Disney pulls the rug from under Ron DeSantis takeover attempt with major power play

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis

From The Associated Press:

Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers. The current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said at a meeting that their predecessors last month signed a development agreement with the company that gave Disney maximum developmental power over the theme park resort’s 27,000 acres in central Florida. 

 The five supervisors were appointed by the Republican governor to the board after the Florida Legislature overhauled Disney’s government in retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as lessons deemed not age-appropriate.

 In taking on Disney, DeSantis furthered his reputation as a culture warrior willing to battle perceived political enemies and wield the power of state government to accomplish political goals, a strategy that is expected to continue ahead of his potential White House run.

 

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis chose to play a game with the Disney Corporation - while exploiting homophobia - to bolster his image before the 2024 election. Now he is learning that a billion dollar corporation generally plays for keeps. 

He was probably expected a neat victory, but now he is in for a long war. And don't think that his more than likely opponent for the GOP presidential nomination isn't taking note

Ouch:

Senior @RealDonaldTrump campaign staffer just now: "President Trump wrote 'Art of the Deal' and brokered Middle East peace. Ron DeSantis just got out-negotiated by Mickey Mouse." https://t.co/UQwbfcpPoQ

— Peter Schorsch (@PeterSchorschFL) March 29, 2023

'From hair stylists to vocal coaches - anyone 'aiding and abetting' trans youth could be targeted in SC bill' & other Wed midday news briefs

From hair stylists to vocal coaches, anyone ‘aiding and abetting’ trans youth could be brought to trial in new South Carolina bill​ - This is easily the most insane thing I have read this year. Completely insane. 

The Far Right Is Exploiting the Nashville Tragedy to Promote Transphobia - Collectively, these people ruin all of my faith in mankind. 

NHL teams using Russia as excuse for screwing up their Pride nights - Wimps. 

From drag shows to pronouns: Florida GOP takes aim at LGBTQ issues - Florida's supermajority of Republicans have declared war on LGBTQ people.

Congressman called out in embarrassing comparison of his remarks about drag shows versus school shootings

Those of us on my side are probably desensitized with how many times conservatives reveal themselves to be hypocrites. They do it so much that it's lost the shock value necessary to get people motivated. But the solution, as difficult as it sounds, is to not give in. Particularly in the case of the awful school shooting which took place in Nashville on Monday. Too many of these things have happened and we know the main reason why. It's the easy ability in this country for folks to get guns, even the guns which go way beyond self-protection. 

And no matter how many times school shootings happen, it doesn't seem that Congress is going to do anything about it. Their priorities are in the wrong place as this video of Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett proves.  He's all for acting against drag shows, but when it comes to school shootings, his opinion changes on an embarrassing level.

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett on drag queens vs mass shootings. This demonstrates perfectly the complete moral rot of Tennessee politicians.

Drag: "We're not going to put up with it.

Mass shootings: "We're not gonna fix it."pic.twitter.com/e6lCpEE5YK

— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) March 28, 2023

Hat tip to Alejandra Caraballo

'As 2024 NC Gov race looms, possible candidate obsesses about targeting LGBTQ people' & other Tue midday news briefs

NC Lt Gov Mark Robinson

'God formed me' to fight LGBTQ issues, NC's Mark Robinson says as 2024 governor's race looms​ - Some people have to learn the hard way. His personal crusade against LGBTQ people is NOT an issue voters want to talk about. 

How This Queer Woman Became One of the Best Stunt Drivers in the Industry - Get it, girlfriend! 

Idaho passes law letting students sue for “emotional harm” if they see a trans kid in the restroom - Another court case they will lose. 

Students, LGBTQ group sue Texas university over canceled drag show - Good for them!

Texas anti-LGBTQ activist knew for years about child sex abuse claims against SBC leader but still used his name to bolster reputation

Jared Woodfill

From The Texas Tribune by way of Raw Story:

In 2016, former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill received an urgent warning about Paul Pressler, his longtime law partner and a Southern Baptist leader. In an email, a 25-year-old attorney from Woodfill’s Houston firm said he’d recently gone to lunch with Pressler, who told him “lewd stories about being naked on beaches with young men” and then invited him to skinny-dip at his ranch. 

Woodfill — an outspoken anti-gay politician and prominent conservative activist who’d just played a key role defeating an equal rights ordinance for LGBTQ Houstonians — responded to the young man’s request for help with shock and indignation. “This 85-year-old man has never made any inappropriate comments or actions toward me or any one I know of,” he wrote of Pressler at the time.

 But new court records show that wasn’t true. 

 In recent sworn testimony, Woodfill said he’d known since 2004 of an allegation that Pressler had sexually abused a child. Woodfill learned of those claims, he said, during mediation of an assault lawsuit filed against Pressler that he helped quietly settle for nearly a half-million dollars at the time. Despite his knowledge of the accusation, Woodfill continued to work with Pressler for nearly a decade — leaning on Pressler’s name and reputation to bolster their firm, Woodfill & Pressler LLP. 

 And this little morsel makes the story even more repulsive:

 Rather than pay him a salary, Woodfill testified, the firm provided Pressler a string of employees to serve as personal assistants, most of them young men who typically worked out of his River Oaks mansion. Two have accused Pressler of sexual assault or misconduct.

Woodfill led the Harris County Republican Party from 2002 to 2014 and has for years been at the helm of anti-LGBTQ and other hardline conservative movements in Houston and Texas. In 2015, amid tense debate over a Houston equal rights ordinance that would have made LGBTQ workplace discrimination illegal, he and well-known GOP power broker Steven Hotze co-led a campaign that, among other things, said the measure would allow children to be sexually groomed and abused in bathrooms, paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in opposition advertisements and compared the gay rights movement to Nazis.

 The article in its entirety is a doozy because it implicates other religious right players. The article seems to imply that Pressler's scurrilous behavior wasn't a secret but was covered up by folks for their own personal benefit. So while they carried on about LGBTQ people being predators, they kept quiet while an actual predator prowled in their midst.

'How bigots, clout chasers, and lies disrupted the drag community in Tennessee' & other Mon midday news briefs

How drag was pushed back into the shadows in Tennessee - It happened because of a bunch of lies pushed by bigots and clout chasers.

Bakery that hosted drag event closes after hate groups made her work a “nightmare”​ - I HATE it when the bad guys win, no matter how temporary the victory may be. 

Grindr joins major public health push to distribute free at-home HIV tests - Good for Grindr. 

Uganda's new anti-LGBTQ bill grew out of a poisonous American seed - This is one of those evergreen pieces because conservative evangelicals from America are always trying to spread their poison.

Video - Would you rather children be around drag queens or those who protest drag queens?

I'd rather have drag queens around kids than this guy.

The video below speaks for itself. Folks need to leave drag queens alone and worry about the folks claiming that kids need protection from drag queens.

Observe the contrast between the vicious hate outside today’s Drag Story Hour, and the love and positivity inside. Awful that the families were exposed to it on their way in. Thank you @NewYorkStateAG for hosting this reading event at @LGBTCenterNYC today! pic.twitter.com/uy22dmw5L0

— Erik Bottcher (@ebottcher) March 20, 2023

Hat tip to LGBTQNation

'Families sue to stop Florida ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth' & other Fri midday news briefs

Groups sue to stop Florida's gender-affirming care ban for kids​ - And it begins. Let's dance, y'all. For our kids.

Christian Nationalist Mark Robinson Plans NC Gubernatorial Run Even Though He Doesn’t ‘Want’ to Be Governor - This man is a loud, vulgar moron. He turns off voters. 

World Athletics bans trans women from the female track and field category - THIS is a bunch of nonsense. 

'Reprehensible' and 'disgraceful': House Democrat scorches GOP book bans and 'Parental Bill of Rights' - Preach!! 

Most Transgender People Find Transitioning Positive: Poll - Not if some jerks had their way.

Utah parent demands that the Bible be banned from school libraries under new law because it is 'sex-ridden'

A Utah parent is demanding that the Bible be banned from school libraries in accordance to a new state law banning pornographic materials in schools. The parent submitted eight pages of Bible verses to back up their claim.

In all honesty, the parent has a point based upon the law. The Bible is a wonderful book but it is also chock full of sex and extreme violence:

From The Salt Lake City Tribune:

Frustrated by the books being removed from school libraries, a Utah parent says there’s one that hasn’t been challenged yet, but that they believe should be, for being “one of the most sex-ridden books around.” So they’ve submitted a request for their school district in Davis County to now review the Bible for any inappropriate content. 

 “Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide,” the parent wrote in their request, listing topics they found concerning in the religious text. “You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.

” The code cited is the Utah law passed in 2022 to ban any books containing “pornographic or indecent” content from Utah schools, both in libraries and in the classroom. It came after outcry from conservative parents groups, who have been pushing to have titles removed.

Raw Story added:

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the parent, who remains unidentified for privacy reasons, submitted their challenge on Dec. 11 along with an eight-page list of passages from the Bible that they found to be offensive and worth reviewing.

 . . . “Get this PORN out of our schools,” the parent wrote. “If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk.”

And apparently the parent did not come to play games. According to the Tribune:

The eight-page list starts with passages from Genesis that mention sex, alcohol, nudity, rape and incest. A quote from Genesis 19:8 reads: “See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish.” 

 Genesis 19:35-36 adds: “Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.” 

 The other citations highlight similar themes, including passages mentioning “whoredom” and “breasts” and “fornication.”

Utah state representative Ken Ivory, who sponsored the law, was not happy at the parent's request. He called it a stunt and  said it would drain the school's resources: 

 “There was a purpose to the bill and this kind of stuff, it’s very unfortunate,” he said. “There are any number of studies that directly link sexualization and hyper-sexualization with sexual exploitation and abuse. Certainly, those are things we don’t want in schools.” 

 “For people to minimize that and to make a mockery of it is very sad,” Ivory added.

 I think that was the parent's point, Mr. Ivory - to show the inanity of book banning.

 According to the Tribune, the request has been given to a committee and the process usually takes 60 days but there may be backlog.  

'Disney announces huge LGBTQ+ conference. What will DeSantis do about it?' & other Thur midday news briefs

Disney announces huge LGBTQ+ conference just weeks after Ron DeSantis said he’s their “sheriff”​ - Well this promises to be interesting.

DeSantis to expand ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law to all grades - Speaking of which, DeSantis is most likely doing this because Trump is wrecking him in the polls. By double digits.

LGBTQ-friendly books being read to elementary students in Montgomery County - A very good article which points out an interesting fact. A parent here says that she was not consulted but the school DID send out a statement regarding the things she claimed not to be consulted about. And apparently there was an evaluation process about it. 

NASCAR Racer Zach Herrin Wears His Gay Identity Proudly - You'd better believe it. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Signs Trans Bathroom Ban Bill Into Law - A stupid and unnecessary bill.

'I am the parent of a transgender child. What about my parental rights?'

So many conservatives who shout "let kids be kids" and "parents should raise their kids, not the government" are basic hypocrites. All of their prattle is a smokescreen to cover up their prejudices and attempts to undermine the lives and rights of transgender Americans. Their actions against this community belies both their mantras. 

If they actually believed in letting kids be kids and letting parents raise their own kids, they would heed the words of Jennifer Koslow. She is a Florida parent and the mother of a trans child. Legislation proposed in Florida against gender-affirming healthcare would do her family great harm.

She makes her case in The Tallahassee Democrat 

I am the parent of a transgender child. I should have the fundamental right to determine what is in the best interests of my child's health and education. HB 1421 & SB 254 that ban gender-affirming medical care for minors (and put conditions on medical care for adults), HB 1403/SB 1580, "Protections of Medical Conscience," and HB 1223/HB 1069/SB 1320, which expands legislation related to Educational Institutions and Instruction Requirements will all have the same impact. They undermine my parental authority. 

 My family, and no family I know, has ever made a medical decision regarding their transgender child without consulting a team of physicians. Having gender dysphoria is not being "confused." It is a condition where a person's feelings about their body are out of alignment with the physical traits of their body. For some (but not all), gender dysphoria creates extreme distress. 

Thirty years of data on puberty blockers tell us that this is a safe medication to temporarily pause puberty. As transgender children become adolescents, gradually taking gender-affirming hormones is only done as an informed decision for them and their parents. HB 1421 & SB 254 undermines a parent's fundamental right to make medical decisions for their child in consultation with their physicians.

Her entire post deserves a read and a share.

'Leaked emails reveal anti-trans 'holy war'' & other Wed midday news briefs

‘Under His Wings’: Leaked Emails Reveal an Anti-Trans ‘Holy War’​ - Spooky and not surprising. We need to amplify this more because those folks fear being exposed. 

Uganda lawmakers approve new anti-homosexuality bill - And LGBTQ Ugandans have to deal with this again. 

Tennessee GOP leader survives no-confidence vote amid racy social media controversy - Randy McNally got lucky. That's okay for now. 

What It's Like to Be an LGBTQ+ High Schooler in DeSantis's Florida - I'm actually too scared to imagine. 

West Texas A&M University president cancels student drag show - Sounds like someone is angling for a future in politics. Maybe?

Former FL legislator who wrote 'Don't Say Gay' bill pleads guilty to fraud, faces up to 35 years in prison

Former FL legislator Joe Harding

I posted about the hypocrisy of former FL GOP state legislator Joe Harding last year when this first went down. The follow-up is an appropriate reminder.

From Raw Story

Joe Harding, the now-former Florida Republican lawmaker who authored the extremist “Don’t Say Gay” bill could face up to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday afternoon to federal felony fraud charges in a scheme to obtain $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, according to Florida Politics‘ publisher Peter Scorsch. 

 Harding, 35, was a construction project manager who started his own lawn care company. He quickly became a right-wing darling after his anti-LGBTQ legislation, officially the Parental Rights in Education Act, was embraced by Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed it into law. Harding was charged in a December federal indictment with six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in his plot to obtain $150,000 in COVID funds. He resigned from the legislature the following day. He originally pled not guilty. 

 After Harding was charged and resigned, Nadine Smith, the executive director of Equality Florida, responded via social media, saying: “So much harm to students, parents and teachers because of his raw political ambitions. He slandered entire communities and trafficked in lie after lie that has emboldened violent bigotry. He will have his day in court but his legacy is already a despicable one.”

Well that's one less fool we have to worry about in politics.

'Proud Boys left bloodied in clash outside NYC Drag Story Hour' & other Tue midday news briefs

Proud Boys left bloodied in clash outside NYC Drag Story Hour​ - Folks do NOT play games in New York.

Georgia County Pays $1.2 Million to Fight Gender-Affirming Care Suit - It would have been cheaper to allow the employee to have her gender-affirming care. But some folks just have to be stubborn no matter how much it costs them. 

Spread of anti-LGBTQ bills could have ‘enormous impact’ on HBCUs - I kept telling folks that we are all connected. 

Queer students in Florida are terrified - It's sad how these "let kids be kids" types aren't doing anything but harming kids.

Undercover investigators say no lewd acts were performed at drag show targeted by DeSantis

FL Gov Ron DeSantis is trying to take away the liquor license of the theater who hosted this drag show even though undercover investigators said no lewd acts were performed.

No doubt, LGBTQ folks are going to be all blase about this news. But can you really blame us? It follows a steady pattern of events which always repeats itself like a time loop in a Twilight Zone episode.

From VICE:

A nonprofit-run theater in Orlando is reportedly at risk of losing its liquor license, the latest attack in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s war on drag shows, which he’s called “sexualized” entertainment. And the complaint from a state agency was filed even after Florida’s own undercover police said in a report that they did “not witness any lewd acts” during a December drag show. 

 The Plaza Live theater in Orlando hosted a performance of a show called “A Drag Queen Christmas” on Dec. 28. Agents from the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation were in attendance and took photos and videos of the performance and photos of three minors who were accompanied by their parents, the Miami Herald reported Monday. 

 But those cops did not actually find that the theater was in violation of the law. “Besides some of the outfits being provocative [bikinis and short shorts], agents did not witness any lewd acts such as exposure of genital organs,” according to a report by the agents obtained by the Miami Herald. “The performers did not have any physical contact while performing to the rhythm of the music with any patrons.” 

 There was a sign posted outside the venue saying that while entry was not restricted to minors, “please be advised that some may think the context is not appropriate for under 18,” according to the Herald.

The Tampa Bay Times said that even though the complaint by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation claims that several decency laws were broken, no criminal charges have been filed. The Times said the case is being looked at as a license-compliance matter. And that's led to some people labeling actions against the Plaza as a "set-up" for DeSantis who is supposedly considering a 2024 presidential run. 

According to the Times:

 In the adult-entertainment industry, obscene acts generally include touching, sexual manipulation, or exposing an erection — none of which happened at the Plaza Live or any of the other venues targeted by the state over similar allegations since last summer. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former Democratic state legislator from Orlando, said the report from state agents proves that the “moral panic” about drag shows is a “hoax.” 

Equality Florida, an LGBTQ organization in Florida, told Business Insider that DeSantis is attacking the LGBTQ community to make a name for himself in anticipation of his possible presidential run: 

"He is weaponizing state agencies, sending investigators to harass small business and performers, then discarding the reports of agents when it doesn't fit his agenda," the group said, adding, "Free states don't wield the power of government to punish small businesses for respecting the right of parents to determine what entertainment is best for their families."

The pattern I mentioned at the beginning of the post - mimicked by this incident -  is as follows:

• The right amplifies a scurrilous incident involving LGBTQ people (which is sometimes accompanied by doctored or misrepresented footage)

• Everyone flips out while members of the community and supposed allies concern troll us about the LGBTQ community being "too radical."

• Footage of said incident is constantly replayed on Twitter while further amplified by the right-wing propaganda industry (i.e. the Family Research Council, Breitbart, the Heritage Foundation, the Daily Wire, Fox News, etc and every insignificant wannabe right-wing influencer) and repeated by far-right members of Congress until it becomes a narrative used to harm LGBTQ people in social media and sometimes in state legislatures.

• The truth is revealed showing that said incident was distorted or deliberately taken out of context. But by then it doesn't matter because the lie has done its work to damage LGBTQ people.

• Rinse and repeat.

•  I stand on the side banging my head against the wall while dying a little inside because folks fall for this flim-flam more times than Charlie Brown falls for Lucy pulling the football away in a Peanuts cartoon.

'Rightwing pundit who called for eradicating 'transgenderism' played a gay twink in a movie' & other Mon midday news briefs

Mr. 'transgenderism must be eradicated' Michael Knowles (right) once played a gay twink in a movie. He wasn't that good. 

Rightwing pundit who called for eradicating “transgenderism” played a gay twink in a movie - And he was terrible. No wonder he didn't stick to acting.

21 Artists Performing at Nashville's LGBTQ+ Rights Concert 'Love Rising' - So awesome! 

PrEP's promise to change the course of HIV has succeeded — but only for white gay men - We simply have to do better.

In wake of Florida law, additional states seek to restrict certain LGBTQ discussions in schools - Bring it on. We will win this one, too.

Trans activist debunks false claim that 80% of trans youth detransition

 

There are quite a few trans activists working against this outbreak of anti-trans legislation. They aren't as well known as they should be, but their work is outstanding.

One such person is Erin Reed, an independent reporter who has been following anti-trans legislation around the country via her substack and Twitter address. She also breaks down the deliberate inaccuracies pushed against the trans community by the anti-LGBTQ industry.

Such as the false claim that 80% of trans youth detransition:

One of the most common myths heard in anti-trans hearings is that most trans kids will desist if they are allowed to go through puberty. Sometimes specific numbers are given, such as 80% of trans kids desist. This statistic has been cited as low as 60% and as high as 99% in various legislatures. In Montana, a representative used this statistic to justify passing a medical ban. The Heritage Foundation has also pushed this myth. Nearly every hearing on this topic includes this myth. The desistance myth is one of the most persistent falsehoods and has been used against the trans community for decades. It is misleading and inaccurate as it comes from outdated DSM-4 criteria and decades-old data. Newer studies show that 97.5% of transgender youth are persistent in their gender identities. Let's examine how this falsehood originated, how it is misused, and what current research reveals about the rarity of desistence and detransition. 

 Erin not only examines the lie but also points out how those on the right amplify the claim by using old studies which use outdated standards. Her entire post is worth a read and a share:

Among trans youth, desistance and detransition rates are incredibly low. The most recent study in the prestigious journal Pediatrics, one of the only studies that use modern criteria, showed that 97.5% of trans youth continue to identify as trans on a 5 year follow-up. The sample size was also larger than all previous sample sizes of this population: 317 youth. Anti-trans gender affirming care bans often start off with a list of “legislative findings” that seek to “state the science” around gender affirming care. In this list of findings, you might be surprised to see that the later studies are nowhere to be found, but the claims from the former studies pop up and are presented as factual when they are over a decade old, are dramatically outdated, and use standards that are not even in use anymore.

'Florida, Kentucky becomes eighth and ninth state to restrict gender-affirming care for trans kids' & other Fri midday news briefs

Florida becomes eighth state to restrict transgender care for minors​ - And plans to sue are already in the works.

At 11th hour, Kentucky Republicans resurrect, expand and pass anti-trans bill - They snuck it in, but that's alright. It will be beaten down.

George Santos shares anti-LGBTQ+ video accusing teacher of “indoctrinating” kids into tolerance - What an immoral moron. 

Nonbinary N.C. Teen Wins $90k in National Science Competition - Outstanding!! 

'Not A Drag Queen' exposes how the far-right ignores actual child predators - My post from Thursday night. You can tell that I'm rather proud of it.

'Not A Drag Queen' exposes how the far-right ignores actual child predators

The far-right has gotten the country all up in arms with their attacks on drag queens. Just as they claimed about gays in the past, they are accusing drag queens and drag shows of 'sexualizing' kids. They also claim that drag queens are convincing kids that they are transgender.

It's ridiculous, being ridiculous has nothing to do with it. Nor does lack of truth. It's all about exploiting people's prejudices and religious beliefs in order to create a narrative justifying anti-LGBTQ laws, ordinances, and actions. And as we see, it has been fairly successful across the country with states like Tennessee and Kentucky attempting to pass laws falsely designating drag performances as adult-oriented and restricting them from being performed in public places and in front of kids.

But like with all fights against intolerant and powerful apparatuses, those being picked on develop ways of fighting which are cutting and to the point. On Twitter, folks have spread the hashtag Not A Drag Queen. The purpose is to point out that while the far right accuse drag queens of 'sexualizing' kids, they are ignoring the actual predators (yes I am talking to you Libs of TikTok and Gays Against Groomers). Even those who may be in their ranks. And they have a lot to work from.

Several tweets are as follows:

'Former detransitioner details how the far-right exploited her to harm the transgender community' & other Thur midday news briefs

The making of a detransitioner​ - The far-right exploited the 'ex-gay' movement to undermine gay rights and safety until they ran out of luck. Now they are exploiting 'detransititoners' to undermine transgender rights and safety.

Gender Clinic Workers Kept a Spreadsheet of Trans Patients’ Names. Here’s What Happened Next. - Remember the anti-trans 'whistleblower' Jamie Reed? Not only is her story of wrong doing at a trans center falling apart but it turns out that she may have violated the law. 

Prosecutor threatens to throw librarian in jail for stocking this book - And the librarian isn't scared one iota. She's like "bring it on." 

Clown Show: George Santos and the Funny Idea of LGBTQ+ Republicans - Brutal but accurate article by The Advocate.