Legal analysts seem to agree that Disney’s lawsuit against Ron DeSantis has a decent chance of succeeding because DeSantis helpfully bragged in public that he changed the company’s tax status, overthrew its board, etc., to punish Big Mouse for opposing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The suit was originally assigned to a judge appointed by President Obama. But here’s a curveball: (Rolling Stone)
THE FLORIDA FEDERAL judge assigned to the court case brought by Disney against Gov. Ron DeSantis has recused himself after learning last week that “a relative within the third degree” held 30 shares of Disney stock.
Judge Mark Walker wrote in court documents filed Thursday that he must step aside since his relative’s “financial interest” could be affected by the case. “The size or dollar amount of the third-degree relative’s financial interest is irrelevant,” he wrote.
“Even though I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have a substantial effect on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution — which, here, is also the side of judicial integrity — and disqualify myself,” Walker wrote.
The case has been reassigned to a Trump appointee, Allen Winsor, who represented Trump during Impeachment I. So, I’m not sure if the change helps DeSantis or not; I guess it depends on whether Winsor is a true believer or not.
Walker’s relative’s stock is worth less than $3,000. I appreciate that Walker has more scruples than 10,000 Clarence Thomases, but could Walker’s relative not have sold the stock before the trial? Something doesn’t smell right about this whole thing.
bbleh
IIRC the DeSantis lawyers already had raised questions about previous comments the judge had made, which he dismissed in denying their motion to disqualify him, but maybe he figured that was one too many red herrings in a politically charged case and, as he said, erred on the side of caution.
Or, yeah, maybe DeSantis’s press secretary kidnapped his grandson.
Baud
Most of the issues will be decided on appeal anyway. I’d prefer a Dem judge but at least the their won’t be lingering fake recusal issues.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Imagine if Republican judges did this kind of thing…
Baud
OT, props to the writer.
scav
@Baud: I especially enjoy the vulgarity twist of the knife.
Steve M.
Will a Trump judge be loyal to the GOP or to Trump?
(I’m ruling out the third possibility, which is loyalty to the law and the truth.)
Steve M.
Steeplejack
And how close is a “third-degree relative”? It sounds like something you’d expect to see in the nether regions of state incest laws.
trollhattan
“Idnapkay some Alkerway idskay. And we never had this conversation, capisce?”
Like George Zimmer, I guarantee it.
eclare
I have no doubt Mouse will beat rat. You don’t get a rep for having the best legal for nothing.
I worked in public accounting for seven years where even the whiff of impropriety was to be avoided. If the judge thought he should recuse to avoid questions about his potential decision, I take him at his word.
ETA> I see that I am in the minority here.
trollhattan
@Baud: Heh, well played. Don’t forget the incest!
Dorothy A. Winsor
From Kos, the document Trump talked about? The one about attacking Iran? It was not among those retrieved. It’s missing.
Does that sound bad to you?
It sounds bad to me.
The Moar You Know
@Baud: that will go to the Supreme Court, and the Bible is going to be deemed acceptable “in spite of” no matter what kind of batshit reasoning it takes to get there. The freaks can’t lose that one, and with this Supreme Court, they won’t.
Parfigliano
Obama appointed and takes ethic’s seriously. Excellent. Makes Clarence look even worse so double excellent.
different-church-lady
Once again the moral asymmetry of this war makes itself blatant.
Dan
THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT!!! Probably about 40% of US citizens own 1 or more shares of Disney. How hard would it have been for some snake to dig up a second cousin thrice removed who said, yeah, I own some Disney stock, why do you ask?
JoyceH
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Does anyone else think the ‘attack Iran’ plan was something that Milley ginned up to convince Trump that attacking Iran would be a bad bad bad idea?
Remember that scene in first season West Wing, when either Iran or their fictional Islamic enemy nation state shot down a US plane, and Bartlet went ballistic and demanded a very strong response? And the scene in the war room when the military is briefing Bartlet on the stronger response plan? Like that.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@JoyceH: I want to implicate the Saudis and Jared. Trump, too, of course. That golf tournament was a payoff. (I have no evidence. I’m giving voice to my fantasy life.)
Betty Cracker
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tacky O give live remarks. Oh my God.
“The governor” this and “the governor” that. The inane chatter ripped from Good Housekeeping circa 1959. He is as awful as expected without saying a word, standing there like an awkward meat sack. But his so-called “secret weapon” is a complete dud.
satby
@eclare: No, I agree with you. A lot of Trump appointed judges ruled according to precedent and against tfg during all his election lawsuits as well as on other matters.
BTW, you can email me: skinluvvers *at* g mail dot com regarding the message you left on etsy. Answer is yes, but not through etsy any longer.
RaflW
@eclare: Upholding the rigors of ethics rules is, long term, the far better way to go.
What IMO needs to happen when things like this are announced, though, iss that it’s another opportunity for progressive pundits and Dem lawmakers to pile on Clarence Thomas.
“See! Real judges do the ethical thing. Thomas? He hides his financial ties. Shamefully.”
Kay
@Steeplejack:
First cousin or any of the greats- great grandchild, great aunt, etc.
John S.
@Betty Cracker:
“I had in depth conversations with a 3 year old baby.”
Tacky O sums up what passes for conservative “thinking” very nicely.
kindness
Sorry Betty. Our side for better or worse frequently has integrity, principles and honor and lives up to it. Where as our opponents will say they represent all the virtuous things but live up to none of them. It’s our lot in this world.
RaflW
@Betty Cracker: She’d do fine on the “Fox and Friends” couch. Just that short clip though makes the various claims that he’s been pushed by his wife out into the limelight all the more credible.
You can tell she loves it (no matter if she’s good at it either). She’s chirping like the happiest bird.
Parfigliano
@JoyceH: Bartlett didnt like the stronger response because of the 1000’s of civilian casualties it generated. Trump would relish the 1000’s of civilian casualties and want more.
hells littlest angel
Definition of a 3rd-degree relative: A first cousin, great-grandparent, great-aunt, great-uncle, great-niece, great-nephew, great-grandchild, half-aunt, or half-uncle of an individual.
I too smell a rat.
Geminid
@JoyceH: That sounds right. Milley and the other Chiefs never wanted a war with Iran, especially not with Trump in charge.
There might be a war with Iran this year, but it will be Israel and not the U.S. that attacks. And the Israelis are not that eager to strike Iran’s nuclear program; if they was they’d have done it already.
The Moar You Know
@Dan: sadly, you vastly overestimate the number of Americans that own stock. In anything. It’s less than 50%.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
She said their children are “very humble”. Lol.
Three year olds are known for their humility
sdhays
@Geminid: That seems extraordinarily reckless. The US and Europe are already all in on supporting Ukraine. I can’t imagine that Israel would have much support in a war against Iran, and that’s before you consider that their current fascist Prime Minister has a poor relationship with Biden.
Are they really prepared to go to war on their own?
Jeffro
Maybe the judge can see what a holy rolling mess this trial is going to be and is like, “fuuuuuuuuuuuck this”? Just use any old excuse to step off?
OT but Steeplejack thanks for that link the last thread (about Hakeem Jeffries and the green card). Cool stuff!
TriassicSands
@The Moar You Know:
As long as libraries file the Bible in the fantasy/fiction section, I can accept it being on shelves.
I’ll bet the elementary school children will really like the tales of Sodom and Gomorrah. All the genocide will appeal more to middle schoolers. But some kids may not approve when they discover that they need to be stoned to death for being uncooperative.
Alison Rose
@John S.: “three year old baby” oh go absolutely fuck yourself. (Her, not you.) I’m surprised she said “three year” and not “36 month old” which drives me even crazier.
sdhays
@Betty Cracker: I can’t even tell what she’s up there for. At first, I thought she was answering a question, but it seems to be a speech written by ChatGPT about how they have produced children (and he managed it as governor!) and are a totally normal family, definitely not lizard people from Cannibal Prime who want to farm our eyeballs as scrumptious delicacies for back home.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Moar You Know:
Gallup: What Percentage of Americans Own Stock?
It’s self-reported data, so take it with a grain of salt
Cameron
@Betty Cracker: I’ve only seen her pics a few times, but she reminds me a lot more of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark than of Jackie O.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@TriassicSands: To me, this event really points out how stupidly these book bans are being written and carried out. There are books that don’t belong in a school library. But you can’t allow just any lunatic with an axe to grind to have books thrown out.
sab
@Steeplejack: Or your second cousin? I have lots of those.
jsrtheta
Likely the weakest reason ever to disqualify.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Why is she talking so fast? She must have taken breathing classes because she never ever pauses. Was that all one single sentence? Quite possibly!
Her fast talking reminded me of a sleazy salesperson who never pauses so the mark can’t ask a question or get a word in edgewise.
eclare
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I have the same fantasy. We are kink sisters!
Steeplejack
@Betty Cracker:
That’s some authentic swampland gibberish right there.
Money comment: “Makes sense his policies are driven by a three-year-old.“
sdhays
@WaterGirl: So that’s why I initially thought she was answering a question! I subconsciously thought she was filibustering!
cain
@John S.: So she was talking to her husband?
sab
Mouse meets rat. Mouse wins. Politics not zoology.
eclare
@Betty Cracker:
OMG! Chandler Bing voice, could she TALK any faster????
hells littlest angel
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Sounds about right, if you assume American adults rather than American citizens. Anyone with a 401(k) owns stock.
Steeplejack
@Kay:
Thanks, I guess. I don’t even know if my cousins have investment plans, much less what stocks they own.
RaflW
@sdhays: “I can’t even tell what she’s up there for.”
She’s up there for Casey. It’s her turn in the lights, dammit. She probably browbeat Ron & the campaign team to let her do it.
eclare
@satby:
Yay! Will do. Your soaps have the best lather.
Kent
Not even close. Only 15% of Americans even own individual stocks of any kind.
About 53% of Americans have some sort of investment in the stock market but for the vast majority of those it is mutual funds invested through an IRA or 401(k) plan of some sort.
So if you count everyone in the country who has some $$ in an S&P 500 index fund or total stock market index fund as “owning Disney” then maybe you might reach 40%. But the percentage who actually own individual Disney sock? That number is very small and probably less than 5%.
bbleh
@hells littlest angel: yeah I can see a substantial difference between those who own stock directly and those who own it directly or indirectly via shares in a fund
Either way, they/we can be very happy today, tyvm in two different ways Joe Biden
@Jeffro: Hakeem and the Green Card. Sorta like Harold and the Purple Crayon. It’s magic!
Steeplejack
@Jeffro:
👍 I thought it was interesting and had to run it down.
Kent
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Those surveys are counting anyone who has an equity-based mutual fund in their IRA or 401(k) as owning stock. The number of Americans who own individual stocks rather than mutual funds is closer to 15%.
John S.
@Alison Rose: @cain:
You really can’t make this shit up. There is no way to parody these people, because they already do a great job of parodying themselves.
Frankensteinbeck
@JoyceH:
I think that Trump is a chickenshit blusterer, and enjoyed talking to his aides about attacking other countries, but didn’t have the balls to do it – thank goodness. He tried twice, obviously hoping he could replicate Obama’s Bin Ladin raid glory, and was scared off by the reactions. I am not surprised that the military gave him reports about any military action possibility you care to name, so Trump could feel like a big man pretending he might act on them.
sab
Off topic:
How do you visit your demented dad in his nursing home where every visit reminds him he shouldn’t be there and upsets hims. He is there because he started to fall a lot, and although he was slim, I was not strong enough to pick him up. I used to call my husband, two miles away. And every single time he came. My actual siblings were hundreds or thousands of miles away.
ETA Every time siblings appeared Dad was wrong
TriassicSands
OMG is right. She talks like someone who hasn’t been allowed to say a word for years and suddenly she gets to make up for all the lost time.
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
As a former teacher, I’m forced to say that education should not be up to parents. It would be nice if every parent were well-educated and really had some idea about what is best, educationally, for their children. But that is clearly not the case. There are lots of parents who could be responsible contributors, but I fear they are in a shrinking minority.
When I had really difficult students, I understood the problem — in most cases — when I met their parents. (Difficult means either behaviorally and academically or both.)
On the other hand, maybe we could put the woman in the previous thread, who is appalled by demon rainbows, in charge of science education. Or maybe she could head NASA or the NIH. After all, I’m sure her brilliance is pretty much universal.
Steeplejack
@sdhays:
Someone on Twitter recently mentioned that most candidates’ wives introduce the candidate and then scoot off, if they’re involved at all, but Tacky O. regularly comes up in the middle of Ron’s speech, does her thing and then steps off. Weird in many ways.
Whatever happened to the Christianists’ “submissive wives”?
Josie
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Librarians are not blind to the problems with certain books. I was a middle school librarian 20 years ago. I had a shelf of books in my office that were off limits to any student unless they had a note from their parents. I kept those notes in a special file. The girls (it was always girls) dutifully brought in their notes and dutifully returned their books on time. No harm, no foul. I certainly didn’t need any bible thumpers to tell me how to do my job.
Josie
@sab:
Take family photos to look at with him. It reminds him of good times and gives you something to talk about.
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: “here let me bore the shit out of you with the minute details of raising three kids under the age of 7” – every parent, ever, minus a podium and (potentially) a future president standing next to them.
Bad for ratings (and not just the TV kind!)
Alison Rose
@Cameron: Do not besmirch the wicked and wonderful name of Elvira by comparing Oppression Barbie to her.
Another Scott
@Steve M.: Hello “NoMoreMister”. Good to see you over here.
Cheers,
Scott.
eclare
@sab:
I am so sorry, and I have no answers. Just keep posting.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@TriassicSands: @Josie: Right. That’s why we should leave those decisions to the professionals
ETA: I hate to admit there are inappropriate books because I don’t want to give in to the banners. OTOH, I just told someone Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was adult not YA because of S&M
RaflW
@sab: I would ask the staff how his mood is after you leave vs. before your visits. Hopefully they’ll report that he’s a doing better for having had you there. Loved one visits often provide a mood boost, even to those with dementia.
He may complain to you and seem miserable, but he’s still getting what my partner and I call “people vitamins”.
Best wishes. I went thru my dad’s Alzheimer’s decline 15 through 10 years ago. Never an easy path.
Jeffro
@Steeplejack: someone on the campaign staff thinks she’s a ‘secret weapon’, I’m sure.
whether said staffer is seeing starbursts/getting thrills up their leg, or just knows that every minute she speaks is a minute that Ron ISN’T speaking, I dunno.
Jeffro
If they make it into a kids’ book, I’ll pre-order a dozen. =)
I do like how he operates, that’s for sure.
Frankensteinbeck
@Alison Rose: and @Cameron:
I admit, I see no similarities between Elvira’s deliberately campy, joyous, literal and figurative vamp style and Mrs. DeSantis. Perhaps more importantly, I would never compare a woman in a long-term, committed gay relationship with a gay genocide pusher.
Omnes Omnibus
Do we want judges to recuse when they think it’s needed or not? Some will always be more scrupulous than others, but if we want it to happen we shouldn’t get upset when it happens.
Delk
Pretty obvious that she can’t talk without a cape.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker: Is he actually her puppet? Two orders of magnitude better at speaking contemporaneously than Meatball.
Oh god, after he flames out she’s going to be The One.
TriassicSands
@sab:
That is a tough one. It sounds like he should be there, but doesn’t want to be, which is understandable. However, if he is demented, there isn’t much you can do, except try to divert him from dwelling on his situation. And I don’t know how to do that, especially since I don’t know him.
How bad is the dementia? Are there still ways to meaningfully engage with him?
The end of life is not fun. Dementia is the cruelest sentence of all for the family members.
Kay
@Steeplejack:
I was thinking maybe the couson mentioned it to the judge? There wouldn’t be any duty to either know or find out what your extended family owns, but I suppose if he did know that changes it – for him, anyway.
Barney
@Steeplejack:
It seems to be, in American law, a first cousin, or a great niece/nephew (the latter isn’t listed here, but great uncle/aunt is, and everything seems reciprocal; I doubt an Obama-appointed judge has a great uncle/aunt alive).
Definition: Family member from 29 CFR § 1635.3 | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)
(it might also include a half-uncle/aunt/niece/nephew, ie when a grandparent has descendants from 2 different partners, but that really is getting into genetic definitions, so may not apply here)
RaflW
edit: nevermind
TriassicSands
Yet, I found her exhausting to listen to. If she were battery powered, she seemed like someone who would only stop yammering when she ran out of juice.
Frankensteinbeck
@trollhattan:
No way the Republican Party accepts her on a national stage. She is way too dominant. She’s not a bimbo, and she’s not a sidekick passing on men’s decisions. She makes decisions for herself and for men. She is going to push the ‘ball buster’ button in their misogynistic brains and they will loathe the idea of her as their boss.
rikyrah
The upcoming “maternity home” scam from the anti-abortion folks
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRoHb8Lx/
gene108
@John S.:
Three year olds aren’t babies. Just ask one if they’re a baby and I’m sure the response will be “I’m a big kid”.
Wapiti
@sab: I think there’s no great way. The staff, I understand, smile and nod and redirect the residents.
My dad had two falls resulting in broken bones. I’m sure he’s had more. He’s in an assisted living place, and wants me to look at a place closer to his house “because it would be more convenient”. I’ll get on that, Dad.
But he’s got someone tracking his meds, and someone making sure he’s getting two showers a week, and he’s not leaving the stove on in his house. I can smile and nod and redirect, I guess. He’s in a safer place than he was.
rikyrah
BC,
Someone on TikTok called it the “Citizens United ” defense.
The way that Disney decided to craft their lawsuit was a defense using Citizens United.
So, to decide against Disney would to be deciding against Citizens United😒😒
Hoodie
Seems tailor made for the role of ruthlessly ambitious politician’s wife. She speaks like the local media personality she was. That experience is why she can speak better than DeSantis, who tends to be whiny and talk in right-wing geek shorthand, but she delivers those anecdotes with the authenticity of Veronica Corningstone. She probably is as ambitious as Meatball Ron, if not more so. Given how withdrawn he seems in public settings, I would not be surprise if she played a major role in Ron starting to see himself as being fit for politics.
Maxim
@sab: I’m sorry. I’ve been there. If he likes music, playing anything he enjoyed in his younger years might be good.
Ken
I have a few cousins whose idea of an investment plan is buying a lottery ticket every week. Unfortunately aside from Social Security, that is the sum total of their retirement plan.
pat
wrong thread
Omnes Omnibus
@Barney: I am going to be 59 this summer and I have three great-aunt still around.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Kent:
Oh, my bad
Geminid
@sdhays: The short answer is yes. Israel will very likely strike Iranian centrifuge facilities if Iran starts enriching its large stock of 60% U-235 material to bomb grade. We’ve already provided Israel with the neccesary fighter bombers.
Iran tries to deter Israel by threatening to level Israeli cities in retaliation. So right now it’s a game of chicken, with IAEA inspectors helping to avoid a crash. But it’s a set policy of this Israeli government (and the ones before it) that Iran will not be allowed to become even a nuclear threshold state
I’m not saying a war will happen, just that it could. Those concerned would do well to keep their eyes on the course of IAEA inspections.
Paul in KY
@sdhays: No. Definitely not…
Paul in KY
@Steeplejack: Ru Ruh!!!
Paul in KY
@sab: Really hard. We used to visit my grandmother in a nursing home she had to go to and we knew she was lucid when she would ask to die.
Can you trick him into thinking he’s on vacation somewhere?
Paul in KY
@Steeplejack: They seem to think she’s a real campaign asset. She’s trying very hard for ‘perky’.
sdhays
@Steeplejack: …Wow.
Even if she was amazing, which she most certainly isn’t, that would be f-ed up.
sdhays
@Paul in KY: Well, when your candidate is Ron, the relative definition of “asset” becomes pretty broad.
It also helps when the boss, who the candidate’s wife, tells you that she’s an asset.
Betty Cracker
@Omnes Omnibus: I agree judges should recuse when they think there’s a conflict, but this incident seems fishy because the remedy is so easy, i.e., the relative could just unload the measly $3K in shares. Maybe comment #1 nailed it and it’s a face-saving climb-down. That sounds more plausible than withdrawing because a third-degree relative owns a tiny piece of Disney stock.
Omnes Omnibus
@Paul in KY: Asset or Ass-ette?
WaterGirl
@sdhays: yes!
Omnes Omnibus
@Betty Cracker: You can’t ask your relative to sell their stock. Their response would be, “There’s an easy answer. Just recuse.”
ETA: During my brief tenure as an ALJ, I once recused because counsel for one party was married to teacher who had worked with my mom.*. I wasn’t required to do it but I thought I should.
*My mom had been retired for over a decade at that point.
Reboot
@Alison Rose: Preach!
Doc Sardonic
@Steeplejack: Ron is submissive….
Betty Cracker
According to The Hill, former MLB star Steve Garvey is thinking about running for Feinstein’s senate seat as a Repub. He’s a lad of 74 so would obviously have a decades-long senate career looming before him!
gvg
@Cameron: Annette Funicello wanna be.
GoBlueInOak
Recusal for penny ante 3rd degree twice removed B.S. like this is 20th century goo-goo’s showing up in the middle of a 21st century civil war. Shiv or get off the pot.
AWOL
@Betty Cracker: They were pimping him for a future in politics in the 1970s. He was a pseudo-Christianist turd who came home one day in LA to find his Blessed Wife in bed with a fireman.
Omnes Omnibus
@GoBlueInOak: Absolutely not. But I see you are visiting ing your radical costume today.
Uncle Cosmo
I’ll try Vulvira, Monstress of the Dork for $500, Dyslexa.
karen marie
@RaflW: He stands there like he’s listening to a boring speech by someone he doesn’t know.
I started to say that I’m trying to understand his motivation for a presidential campaign but then I realized his motivation is really irrelevant in the end, because he’s so fucking awful I don’t think there’s the remotest chance he’ll make it to the debates. He’s certainly not going to be nominated.
Salty Sam
Nominated
Kenneth Fair
@hells littlest angel: I doubt this is much more than “I don’t want this circus in my court.”