no chance of following him to DC, even in the now delusional scenario where he’s gobbled up by Trump and pooped out his backside. The only explanation for these people is that they don’t believe they have to give a single shit because they will be reelected no matter what they do and have something to gain by just doing what they’re told, from their donors or from more powerful people like DeSantis.

  162. 162.

    Matt McIrvin

    @rikyrah: Disney’s house aesthetic has never been my favorite, but I’m in awe of what they managed to do in Florida. I never went there until I was grown with a kid of my own, but I never fully realized until I did go there exactly what they mean by “Disney magic”–it’s in the literal sense of stage conjuring. You’re inside of the world’s biggest stage illusion. It’s not always seamless but when it works, it works.

    Even if the total experience has been getting more unpleasant lately under the pressure of stratospheric demand combined with Disney’s quest for more money.

    Universal is breathing down their necks, though. And Universal/NBC/Comcast might also be more willing to play nice with right-wing authoritarians than Disney is.

  163. 163.

    Suzanne

    @Roger Moore: So the last time I went to Disneyland was four years ago, and the Tiki Room was closed for updating. I don’t remember talking statues. Maybe they got rid of them.

  164. 164.

    Zzyzx

    @rikyrah: Yeah, with each passing day I become a stronger and stronger trans ally because the stakes are so high that I have to be. When the opening bid is stealing kids away from their families…

  166. 166.

    Roger Moore

    @Scout211:

    If you just search for “dole whip ingredients”, you can get the following list from Dole’s web site:

    Sugar, Dextrose, Stabilizers (Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Pectin, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum), Coconut Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of Each Of The Following: Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Modified Food Starch, Malic Acid, Beta Carotene (Color), Mono & Diglycerides, Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking).

    No dairy, free from the most common allergens.

  168. 168.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Suzanne: Yep. The open secret of Dole Whip is that you can actually get it all over the place–I think “Dole Whip” might be a trademark that can only be used in connection with Disney, but “Dole Soft Serve” is exactly the same substance.

    They serve it at a stand in the waterpark area at Canobie Lake Park. They’re opening for the summer pretty soon…

  169. 169.

    Zzyzx

    How strong are these term limits in FL anyway? Could the legislature just remove them and let DeSantis try to be governor for life?

  170. 170.

    Roger Moore

    @Suzanne:

    My trip was about a year ago, so they have not gotten rid of the objectionable elements.  The statues are in the courtyard outside the Tiki Room, and they say stuff in very bad “White dude impression of a foreigner speaking broken English” fashion straight out of the 1950s.

  171. 171.

    eclare

    @sdhays:

    I read somewhere that state districts in TN are so gerrymandered Democrats would have to get around 65% of the statewide vote to win control.  Our state reps and senators know they can do whatever the fuck they want, which often is just pissing off the cities.

  172. 172.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    It’s good! I think you should submit the post to a Right wing site- Real Clear Politics.

    It’s interesting- much more so than ordinary political reporting- droning on and on about the Cuban Republican vote or whatever. Florida WAS weird and that was part of the charm. Conservatives are ruining it – making it stern and grim and humorless.

  175. 175.

    Kathleen

    @BlueGuitarist: Because they hate themselves most of all. To badly paraphrase James Baldwin, if they didn’t direct their rage and terror towards  Black people they be forced to deal with their own pain.

  176. 176.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Roger Moore: The whole reason “Woke Disney” became a thing is that Disney’s parks and media back catalog have of course been full of antediluvian offensive stuff like that since forever, but every time they make a move to fix something embarrassing, nostalgic adults start screaming about the wokeness murdering their childhood.

  179. 179.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Delk: LOL!  And Rosehill Cemetery (and Mausoleum) is BIG!

    Also, mmmmm Fireside! 😋

    Also, what prostratedragon said!

  183. 183.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @sdhays:

    The only explanation for these people

    A perfectly workable explanation is that they’re mean fucks who laugh when they hear about the suffering these laws cause.  You know, like McConnell did when asked about the suffering and death Covid caused.

  184. 184.

    prostratedragon

    @eclare:  I’ve long felt that the fact that cities are a corporate cteation of the States is a great weakness of our system. It’s the kind of thing one is reluctant to say out loud, but it looks as if the time is almost upon us.

  185. 185.

    Roger Moore

    @Matt McIrvin: ​
     
    Disney has been on the conservatives’ shit list at least since they started offering domestic partner benefits back in the 1990s. Which they were forced to do because all the other Hollywood studios were already offering them, and they needed to offer the same thing to compete for top employees.

  186. 186.

    Soonergrunt

    Iger wasn’t a fan of the project anyway. He’s always said that the Creatives should be near each other. A LOT of the Imagineering department were against this move to the point where some retired early.

    This is a win-win-win for Disney.

  187. 187.

    Lapassionara

    @BlueGuitarist: ok, so I read this, and the question I have is does “above his bed” mean on the wall above the headboard, or does it mean on the ceiling “above his bed.” Asking for a friend.

  188. 188.

    Manyakitty

    @Suzanne: every once in a while I get emails from recruiters. One came for a job in Texas recently and I told them to stuff it, as I would never take a position in that fascist hellhole. They responded with an offer to work remotely and NOPE.

    We need a concerted, consistent, LOUD campaign of noping out on these places.

    (That said, my parents live in Tampa and I have to visit them several times a year)

  190. 190.

    Gvg

    @Roger Moore: they haven’t waited to attack 1 minority at a time. They are going full out against all of us. Abortion bans at 6 weeks with no exceptions for the life of the mother passing! Women aren’t even a minority technically. Plenty of attacks on Jews even when Trump was President with a Jewish son in law. Attacking mexicans to start, then the Muslim ban and on and on.

    That tends to make a coalition stick together

  192. 192.

    PaulWartenberg

    I’m seeing reports from Davenport, in the northeast corner of Polk nearest Disney, where massive construction for housing was going on, all shut down because migrant workers are fleeing.

    Other than tourism, the big money-maker for Florida was all this land development (a lot of state legislators are speculators, which creates its own corruption). So DeSantis is hurting a LOT of wallets for his ego.

  193. 193.

    Matt McIrvin

    …Apparently Disney also just announced that they’re shutting down the “Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser”, their fantastically expensive theme-hotel/LARP experience. Hardly anyone thought it was worth the price. I’m actually kind of surprised they’re cutting their losses and closing it down instead of trying to retool it somehow, but I guess it was so low-capacity that, say, turning it into a less expensive experience wouldn’t be worthwhile.

  196. 196.

    kindness

    As a Californian, I hope they build out here.  We treat them better, that’s for sure.  Maybe it’s because they are just one of many large employers, not our largest.  Seems that in Florida, that distinction comes with a free target to place on your back.

  197. 197.

    grandmaBear

    I had never had Dole whip before going to Hawaii at Christmas. Now the local ice cream hut 2 blocks down the road from my house has it. I love it.

  202. 202.

    Paul in KY

    @BlueGuitarist: Oh my God on the poster! Above his bed in college. My gaydar would have exploded, no matter how he tried to explain it.

    What a repulsive human being (for his political stances). Nothing wrong with being gay.

  204. 204.

    Paul in KY

    @Betty Cracker: I would buy some! Maybe not put it on my car, as it is the type of car you don’t put bumper stickers on. But I would have it on my refrigerator.

  205. 205.

    Paul in KY

    @rikyrah: I’m taking my 6 year old son down there in late June. He’s at perfect age for it. Hoping and expecting it to be a great time for him.

  206. 206.

    Paul in KY

    @eversor: John got the last laugh, as his son became Henry III and fathered Edward I and so on.

    Richard I was a great and vicious warlord who seemed to be addicted to combat and thus was stupidly killed by a spit turner at a nondescript castle in France.

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