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Posts tagged ‘Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Files for 2024 GOP Primary Campaign


NEWSMAX Staff | Wednesday, 24 May 2023 02:47 PM EDT

Read more at https://www.newsmax.com/us/ron-desantis-2024-presidential-election-live-updates/2023/05/24/id/1121073/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis entered the 2024 presidential race Wednesday, stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test both his national appeal as a cultural conservative firebrand and the GOP’s willingness to move on from former President Donald Trump.

The 44-year-old Republican revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. It marks a new chapter in his extraordinary rise from little-known congressman to two-term governor to a leading figure in the nation’s bitter fights over race, gender, abortion, and other divisive issues. DeSantis is considered to be Trump’s strongest Republican rival even as the governor faces questions about his readiness for the national stage.

DeSantis’ audio-only announcement was to be streamed on Twitter Spaces beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. He was following up with prime-time appearances on conservative programs, including Fox News and Mark Levin’s radio show.

DeSantis’ entry into the Republican field has been rumored for months and he is considered one of the party’s strongest candidates in the quest to retake the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden. The 80-year-old incumbent, Republicans say, has pushed the nation too far left while failing to address inflation, immigration and crime. The Republican nominee will face Biden on the general election ballot in November 2024.

DeSantis begins his campaign in a top-tier of two alongside Trump based on early public polling, fundraising and campaign infrastructure. The two GOP powerhouses have much in common.

DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without Trump’s endorsement, has adopted the former president’s fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms. Yet DeSantis has one thing Trump does not: a credible claim that he may be more electable in a general election than Trump, who faces multiple legal threats and presided over Republican losses in three consecutive national elections.

DeSantis, just six months ago, won his reelection in Florida by a stunning 19 percentage points — even as Republicans in many other states struggled. He also scored several major policy victories during the Republican-controlled Legislature’s spring session.

Aware of DeSantis’ draw, Trump has been almost singularly focused on undermining DeSantis’ political appeal for months. Trump and his team believe that DeSantis may be Trump’s only legitimate threat for the nomination. Trump’s kitchen-sink attacks and nicknames won’t be DeSantis’ only hurdle.

DeSantis may be a political heavyweight in Florida and a regular on Fox News, but allies acknowledge that most primary voters in other states don’t know him well. A Florida native with family roots in the Midwest, DeSantis studied at Yale University, where he played baseball. He would go on to Harvard Law School and become a Navy Judge Advocate General officer, a position that took him to Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He ran for Congress in 2012 and won an Orlando-area district, becoming a founding member of the far-right Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill.

Despite his lengthy resume, friends and foes alike note that DeSantis struggles to display the campaign-trail charisma and quick-on-your-feet thinking that often defines successful candidates at the national level. He has gone to great lengths to avoid unscripted public appearances and media scrutiny while governor, which is difficult, if not impossible, as a presidential contender.

Would-be supporters also worry that DeSantis has refused to invest in relationships with party leaders or fellow elected officials, raising questions about his ability to build the coalition he will ultimately need to beat Trump. By contrast, the more personable Trump has already scooped up an army of endorsements in key states, including Florida. Beyond the primary, DeSantis’ greatest longer-term challenge may rest with the far-right policies he enacted as governor as an unapologetic leader in what he calls his war on “woke.”

The Florida governor sent dozens of immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast to draw attention to the influx of Latin American immigrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He signed and then expanded the Parental Rights in Education bill — known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues in Florida public schools for all grades.

More recently, he signed a law banning abortions at six weeks, which is before most women realize they’re pregnant. And he single-handedly removed an elected prosecutor who vowed not to charge people under Florida’s new abortion restrictions or doctors who provide gender-affirming care.

DeSantis also signed a law this year allowing Florida residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. He pushed new measures that experts warn would weaken press freedoms. He also took control of a liberal arts college that he believed was indoctrinating students with leftist ideology.

The governor’s highest-profile political fight, however, has come against the beloved Florida-based entertainment giant Disney, which publicly opposed his “Don’t Say Gay” law. In retaliation, DeSantis seized control of Disney World’s governing body and installed loyalists who are threatening to take over park planning, among other extraordinary measures. DeSantis himself has threatened to build a state prison on park property. The dispute has drawn condemnation from business leaders and his Republican rivals, who said the moves are at odds with small-government conservatism.

DeSantis delayed his announcement until Florida’s legislative session was over. But for much of the year, he has been courting primary voters in key states and using an allied super political action committee to build out a large political organization that is essentially a campaign in waiting and already claims at least $30 million in the bank.

He joins a field that already includes: Trump; former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considered a likely presidential candidate but has not yet announced a bid.

More than any of his opponents, except perhaps Trump, DeSantis is positioned to hit the ground running thanks to the super PAC’s months-long efforts to install campaign infrastructure across Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, which will host the first four contests on the GOP’s primary calendar early next year. The super PAC also established more than 30 Students for DeSantis chapters across at least 18 states.

___

Peoples reported from New York. Izaguirre reported in Tallahassee, Florida.

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Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Joyless Weather

A.F. BRANCO | on September 30, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-joyless-weather/

Although it’s A mild 2022 hurricane season, Joy Behar, the Dems, and the MS Media are trying to blame Hurricane Ida on Gov DeSantis.

Joy Behar Dose the Weather
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022.

DONATE to A.F.Branco Cartoons – Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and President Donald Trump.

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DeSantis eviscerates reporter for ‘politicizing’ Florida’s response to Hurricane Ian: ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Give me a break! That is nonsense!’


By DAVE URBANSKI | September 28, 2022

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/desantis-eviscerates-reporter-for-politicizing-floridas-response-to-hurricane-ian/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted a reporter Tuesday afternoon for “politicizing” the response to Hurricane Ian.

The tongue-lashing from DeSantis came on the heels of the White House earlier in the day dodging questions about why President Joe Biden hadn’t called DeSantis — a Republican running for reelection in November — about the storm, yet calling mayors in the state, the Daily Wire said.

The reporter said, “FEMA Administrator [Deanne] Criswell said today that she acknowledged concerns that … Florida, as was said, lacks response to the storm so far and that —” before DeSantis cut him off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Give me a break! That is nonsense! Stop politicizing, okay? Stop it,” the governor barked. “We declared a state of emergency when this thing wasn’t even formed. We’ve had people in here, you’ve had counties doing … a lot of hard work, and honestly, you’re trying to attack me, I get, but like you’re attacking these other people who’ve worked very hard. And so that’s just totally false. I don’t think we’ve ever, certainly since I’ve been governor, declared a state of emergency this early. We made sure that we were very inclusive with it. We said that there was a lot of uncertainty, and then we’ve worked to make sure the preparations that have been done … you talk to the people at the counties, when they’ve needed something, stuff gets there very quickly …”

‘We don’t have time for pettiness’

DeSantis amid his remarks appeared to criticize Biden over the no-phone-call flap, saying that “we don’t have time for pettiness,” the Daily Wire reported.

“So I have not personally spoken with the president, but FEMA has approved our pre-landfall request,” DeSantis noted, the outlet said.

“We feel like we have a good relationship with FEMA,” the governor continued, according to the Daily Wire. “You know, I’m happy to brief the president if he’s interested in hearing what we’re doing in Florida, you know, my view on all this is like you got people’s lives at stake, you got their property at stake, and we don’t have time for pettiness. We got to work together to make sure we’re doing the best job for them.”

“So, my phone — my phone line is open,” DeSantis added, the outlet said. “But we are — we do appreciate the quick approval of the pre-landfall declaration.”

Politicization from the left seems to be the name of the game when it comes to Hurricane Ian:

  • Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota referenced the hurricane and climate change as reasons why Democrats have “gotta win in the midterms” during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
  • Rachel Vindman — wife of former U.S. Army officer Alexander Vindman, an infamous anti-Trumper — tweeted a suggestion that people should refer to Hurricane Ian using “they/them pronouns” to irritate DeSantis.
  • CNN’s Don Lemon tried and failed to get an expert from the NHC to blame Ian’s intensity on climate change.

Priorities, anyone?

A Wednesday morning report from the Orlando Sentinel said Hurricane Ian was exhibiting “dangerous winds near Category 5 status” and “has begun to make landfall” and was “expected to barrel its way up toward Orlando tonight.”

The Sentinel, citing the National Hurricane Center, said at 11 a.m. Wednesday the center of Ian was about 45 miles west-northwest of Naples. Gusts of 190 miles per hour are predicted when it makes landfall around 2 p.m., the paper said, citing the NHC.

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Ann Coulter Op-ed: Show Us the Way, Rich Liberals!


Ann Coulter | Posted: Sep 21, 2022

Read more at https://townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/2022/09/21/show-us-the-way-rich-liberals—p–n2613429/

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com, and WhatDidYouSay.org.

Show Us the Way, Rich Liberals!

Source: AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

It’s been awe-inspiring to see the bottomless generosity of Martha’s Vineyard residents after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent them 50 illegal immigrants from Venezuela last week.

WE LOVE YOU, YOU’VE ENRICHED OUR LIVES, NOW GET THE F–K OUT OF HERE.

Unlike angry, white MAGA voters upset about their towns being flooded with illegals, Vineyard residents would LOVE to be sort of a — what’s the word? — “sanctuary” for illegals. Really, they would. But that won’t be possible.

As Lisa Belcastro, manager of the Vineyard’s homeless shelter, succinctly put it: “We are definitely supplying them with a lot of love … They need to be off island.” The illegals “need” to hustle off because “Their immigration appointments are not here.” (Are their appointments in the Trump-supporting working-class town they were bussed to?)

In any event, GREAT NEWS, LISA! Nearly half of released illegals don’t appear for their hearings anyway. And guess what? There are absolutely no consequences. (A dozen anti-American websites claim that vast, gigantic numbers of illegals show up for their hearings, but they’re counting illegals who are being held in detention.)

On NPR, Vineyard radio host Eve Zuckoff also began with a testimonial about how “the community rallied”! But unfortunately, “there isn’t the infrastructure.” What do these great humanitarians imagine dirt-poor towns in south Texas have in terms of “infrastructure”?

Every single objection Vineyard residents have raised against the illegals being allowed to stay is precisely what ordinary Americans — not privileged enough to live in Martha’s Vineyard — have been screaming from the rooftops for 30 years. Those 50 illegals represent less than a millionth of the “enrichment” that’s already been foisted on the rest of America. (They’re 1/100,000th of the illegals admitted just under Biden.)

Vastly poorer towns have been forced to turn nearly their entire annual budgets over to feeding, housing, educating — and incarcerating — great heaping portions of third-worlders, while douchebags in places like Martha’s Vineyard (88% white; 3.7% black and 1.7% Hispanic) preen about their higher morality.

For 20 years, hospitals on the Mexican border have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year caring for illegals — some of whom are driven directly to American hospitals by Mexican ambulances. I have nine kids all with an ailment that they call diseaso expensivo back in Xochitl. And I heard something about free cable?

In 2002, a small community hospital in Arizona serving the Tohono O’odham Nation alone was spending $1.5 million a year treating illegals.

With some border hospitals devoting two-thirds of their entire operating budgets to illegals, forcing them to reduce staff, increase rates and cut back services, how about Martha’s Vineyard pony up a little of its budget on their beloved illegals?

Nah, they’ll just pat themselves on the back for proclaiming the island a “sanctuary city” before teeing off at the Mink Meadows Golf Club. Why? Because they’re better than you.

In case ordinary Americans weren’t enraged enough about bossy illegals and the hypocritical elites who enable them, the 50 Venezuelans sent to the Vineyard are suing Gov. DeSantis for the indignity of being flown to a wealthy resort town. (Maybe the media shouldn’t have spent the last week raving about how fabulously the illegals were being treated in the Vineyard — at least until they had to get the hell out.)

The Venezuelans are demanding $75,000 per illegal, which should go over well with Americans living on $40,000 a year, already taxed to support the tens of millions of poverty-stricken third-worlders living in our country.

But my gosh, the Venezuelans assimilated to America quickly! They break into our country and, Week One: Oy, my back! My back!

Similarly, the 100,000 Somalis in Minnesota assimilated with amazing speed to scamming our welfare system. The land of Walter Mondale and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is now the land of 100,000 Somalis, helpfully moved there by our State department beginning in the 1990s. In short order, clean, high-trust, homogeneous Minnesota became a hotbed of crime, terrorism and welfare fraud.

But surely this is small price to pay to rescue our fellow human beings from the horrors of Somalia! What’s that? You say the “refugees” are vacationing in Somalia? Help! Help! Get me out of here! Also, I’ll be needing a government check to fund my trip back to Somalia every winter.

Yes, these desperate “refugees” are cheerfully visiting friends and relatives in the country where they allegedly fear for their very lives! We only found out they were vacationing in Somalia because they asked for a break on their government-subsidized rent while they were away. (Request approved!)

Of course, they weren’t all going back to Somalia. Some were going to Syria to fight for the Islamic State. A 2015 House Homeland Security Committee report found that Minnesota contributed the most foreign fighters to ISIS of any state. Two of every four Somali-Minnesotans intercepted at New York’s JFK airport on route to an ISIS training camp had used federal financial-aid funds to pay for their travel.

This week, the Daily Mail reports that “Minnesotans” stole more than a quarter-BILLION dollars in pandemic relief funds from the U.S. taxpayer, for such pandemic-related needs as 20 cars, 40 properties, guns, cryptocurrency, a week at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and dozens of luxury items. And this is interesting: also a luxury apartment in Kenya.

The pandemic thieves appear to consist of one white woman and 46 Somalis:

— Aimee Marie Bock

— Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh

— Salim Ahmed Said

— Abdulkadir Nur Salah

— Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim

— Abdi Nur Salah

— Abdihakim Ali Ahmed

— Ahmed Mohamed Artan

— Abdikadir Ainanshe Mohamud

— Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir

— Asad Mohamed Abshir

— Hamdi Hussein Omar

— Ahmed Abdullahi Ghedi

— Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed

— Abdiaziz Shafii Farah

— Mohamed Jama Ismail

— Mahad Ibrahim

— Abdimajid Mohamed Nur

— Said Shafii Farah

— Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin

— Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff

— Hayat Mohamed Nur

— Qamar Ahmed Hassan

— Sahra Mohamed Nur

— Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud

— Filsan Mumin Hassan

— Guhaad Hashi Said

— Abdullahe Nur Jesow

— Abdul Abubakar Ali

— Yusuf Bashir Ali

— Haji Osman Salad

— Fahad Nur

— Anab Artan Awad

— Sharmarke Issa

— Farhiya Mohamud

— Liban Yasin Alishire

— Ahmed Yasin Ali

— Khadar Jigre Adan

— Sharmake Jama

— Ayan Jama

— Asha Jama

— Fartun Jama

— Mustafa Jama

— Zamzam Jama

— Bekam Addissu Merdassa

— Hadith Yusuf Ahmed

— Hanna Marekegn

Your loss, Martha’s Vineyard!

Note to Gov. DeSantis: Keep the flights going. Never stop. And in about three years, remember the words “immigration fraud” and “repatriation.”

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DeSantis releases evidence undercutting federal lawsuit regarding migrant flight​ to Martha’s Vineyard


By CHRIS ENLOE | September 21, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/desantis-releases-evidence-undercutting-federal-lawsuit-regarding-migrant-flight-to-marthas-vineyard-2658317925.html/

Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) responded to a federal lawsuit against the governor with evidence proving the migrants who flew to Martha’s Vineyard went voluntarily.

Wait, a lawsuit?

A left-leaning legal group, Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston, filed a class action lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday accusing DeSantis of operating a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” targeting vulnerable migrants.

The lawsuit alleges:

In or around September 2022, [DeSantis, Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, the state of Florida, Florida Department of Transportation] and their unidentified accomplices designed and executed a premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme centered on exploiting this vulnerability for the sole purpose of advancing their own personal, financial and political interests.

This scheme involved the unidentified Doe Defendants, acting in concert with the named Defendants, identifying and targeting class members by trolling streets outside of a migrant shelter in Texas and other similar locales, pretending to be good Samaritans offering humanitarian assistance.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three pseudonymous plaintiffs and contains only allegations, including that migrants were lured with McDonald’s gift certificates. The lawsuit claims defendants violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the migrants, breached the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and misused COVID-19 funds while committing fraud, false imprisonment, and intentional and negligent “infliction of emotional distress.”

Attorneys are seeking a jury trial.

DeSantis’ office responded by accusing the attorneys of exploiting the migrants and released evidence corroborating the administration’s assertion that migrants traveled willingly.

“It is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater. If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administration’s reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes,” his office said in a statement.

“The transportation of the immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard was done on a voluntary basis,” the statement continued.

“The immigrants were homeless, hungry, and abandoned — and these activists didn’t care about them then,” the statement explained. “Florida’s program gave them a fresh start in a sanctuary state and these individuals opted to take advantage of chartered flights to Massachusetts. It was disappointing that Martha’s Vineyard called in the Massachusetts National Guard to bus them away from the island within 48 hours.”

Interestingly, the Spanish-English document (that you can view here) does not specify a destination.

Democrats have accused DeSantis of crimes from kidnapping to human trafficking. However, a Texas sheriff admitted on Monday that he is not sure any laws were broken.

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Ron DeSantis signs curriculum transparency and school board term limit bill into law


Reported by SAMUEL MANGOLD-LENETT | March 26, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/ron-desantis-signs-curriculum-transparency-and-school-board-term-limit-bill-into-law-2657045081.html/

On Friday, Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law establishing term limits for members of Florida’s school boards and giving Florida residents increased access to educational materials available to students. Prior to singing HB-1467 into law, echoing his longstanding commitment to the rights of parents, DeSantis said, “We believe parents not only have a role, they have the fundamental role to be involved in the education of their kids, and that’s how it’s going to be in the state of Florida,” WFTV-ABC in Orlando reported.

A press release from the governor’s office indicates that the new law places 12-year consecutive term limits for members of school boards in the sunshine state and “requires school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials, including library and reading materials.” The press release stated that “As a part of the Year of the Parent, this legislation aims to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school.”

DeSantis said, “In Florida, our parents have every right to be involved in their child’s education. We are not going to let politicians deny parents the right to know what is being taught in our schools. I’m proud to sign this legislation that ensures curriculum transparency.”

Wilton Simpson, the President of the Florida Senate, said, “While teachers, school administrators, and school board members have a tremendous amount of authority over what and how our kids are taught in school, at the end of the day, parents — not schools — are responsible for raising children.”

He continued, “Florida parents are seeking greater involvement in many aspects of our education system, and this legislation speaks to that effort. The books our kids are reading in schools need to have proper vetting. Parents have a right, and a responsibility, to be involved in that process. Not all books are appropriate for every grade level. This legislation makes sure that we have a transparent and consistent process for public participation in the review of books and other materials used in school lessons and in the school library.”

“Governor DeSantis has shown time and time again that he is not afraid to fight for the rights of parents and understands the importance that they have a seat at the table when it comes to their child’s education,” the Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said. “I’m grateful for the Governor’s guidance and the voices of many parents, who have come forward and demands that parents be seen as a partner in their child’s education.”

This new law requires school districts in Florida to hold public meetings for the purpose of selecting instructional materials and provide the public with ample notice of when and where the meetings will be held. It also stipulates that the school districts must provide access to all materials no-less than 20 days before the school board takes official action on proposed instructional material. The state Department of Education is also compelled by law to publish a list of materials that have been removed or discontinued by the school board and disseminate the list to school districts within the state.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis rejects Biden’s request for National Guard troops to protect State of the Union speech against trucker protest


Reported by CARLOS GARCIA | February 28, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/gov-ron-desantis-rejects-biden-s-request-for-national-guard-troops-to-protect-state-of-the-union-speech-against-trucker-protest-2656812487.html/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he had rejected a request from President Joe Biden to send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., for his State of the Union address. Biden is scheduled to give his first State of the Union speech in Congress on Tuesday, but there is apprehension about several trucker protests headed to the nation’s capital to disrupt the event.

On Monday, DeSantis said he had rejected the president’s request for National Guard troops to help secure the peace.

“Last week, the Biden Administration requested the assistance of State National Guards to deploy to Washington D.C. I have rejected this request — there will be no [Florida National Guard] sent to D.C. for Biden’s State of the Union,” the governor tweeted.

DeSantis is seen as the foremost opponent of Biden’s policies among Republican state governors. Liberals lashed out at DeSantis over the tweet.

“Don’t be surprised if your next hurricane state of emergency call to FEMA rolls to voicemail, Ron,” tweeted Canadian comedian Deven Green.

Local and national law enforcement have ramped up the security ahead of the speech in order to head off any disruptions from protests. U.S. Capitol Police said that they would erect a security fence around Congress and close some streets in the surrounding areas.

At least three trucker convoys are expected to converge at the nation’s capitol to show their disdain for Biden and his policies, especially those related to vaccine and mask mandates. One of the larger convoys launched from the Mojave Desert in California on a cross-country route last week.

One Democrat called on law enforcement authorities to seize the trucks from any protest and “give the trucks to small trucking companies looking to expand their business.”

Critics of modern State of the Union speeches note that historically the address was a simple letter sent by the president to Congress. It was converted by Woodrow Wilson into an ostentatious ceremony for the sake of raising the profile of the executive branch.

Here’s more about the State of the Union address:

Security heightened ahead of Biden’s 1st State of The Union | GMA www.youtube.com

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Ann Coulter Op-ed: DeSantis Shocker: It’s Not OK to Hate Whites


Commentary by Ann Coulter | Posted: Jan 26, 2022

Read more at https://townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/2022/01/26/desantis-shocker-its-not-ok-to-hate-whites—p–n2602426/

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com., and WhatDidYouSay.com.

DeSantis Shocker: It's Not OK to Hate Whites

Source: AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing a bill through the Florida legislature to put a stop to the modern pedagogy of making little girls cry because they’re white. The bill, called “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act (WOKE),” prohibits classroom instruction that contradicts these concepts:

“No race is inherently superior to another race”;

“An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex”;

“An individual should not be made to feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race.”

The left has been having a sneer-fest over the proposed law, howling that it protects “white people” from feeling “uncomfortable.” SNOWFLAKES!

E.g.:

“A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel ‘discomfort’ when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past …” — The Associated Press (emphasis added)

“The right likes to talk so much about, you know, snowflakes. It seems like they may be raising snowflakes because if they think people are going to be uncomfortable by the actual facts — facts are uncomfortable.” — CNN’s Don Lemon

“Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies are pushing a bill … that would prohibit public schools [from making] white people squirm. Those poor, wittle babies.

“Their feelings are hurting. Some poor, wittle white people are uncomfortable about the hundreds of years of racism and hate that built this nation.” — Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times

(Saving the best for last …)

“[H]e’s trying to make it illegal, Governor Ron DeSantis, to teach history that would make white people uncomfortable. Does that law include saying you can’t make black people feel uncomfortable or indigenous people? The history of indigenous and African Americans could make one uncomfortable? Is that illegal too, or is it just white people?” — MSNBC’s Joy Ann Reid

To know the answer to Joy Ann’s question, you’d have to actually read the bill. Or an article about the bill. Or commentary on an article about the bill. Joy Ann Reid: highly literate and well-informed Harvard graduate. But, duh: A bill prohibiting the teaching of race hatred will primarily prevent the teaching of white hatred for the simple reason that it’s the only race we’re allowed to hate. Not merely allowed to hate, but taught to hate, encouraged to hate, paid to hate.

We’re now entering the sixth decade of open, widespread, official discrimination against white people on the basis of their race. Even the Asians suing Harvard dare not stress the humungous advantage given to blacks and Hispanics. No, their beef is about white applicants getting preferential treatment over Asians.

This is odd, to say the least. According to the plaintiffs’ own expert witness, an Asian with a 25% chance of admission to Harvard would increase his chances to 36% if he were white — but to 77% if Hispanic, and to 95% if black. Asians sure have assimilated to our culture!

Everybody’s copacetic with the idea that universities discriminate against white people — in abject defiance of the clear language of our civil rights laws. They have done so, loud and proud, at least since 1973, when Allan Bakke was rejected from the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, because he was white. In fact, no one under the age of 50 has ever lived in an America where universities and other elite institutions have not discriminated against whites. Three generations of hating whites are enough.

School districts around the country teach white children that they were born racist and assign books like, “Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness,” that portrays “whiteness” as a contract with Satan.

So yes, a race-neutral law that prohibits teaching race hatred will, in practice, prohibit teaching hatred of whites because that’s the only race-hate that’s taught.

Liberals jeer at whites who object to this constant disparagement, calling them “poor, wittle babies.” Does the left have any self-awareness at all?

A 6-year-old girl is a total pussy if she can’t take a little abuse for being white — at a school her parents are paying for. But our entire country has been turned upside down for the past half-century to prevent any other race from experiencing a fleeting moment of discomfort.

Historic Confederate statues are torn down and melted; newspapers refuse to identify the race of criminals — or even show photos of the arrestees; the Oscars will not consider a movie for Best Picture that does not have 30% non-whites. Otherwise, black people might feel uncomfortable.

Professor Amy Wax of the University of Pennsylvania Law School is routinely threatened with suspension or firing from her tenured position for stating facts about black students’ performance. Her remarks make black people feel uncomfortable.

Hey, where’s the rush to review Charles Murray’s recent book “Facing Reality” about black crime and I.Q.? Nope, might make black people uncomfortable.

A few years ago, Kansas City officials were advised not to impose a curfew in response to the violent mobs of black teenagers descending on a shopping plaza because, as the black mayor said, it would “make a lot of black kids angry.” His remark inspired the title of Colin Flaherty’s book about black crime, “Don’t Make the Black Kids Angry” — a book that is currently banned from Amazon. It might make black people uncomfortable.

Anti-whiteness books are flooding the grade schools, but you aren’t allowed to spend your own money to purchase books on Amazon that make some people “uncomfortable.” Not only Flaherty’s book, but:

— Ryan Anderson’s “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” — might make transgenders uncomfortable.

— Jared Taylor’s “If We Do Nothing,” as well as two books he contributed to: “Race Against Time” and “Face to Face With Race” — might make black people uncomfortable.

— The Kindle edition of the widely praised 1973 dystopian novel by French author Jean Raspail, “Camp of the Saints” — might make third worlders uncomfortable.

— David Cole’s rollicking autobiography, “Republican Party Animal” — makes Debra Messing uncomfortable.

The FBI allowed the 9/11 attack to happen by blowing off an Arizona agent’s warning that a lot of Arabs were enrolled in flight school. Three thousand Americans had to die because noticing Arabs in flight school might make some people uncomfortable.

Last week, a Muslim terrorist, Malik Faisal Akram, seized a Texas synagogue and held four hostages for 10 hours. The media universally identified Akram as: “British man.” He didn’t even call himself “British”! A week later, the Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt went on MSNBC and tried to suggest “Republicans” were responsible for the attack. The truth might make Muslims uncomfortable.

A virus that originated in China cannot be called anything with “China” in the name. That might make Asians uncomfortable.

Before we go, here’s another “actual fact,” as Don Lemon put it, and “facts are uncomfortable” (especially for the black Harvard grad on MSNBC who can’t read a bill): By Harvard’s own admission, nearly 60% of the black students it admits are there only because they are black.

It’s so great that liberals have finally turned against snowflakes so we can discuss “actual facts” again!

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It’s Different When Ron DeSantis Does It: CNN Edition

By CHARLES C. W. COOKE | December 3, 2021

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis talks to the media during a news conference in Miami, Fla., August 29, 2019. (Marco Bello/Reuters)

There’s some choice DeSantis Derangement Syndrome on CNN this morning. Check out this headline:

DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control

Gosh! A “civilian military force in Florida that he would control”! That sounds terrifying — especially when paired with the piece’s artwork, which, for some reason, shows both Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump.

And what would this “civilian military force in Florida” do?

St, Petersburg, Florida (CNN) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control.

DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday as a way to further support the Florida National Guard during emergencies, like hurricanes. The Florida National Guard has also played a vital role during the pandemic in administering Covid-19 tests and distributing vaccines.

Sounds . . . fine? Useful, even.

Ah, but this is unusual, right? Oh wait, no, it’s not:

States have the power to create defense forces separate from the national guard, though not all of them use it. If Florida moves ahead with DeSantis’ plan to reestablish the civilian force, it would become the 23rd active state guard in the country, DeSantis’ office said in a press release, joining California, Texas and New York.

So nearly half the states do it — including California and New York — and Florida itself used to have one before it was abandoned. Which makes the problem . . . what, exactly?

CNN continues:

But in a nod to the growing tension between Republican states and the Biden administration over the National Guard, DeSantis also said this unit, called the Florida State Guard, would be “not encumbered by the federal government.” He said this force would give him “the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible.” DeSantis is proposing bringing it back with a volunteer force of 200 civilians, and he is seeking $3.5 million from the state legislature in startup costs to train and equip them.

Ah, right. The problem is that this unit would be “not encumbered by the federal government,” and, thereby, that it would be under DeSantis’s control. Which is just absolutely horrifying — unlike, say, the massive, nuke-filled, “civilian military force” that is under Joe Biden’s control, which is completely different, for reasons that CNN will presumably arrive at next time a Republican is in the White House.

CHARLES C. W. COOKE is a senior writer for National Review. @charlescwcooke

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‘I will send them to Delaware’ on buses: DeSantis hits back over Biden secretly flying migrants into Florida


Reported by PHIL SHIVER | November 11, 2021

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/desantis-bus-migrants-to-delaware/

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened this week to bus illegal immigrants to President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware should the administration continue to pay for “clandestine” flights carrying migrants into the Sunshine State.

“If they’re going to come here, you know, we’ll provide buses and … I will send them to Delaware,” DeSantis warned during a press conference on Wednesday.

The governor’s tough remarks came amid a lengthy polemic against the president over his handling of the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S southern border, during which he described the secretive process that the Biden administration has reportedly used to send some 70 flights carrying illegal aliens into his state and elsewhere around the country. One of those flights carried an illegal immigrant who allegedly went on to murder a father of four in Florida, DeSantis declared earlier this week.

“There’s no notification to the state of Florida,” DeSantis complained, noting, “These are done mostly in the middle of the night, and it’s clandestine. And we really have no say into it.”

“I know when we initially got wind of this, it wasn’t through normal channels, it’s people in the federal government who are effectively leaking this to us so that we have a heads-up on it,” he continued.

The governor then argued that if the president is unwilling to secure the country’s border with Mexico, then he should open up his home state to house the illegal immigrants rather than shipping them to other places around the country.

“If he’s not going to support the border being secured, then he should be able to have everyone there. So, we will do whatever we can in that regard. And we are absolutely going to do everything we can,” DeSantis insisted.

DeSantis also took issue with separate reporting that amid rapidly rising inflation in the country, Biden is considering handing out payments to some illegal immigrant families who were separated at the border under the previous administration.

“The president has said that basically, they want to even pay reparations to people who came illegally, just think about that,” the governor said. “You as an American, you get higher gas prices, you get higher grocery bills, you get told, basically, to just grin and bear it.”

“But someone breaks the law, comes illegally, and they’re going to cut him a check for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he continued. “That is just unbelievable. But that’s what we’re dealing with.”

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Ann Coulter Op-ed: ‘Florida Woman’ Saner Than Media


Commentary by Ann Coulter | Posted: May 26, 2021 4:15 PM

Read more at https://townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/2021/05/26/florida-woman-saner-than-media—p–n2590056

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com, and WhatDidYouSay.org

l'Florida Woman' Saner Than Media

Source: AP Photo/Gerald HerbertTrending

Last week, we discussed Rebekah Jones, the crazy lady who wrote a 342-page telenovela about her ex-lover, Garrett Sweeterman, then went on to fame and fortune by claiming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was faking his state’s spectacularly low COVID numbers.

Before the media turned Jones into their next Erin Brockovich, they might have done 10 seconds of Googling to find out that Jones’ past includes stalking, battery on a police officer, repeated incarcerations, an institutionalization, an ankle monitor, a restraining order and court-ordered medication. And that’s long before the DeSantis administration hired her as a web designer.

These infractions are contained not only in police reports and court filings, but in her prolix manifesto about her ex-lover that she herself posted all over the internet. Jones seems to think it’s a point in her favor that during Florida State University’s investigation of her obsessive behavior toward her former student, “Garrett didn’t even bother bringing any evidence — no copies of texts or calls … I brought more than 200 pages worth.”

That sounds normal.

Even after multiple demands that she stay away from Sweeterman, the still-married Jones writes:

Did you know that I would have given anything, truly anything to make things right between us?

Did it matter to you at all that I loved you?

Did it, Garrett?

If the genders were reversed, Jones’ obsession with a former student would be a movie on “Lifetime: TV for Women.”

Instead, she attacked DeSantis and became Forbes magazine’s “Technology Person of the Year,” Fortune magazine’s “40-Under-40” in health care, and cable news’s go-to source for dirt on the DeSantis administration.

No TV personality lavished more attention on Jones than MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, featuring her on his show on Dec. 8, Dec. 9, Dec. 16 and Dec. 22, 2020. As is common at MSNBC, O’Donnell jumped on the horse and rode off into the sunset without a map, directions or a compass.

In the first of his blockbuster reports, O’Donnell used a law enforcement raid on Jones’ home for one of his anti-police screeds, informing viewers that they were about to see a video of “outrageous conduct by American police officers” — and I have this hot MILF on my show to talk about it. If she wants, I’ll take her on my sailboat.

The MSNBC host scoffed at the basis for the raid, saying: “They were going after the person who sent what they considered, I suppose, some criminally dangerous text.” Ho ho ho. Jones — or at least her lawyer — knows damn well that the charge is serious, which is why, to this day, she stoutly denies sending the text.

According to the search warrant affidavit, six months after Jones was fired by the Florida Department of Health, she hacked into the state’s medical emergency notification system from her home computer, obtained the private information of thousands of people, and sent out a mass text, pleading: “it’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong,” and so on. She signed the deranged missive as if it were an official communique from Florida Department of Health.

Comcast determined that the text came from Jones’ Tallahassee home. Perhaps in addition to cuckolding him, she plans to pin the hacking felony on her husband. (Then she could run off with Garrett!)

On the day of the raid, as infinitely patient law enforcement officers banged on Jones’ front door for 22 minutes, she was inside, setting up a video camera. Donations to her GoFundMe page must have been flagging.

O’Donnell introduced her video, saying: “What you’re about to see is almost as bad as American policing gets.”

What we see is Jones (finally) opening the door and exiting the house. An officer enters, unholsters his gun, and calls out for anyone else in the house to come downstairs. In other words, standard operating procedure for executing a search warrant.

Although no one is pointing a gun at anyone, Jones can be heard in the background screaming, “He just pointed a gun at my children!”

This is classic hysterical woman behavior.

YOU’RE HURTING ME! STOP HITTING ME!

I’m not touching you. I’m 7 feet away.

But O’Donnell and the rest of the media repeatedly played Jones’ video while informing viewers that it showed something it plainly did not: officers “pointing” guns at Jones and her children.

“The only thing that could have made this worse,” O’Donnell said, “is if one of those recklessly aimed guns killed someone in that house. If one of those guns aimed at Rebekah Jones’ children fired.”

O’Donnell on the Zapruder film: As you can see in frame 187, President Kennedy is firing at Lee Harvey Oswald from the convertible.

Jones is like the white woman captured on video in Central Park, calling 911 on a black male birdwatcher. As he calmly speaks to her from 20 yards away, she shrieks to the dispatcher, “An African American man… [is] threatening myself and my dog.”

O’Donnell voiceover: The only thing that could have made this worse is if the birdwatcher had killed the woman.

My voiceover for the entire American media: As you can see, they are liars.

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(Updated): ‘Absolute malarkey’: ’60 Minutes’ airs deceptively edited segment accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of corruption


Reported by CHRIS PANDOLFO | April 05, 2021

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/absolute-malarkey-60-minutes-airs-deceptively-edited-segment-accusing-gov-ron-desantis-of-corruption/

Updated 4/5/2021, 3:45 p.m. ET: The Democratic mayor of Palm Beach County, Dave Kerner, on Monday said he felt “compelled” to issue a statement after watching the “60 Minutes” segment featuring Gov. Ron DeSantis and vaccination efforts in the county.POLL: What scares you the most?

“The reporting was not just based on bad information — it was intentionally false,” Kerner said. “I know this because I offered to provide my insight into Palm Beach County’s vaccination efforts and 60 minutes declined. They know that the Governor came to Palm Beach County and met with me and the County Administrator and we asked to expand the state’s partnership with Publix to Palm Beach County. We also discussed our own local plans to expand mass vaccination centers throughout the county, which the Governor has been incredibly supportive. We asked and he delivered. They had that information, and they left it out because it kneecaps their narrative.’

“We have confronted this pandemic for over a year. Our residents, like all Americans, are tired. And the media is making it worse. They are hellbent on dividing us for cheap views and clicks. 60 Minutes should be ashamed,” he continued.

Original story continues below …

CBS News’ “60 Minutes” was blasted on Sunday by a top Democratic official in Florida and the state’s largest grocery store chain after it aired a deceptively edited segment insinuating that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) engaged in a “pay to play” scheme with COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

On Sunday evening, CBS News’ Sharyn Alfonsi reported that DeSantis received a $100,000 donation to his PAC from Publix grocery stores, which later partnered with the state to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. “60 Minutes” aired a clip of Alfonsi confronting DeSantis at a new conference south of Orlando, accusing the governor of “pay to play” by giving Publix exclusive rights to distribute the vaccine after he received that donation.

The governor said Alfonsi was “wrong” and spreading a “fake narrative” and proceeded to correct the record, but his long answer was cut out of the segment by CBS News’ editors.

The Daily Wire reported the transcript of the segment, highlighting in bold the parts of DeSantis’ answer that were edited out of the clip.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Publix, as you know, donated $100,000 to your campaign, and then you rewarded them with the exclusive rights to distribute the vaccination in Palm Beach—

Ron DeSantis: So, first of all, that — what you’re saying is wrong. That’s—

Sharyn Alfonsi: How is that not pay-to-play?

Ron DeSantis: —that, that’s a fake narrative. So, first of all, when we did, the first pharmacies that had it were CVS and Walgreens. And they had a long-term care mission. So they were going to the long-term care facilities. They got the vaccine in the middle of December, they started going to the long-term care facilities the third week of December to do LTCs. So that was their mission. That was very important. And we trusted them to do that. As we got into January, we wanted to expand the distribution points. So yes, you had the counties, you had some drive-through sites, you had hospitals that were doing a lot, but we wanted to get it into communities more. So we reached out to other retail pharmacies — Publix, Walmart — obviously CVS and Walgreens had to finish that mission. And we said, we’re going to use you as soon as you’re done with that. For Publix, they were the first one to raise their hand, say they were ready to go. And you know what, we did it on a trial basis. I had three counties. I actually showed up that weekend and talked to seniors across four different Publix. How was the experience? Is this good? Should you think this is a way to go? And it was 100% positive. So we expanded it, and then folks liked it. And I can tell you, if you look at a place like Palm Beach County, they were kind of struggling at first in terms of the senior numbers. I went, I met with the county mayor. I met with the administrator. I met with all the folks in Palm Beach County, and I said, “Here’s some of the options: we can do more drive-through sites, we can give more to hospitals, we can do the Publix, we can do this.” They calculated that 90% of their seniors live within a mile and a half of a Publix. And they said, “We think that would be the easiest thing for our residents.” So, we did that, and what ended up happening was, you had 65 Publix in Palm Beach. Palm Beach is one of the biggest counties, one of the most elderly counties, we’ve done almost 75% of the seniors in Palm Beach, and the reason is because you have the strong retail footprint. So our way has been multifaceted. It has worked. And we’re also now very much expanding CVS and Walgreens, now that they’ve completed the long-term care mission.

Sharyn Alfonsi: The criticism is that it’s pay-to-play, governor.

Ron DeSantis: And it’s wrong. It’s wrong. It’s a fake narrative. I just disabused you of the narrative. And you don’t care about the facts. Because, obviously, I laid it out for you in a way that is irrefutable.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Well, I— I was just—

Ron DeSantis: And, so, it’s clearly not.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Isn’t there the nearest Publix —

Ron DeSantis: No, no, no. You’re wrong.

Sharyn Alfonsi: —30 miles away.

Ron DeSantis: You’re wrong. You’re wrong. Yes, sir?

Sharyn Alfonsi: That’s actually a fact.

“The irresponsible suggestion that there was a connection between campaign contributions made to Governor DeSantis and our willingness to join other pharmacies in support of the state’s vaccine distribution efforts is absolutely false and offensive,” Publix said in a scathing statement provided to “60 Minutes.”

“We are proud of our pharmacy associates for administering more than 1.5 million doses of vaccine to date and for joining other retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to do our part to help our communities emerge from the pandemic,” the grocery store said.

Florida’s director of emergency management, Jared Moskowitz, the Democratic state official responsible for directing the response to the pandemic under Gov. DeSantis, came to the governor’s defense and called Alfonsi’s narrative “absolute malarkey.”

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Ron DeSantis becomes first Republican governor to unveil legislation cracking down on Big Tech


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday tore into Big Tech companies, calling them “enforcers of preferred narratives” whose economic interests are “not in the public interest” in a lengthy speech announcing new legislation to protect the privacy and free speech rights of Floridians from Silicon Valley.

“It’s high time that we step up to the plate to ensure the protection of the people and their rights,” DeSantis proclaimed, speaking to reporters at a press conference with Republican leaders from the state legislature.

The governor announced a new legislative effort to crack down on Big Tech, intending to limit social media companies’ ability to sell user information to advertisers for a profit and taking action to protect social media users amid accusations that Facebook and Twitter engage in censorship of certain viewpoints or information.

“At the turn of the 21st century, online technology represented tools to liberate Americans from reliance on distrusted legacy media outlets. As social media proliferated over the past decade, citizens could directly connect with large numbers of people and could cut out corporate media outlets entirely,” DeSantis said. “Over the years, however, these platforms have changed from neutral platforms that provided Americans with the freedom to speak to enforcers of preferred narratives.”

He added, “These platforms have played an increasingly decisive role in elections and have negatively impacted Americans who dissent from orthodoxies favored by the Big Tech cartel.”

DeSantis voiced concerns shared by many conservatives and Republicans that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have grown too powerful and have too much control over the spread of information on the internet. He criticized these websites for their seemingly arbitrary enforcement action against conservative content, for deplatforming users secretively without telling them which terms of service they violated beforehand, for engaging in “viewpoint discrimination” and holding double standards for content moderation, and for potentially manipulating elections by controlling the spread of information.

DeSantis cited multiple examples of overreach by social media content moderators, including the censorship of criticism of coronavirus lock downs, banning the sitting U.S. president, the suppression of the New York Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden story, and the “decapitation” of Parler, a Twitter alternative popular with President Donald Trump’s supporters that was kicked offline by Amazon Web Services for purportedly failing to impose satisfactory content moderation.

“Big tech has come to look more like Big Brother with each passing day,” DeSantis remarked, accusing tech companies of holding “monopoly power over a centrally important forum of public discourse.”

“Nameless, faceless boards of censors” are violating the free speech rights of Floridians, and Big Tech is “not entitled to track your every move,” he declared.

“Our Founding Fathers were deliberate in the enshrinement of our rights in the Constitution to ensure that we the people were guaranteed protection against those wishing to violate our rights,” he said.

“Ironically, our early founders were most concerned with the tyranny of government in deciding these rights, but today the Big Tech oligarchy has in many ways become a clear and more present danger to the restriction of the right to free speech than the government itself,” DeSantis continued.

He went on to say, “Silicon Valley CEOs wield extraordinary power, to the point of holistically controlling the flow of vast swaths of information in our country. In a matter of hours, a business can be dismantled, a community of friends and colleagues canceled, and even a sitting president of the United States silenced.

“By their own admission, social media companies view themselves as platforms of global, regional, and local connectivity. Make no mistake, they are nothing more than advertising conglomerates, and I’m not interested in handing over the keys to the public square to a bunch of companies whose economic interests are not aligned with the public interest.”

The governor unveiled several legislative proposals that state Republicans will attempt to pass to crack down on unfair practices by big tech companies. They include:

  • Requiring social media platforms to give proper notice and disclosure of changes to their content standards or terms of service and provide full disclosure of any actions taken against a user for violating their standards.

  • Prevent social media platforms from rapidly changing these standards and applying them unequally against users.

  • Provide users the option to opt out of the various algorithms these platforms use to steer content or suppress content from the view of other users.

  • Provide users the ability to bring lawsuits against tech companies and empower the Florida attorney general to bring actions against a tech company for violations of these requirements under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

DeSantis also announced several proposals to ensure that tech companies do not engage in “political manipulation” by “manipulating news content and designing algorithms to give the upper hand to their candidates of choice.”

“Web hosting, the payment processing, take away your email, your text, you could totally neuter a candidates ability to communicate and execute a campaign plan,” DeSantis warned.

His proposals include:

  • Imposing a daily $100,000 fine on a tech company that deplatforms a candidate for elected office in Florida during an election until the candidate’s access to the platform is restored.

  • If a tech company promotes one candidate for office against another, the value of that free promotion must be recorded as a political campaign contribution enforced by the Florida Elections Commission.

  • If a tech company uses algorithms to suppress or prioritize the access of any content related to a political cause or candidate on the ballot, that company will face daily fines.

“The message is loud and clear: When it comes to elections in Florida, Big Tech should stay out of it,” DeSantis said.

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