#desantis killing florida

[reasoningdaily]

Gov. Ron DeSantis axed funding on Thursday for Central Florida projects to stop flooding during the next hurricane, strengthen government cybersecurity defenses, celebrate Black history and tackle gun violence.

The governor’s nearly $511 million veto list included about $15.3 million in projects for Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole counties.

DeSantis defended his veto list as showing fiscal restraint in a $116.5 billion budget that makes “historic investments in education, public safety, infrastructure, and the environment.”

Democrats, though, blasted DeSantis’ veto decisions.

“Unfortunately, many good projects that would have relieved Florida’s taxpayers with everything from flood water mitigation to neighborhood resource centers were vetoed because the governor is disconnected from the needs of average Floridians,” said state Rep. Rita Harris, D-Orlando.

Republican state Sen. Joe Gruters also slammed DeSantis, saying in a statement that the governor “took it out on Sarasota County” because Gruters endorsed former President Trump in the 2024 GOP primary.

“It’s mean-spirited acts like this that are defining him here and across the country,” Gruters said, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The veto list included money for projects to alleviate flooding in the Orlo Vista neighborhood in Orange County, the Midway community in Seminole County, Kissimmee and Osceola County, and Winter Park. The governor axed money to bolster Sanford’s cybersecurity defenses and fund a 1619 Fest and 5K race to celebrate Black history in Orlando.

State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said she was able to secure nearly $30 million in projects for Central Florida, including nearly $15 million for a nursing building at the University of Central Florida, $5 million for a building at Valencia College’s campus in Lake Nona and almost $800,000 for AdventHealth Type 1 diabetes research project.

Stewart said she appreciated those dollars but was disappointed more money wasn’t devoted to flooding. The state keeps a priority list of water projects, and she suspects the governor vetoed items that tried to move up on that list through legislative appropriations.

“We had more money than normal,” Stewart said. “Some of these projects could have easily been added to [address] what our individual cities and counties consider to be emergencies.”

Here is a list of Central Florida projects the governor vetoed.

Orange County Utilities – Orlo Vista Integrated Water Resources Project, flood mitigation for the Orlo Vista neighborhood: $2 million

Osceola County Buenaventura Lakes Drainage Improvements, project to remove 142 homes and businesses from repetitive flood risk: $1.8 million

Oviedo West Mitchell Hammock Water Treatment Facility – Tank Construction, construction of  a new 2.5-million-gallon water tank: $1 million

Seminole County Midway Drainage Improvements, flooding mitigation projects for the Midway community: $1 million

Purpose Built Florida – Lift Orlando, funding to address the root causes of generational poverty in low-income communities: $1 million

Meet Us in the Middle Plaza and 8th Street Docks – City of Clermont: $1 million, construction of plaza and docks for 40 watercraft: $1 million

Central Florida Pilot Plant Project For Phosphogypsum Reclamation, initiative to convert waste into commercial products: $950,000

WUCF-TV, emergency backup transmitter: $625,000

Sanford Fire Department Station 40 Airpack Replacements: $540,000

WMFE-FM:, repair and refurbish failing sanitation life station: $508,431

Winter Park Stormwater Disaster Resiliency Project, flood mitigation for homes and businesses near Lake Mendsen: $500,000

Camp Thunderbird Commercial Kitchen Renovation, recreational program for adults with disabilities in Apopka: $500,000

Mount Dora Community Resource & Recreation Center, 26,000-square-foot center for low-income population: $500,000

Clermont Hartwood Marsh Fire Station Rebuild: $500,000

Community, Cops, Courts & State Attorney Violent Crime Intervention/Seminole County, initiative to reduce gun violence: $492,411

Sanford Station 40 New Engine: $367,500

Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Computer Aided Dispatch System, upgrades to improve emergency responses: $300,000

Kissimmee Master Stormwater System and Flood Mitigation Project: $250,000

Camp Thunderbird Septic to Sewer Conversion: $250,000

TechHealth Initiative – Orange County, a team of four health care workers to help the needy at no cost: $200,000

WMFE-FM, replace fire alarm system: $197,347

Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida Resource Center, program to assist small and mid-size businesses: $187,500

Sanford Cybersecurity Zero Trust Program, fortify city’s cyber defenses: $160,000

Black History Month Celebration – 1619Fest Orlando/Rebel Run 5K, a celebration of arts and culture from Africans in the Diaspora: $160,000

Community Scholars – Central Florida, a project to provide community service learning opportunities to students: $140,000

Planting Seeds of Prosperity in West Lakes – Orlando, community meetings and cleanup project: $125,000

Florida Recovery Schools of Central Florida, educational funding for teenagers in substance abuse recovery: $100,000

Adult Literacy League – Building a Thriving Central Florida through Literacy and Education, a project to provide tutors to adult learners: $25,000

[v14gr4xf4llzx]

Any updates on HB3 and KOSA?? That shit is making me feel very antsy rn

no updates on hb3

best i can recommend is public and online protesting in florida and for anyone outside of florida to spread awareness before its too late

as for kosa a congress man in the senate has made it very clear that its one of his main priorities

but we still dont know the voting date and most likely never will until its too late and passes the senate (hopefully that will never happen)

im encouraging mass call ins all of this week and next week to try and keep stalling kosa (especially today since its eclipse day)

call email or fax the senate house and your reps and urge them oppose

heres a link to stuff you can use:

[destielmemenews]

source 1

source 2

source 3

[toytulini]

feels very strange to get podcast ads about how pride friendly orlando is rn what with the current political conditions of florida for very large swathes of the queer community

i mean i dont have any suggestions for like idk the marketing team of the orlando tourism board to do any better like i certainly wouldnt know how to advertise rn, thats a rough hand youre stuck with and i hope your shit ass transphobe fascist politicians drop dead.

just. wild to hear rn

[commiepinkofag]

homework for the ‘anti-woke’

[in some warped daydream…]

i wonder whether it’d be beneficial for lawmakers and the public seeking to ban literature/artwork to read/research the work [sans cliff notes]. 

then, have them write a book report/essay with original and secondary sources for context. once completed, provide their reports for review in public record. 

‘E’ for Effort.

could a little education have an impact on their reasoning or logic — to move them beyond parroting racist & queer-hatred rhetoric…

is the dogma of their nationalistic ideals — or ‘patriotic education’ as they refer to it —  so ingrained that change is impossible… 

not everyone is receptive to accepting this level of challenge, nor has the capacity for empathy or respect. 

give those wishing to ban art/literature detention & homework. maybe a few would come to their senses… sort the sociopaths, shun, shame, & smack em around… 

[daydream complete…]

[dreamerinsilico]

While the legislation says that health care providers can't use it to deny care based on a patient's race, color, religion, sex or national origin, attempts by Democratic lawmakers to extend those protections to gender identity and sexuality failed.

"This bill is a broad license for health care providers and insurance companies to refuse services to people. No one should be denied access to medical care. It gives health care providers and insurance companies an unprecedented ‘religious’ or ‘moral’ right to refuse to provide services. This puts patients in harm’s way, is antithetical to the job of health care providers, and puts the most vulnerable Floridians in danger. Our state should be in the business of increasing access to medical care, not giving providers and companies a sweeping carve out of nondiscrimination laws. Shame on the governor for putting Floridians’ health at risk to score cheap, political points," said Brandon Wolf, press secretary for Equality Florida.

[guineapigwitch]

[ausetkmt]

It’s true folks, it is SO MUCH worse down there than you may think. By signing his latest fascist legislation which criminalizes undocumented immigrants for...well... just being in Florida, De Santis has effectively chased out virtually the entire undocumented poplulation of the state, which means more than 80% of the construction workers, and nearly 100% of the agricultural workers. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It cascades from there. I just spent half an hour on tiktok, for an old timer like me that’s a bit of a challenge, but it was worth it. In that short amount of time, I saw latin truckers blocking entire highways with their boycotting and refusing to deliver loads in Florida, or to take loads out. They aren’t even undocumented, that’s just the solidarity folks.

I saw video after video of empty construction sites and of fruits and vegetables rotting in the fields, fields that should be bustling with tough hard working folk picking the vines and trees, yet completely abandoned. But that, like I said is just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s starting to cascade from there, I saw videos of Walmart and Home Depot completely empty, totally devoid of customers. I saw videos of farms that hired American workers to try to do the jobs of the undocumented. It was both hilarious and heart breaking. The farmers complain the gringos are too fat and out of shape to do the job, most go home after lunch and many quit after a single day.

I saw an interesting comparison video, it’s in spanish, if you are not a spanish speaker fast forward to about 0:48. The fun starts there. It starts showing how latino roofers do the job, and then shows how their American replacements try to do the same job. Also similar examples of agri-workers, and many others. 

x

Here we have an in depth (by Tiktok standards) look at a housing development under construction. It’s virtually abandoned. The narrator states that just in the room he is standing in there are normally at least 15 workers, it’s empty. He says that only 4 workers showed up to the whole site that day, and one was the foreman.

www.tiktok.com/…

Or how about a look at a convoy of Latinos leaving Florida:

www.tiktok.com/…

Ooh, and here’s one of my favorites. How about a tour of the local totally empty Walmart as given by an astonished patron, I mean really, have you EVER seen a Walmart that wasn’t packed with customers? Well now you can.

www.tiktok.com/…

Not to be outdone, Home Depot is also vying to be the winner of the retail wasteland sweepstakes, non-spanish speakers can fast forward to the one minute mark if you want to skip the spanish monologue.

www.tiktok.com/…

Yes, looks like good ol’ Meatball Ron has really stepped in it this time. It won’t be easy to recover from this, even if the legislature repeals this fascist law, what immigrant is going to risk returning when there are plenty of worker starved farms and construction sites welcoming them with open arms in somewhat more comfortable climates like Georgia and Alabama. Hell, we’re even getting some of the overflow here in Colorado where farmers and construction sites are practically rolling out the welcome mats. As they say, once bitten twice shy. Nobody’s going to go back to Florida after this, at least not as long as right wing lunatics and Nazi sympathizers are running the show. 

Oh, and here’s a bonus video, this African American Youtube star with over a million and a half subscribers is telling his mostly AA audience NOT to go to Florida and bail them out. Don’t miss the the guy who proposes sending Appalachian white welfare recipients to go pick fruit. Good luck getting them to put down their meth pipes to go roast in the Florida sun for minimum wage (or less). Yeah, that’s gonna happen.

x

So why am I laughing? Because I’m originally from Florida, a boni fide native of the Sunshine state, and I’m absolutely horrified to see what wannabe fascists have done to my once beautiful state. I’m retiring soon and will have to do so in a northern state as I will not set foot in the South as long as it remains under the current fascistic spell to which it has thus far succumbed. If I have to freeze my tuchas off up here in the North for the rest of my days, I can at least take comfort that the yahoos who took over Florida are getting their comeuppance. One might say it’s cold comfort with a capital ”C”, but somehow, it’s better than no comfort at all.

[halfchick]

Desantis x Guillotine 2024

[so-i-did-this-thing]

How it's going as a trans person in Florida: Planned Parenthood, 26Health, and Spektrum Health have announced they have paused all gender affirming care.

To recap, DeSantis signed several anti-trans bills into law this week. Care is banned for minors, care is all but banned for adults, Don't Say Gay has been extended, children can be kidnapped from affirming parents by non-affirming family, and there is a bathroom bill that subjects trans folks to arrest for using government owned facilities, such as those in courthouses, airports, many stadiums and parks.

The adult effective ban was felt immediately. The main elements are:

signing at every visit an in-person informed consent form created by the state

all care come from physicians instead of nurse practitioners

no telemed for gender-affirming care

Currently, it is unknown if existing HRT prescriptions written by NPs will be honored by pharmacies. I personally know one person who was able to pick up testosterone yesterday, but I have also read many reports of folks being denied. I myself don't have a refill ready for another 10 days and will report back after I try my own pickup.

What's additionally dangerous is those of us, myself included, who get non-HRT prescriptions from our gender clinics now face the uncertainty of continuing of *all* of our medical care. Our health clinics are at risk of shuttering permanently as they lose major income, and many of us will lose STD meds, depression meds, heart meds, etc, etc.

When we say "this will kill us," it goes beyond suicide risk from forced detransition.

"But you can still get HRT from a physician."

So many suck or are outright hostile and the demand outstrips the supply. Before I found my NP-run clinic, one physician just decided to not call in my Rx, another was so shit at reading lab results, he thought I had hepatitis, and the third I had to threaten to kick in the teeth for trying to force too large a speculum in me.

Also, the state-required consent form has not been finalized and distributed yet, so at this point, everything has pretty much ground to a halt.

It was estimated that 80% of trans adults would lose their healthcare because of how many use providers like Planned Parenthood, but the impact seems even greater now.

"You can get your non-gender care elsewhere still."

DeSantis recently signed a bill that allows healthcare professionals to discriminate against trans people.

Sure, we can try to find care elsewhere, but it will be a slow and expensive process, with no guarantees. It took me over 20 years to get my heart condition treated because of transphobic doctors.

What can I do as a trans Floridian?

Stay in communication with your clinic - many are working on getting physicians added to the roster to prescribe HRT. Lawsuits are being filed and it's possible the changes to adult care can be rolled back.

Continue to try to pick up your meds, but begin looking for care elsewhere, though. Inside and outside the state.

Remember that while telemed for gender affirming care has been banned, you can still cross state lines for care. See Erin's map of informed consent clinics.

Many people will turn to DIY, but be sure you are aware of the risks here, especially if on testosterone, which is a controlled substance.

What should I be worried about next as a trans Floridian?

I worry about the following next steps towards genocide:

Banning getting care out of state. This is from the anti-abortion playbook. They will likely start with kids again, but we've seen how quickly adult care gets axed.

Being declared mentally incompetent or a risk in some way. This could be anything from being barred from gun ownership to not being allowed to work for the government.

Being declared a de facto predator. This has already happened with the latest bathroom law (cis people can eject trans people from government owned single-gender facilities, with arrest as a penalty), so watch out for it being applied to privately-owned facilities. Watch for discussions of official lists of trans people.

Gender presentation enforcement laws, essentially banning "cross dressing". Laws that block or rollback documentation changes.

These all have historic precedence and are huge "I'm in danger" red flags.

What can I do as a cis person?

Amplify all this news. Talk frankly about how this is genocide. And donate what you can to trans mutual aid campaigns so people can travel to get healthcare or even leave the state.

Here's some articles to get started on building awareness:

Take care, everyone, of yourself and each other.

[sylkys0f7]

.

[renthony]

Hope in the Hellfire: Revisiting Fahrenheit 451 in 2024

by Ren Basel renbasel.com

When I first read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, I wasn’t much younger than seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan, one of the novel’s major characters. In many ways I was like her: disgruntled with classmates who found me off-putting, eager to talk to adults who would entertain my unusual questions, and constantly off exploring the woods. I was a bookish loner who struggled socially. I proudly read banned books, and carried around my mom’s paperback copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land—a book formally banned from inclusion in my high school’s library or curriculum—as a passive challenge for adults to try and confiscate it. None ever tried, but I sure was prepared to raise hell.

Revisiting Fahrenheit 451 in 2024 is a strange experience, not just because of the book’s political commentary. In 2024 I am 30 years old—the same age as Guy Montag, the protagonist. It is easy to put myself in his shoes now, the way I once put myself in Clarisse’s.

Montag is a fireman in a world where every house is fireproof. Instead of extinguishing fires, Bradbury’s firemen collect and burn books. Without books, the population is ignorant and complacent, kept busy with mindless screen entertainment.

Like Montag, I live in a world where books are targeted by a hostile government. In 2024 I live in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis makes regular headlines for his crusades against public education, libraries, and books. Many an op-ed has been written about the relevance of Fahrenheit 451 in our times, and it almost feels cliché as an anti-censorship advocate to list it as one of my favorites.

Cliché or not, I can’t help it. Fahrenheit 451 is a warning against censorship, yes; it is a pointed exploration of 1950s American social anxieties, yes; it is a well-written piece of fiction containing rich descriptions of exciting events, yes; but more than that? Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite novels because it leaves me feeling hopeful in the midst of social upheaval.

After stealing and reading forbidden books, Montag’s life spirals out of control. His wife sells him out to the authorities, he kills a former colleague in self-defense, he is pursued in a televised government manhunt, and before the story ends he watches bombs reduce his former home to rubble. Montag survives, but he doesn’t fix the world. He is not the victorious hero of a glorious rebellion. Many, many books get burned, and people die. Yet still, there is hope, because Montag finds community. He finds a way to help preserve the books’ contents so they can be passed down to later generations.

In 2024, Fahrenheit 451’s message is important not only because it warns against censorship, but because it reminds us that even if the road ahead is difficult, even if things get worse before they can get better, even if some stories are lost, there are still countless unnamed, unnoticed people fighting to preserve and share knowledge.

The best part is that any of us can join them.

_

Written on commission, using the prompt, “500 words about your favorite pre-1960s Sci-Fi.”

Lovingly dedicated to the Queer Liberation Library (on tumblr as @queerliblib!) for their ongoing mission to make queer eBooks accessible. Check them out at queerliberationlibrary.org!

Like this essay? Tip me on Ko-Fi, pledge to my Patreon, or commission an essay on the topic of your choice!

[teashadephoenix]

Here's the reasons to NOT make him President, if we could manage that please

🤮

[tf2heritageposts]

if team fortress 2 is so good, why haven’t they killed ron desantis, governer of florida yet?

[arctic-hands]

“We’ve got a problem, and the problem is that way too many people in Zone A aren’t listening,” said Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff in Pinellas County, which encompasses Clearwater and St. Petersburg, in a Thursday morning news conference. “We’ve been out there this morning, there’s just way too many people in the area.” Other local and state officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, warned residents to leave vulnerable areas before the massive storm unleashes a barrage of life-threatening conditions, including flooding rains and winds potentially as high as 131 to 155 mph Thursday night.

"If you're in an evacuation zone or you've been told to evacuate, you do have time to do it now – so do it. But don't wait another six hours, seven hours," DeSantis said early Thursday. Gualtieri said that while the county won’t face much danger from rain and wind, the barrier islands and low-lying coastal areas face 5 to 8 feet of storm surge. “This is dangerous. No question about it and it’s not something we’ve seen recently,” he said. “They’ve got to get out, and there’s going to reach a point where you’re on your own because we’re not going to get our people killed because you don’t want to listen to what we’re saying.” While nearly every county along the western coast of Florida has ordered evacuations, four of them, including Franklin,  Taylor, Liberty and Wakulla have ordered all residents in the county to leave. "This will not be a survivable event for those in coastal or low lying areas," Wakulla County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Jared Miller said in a Facebook post. "There has not been a storm of this magnitude to hit Wakulla in recorded history." A.J. Smith, the sheriff in Franklin County, said he's never seen as many residents evacuate before a hurricane as he has in recent days. He said, however, there were still people who decided to stay for various reasons. "I've said publicly that when the storm comes in and the weather's so bad that the first responders can't get out, you're on your own because we can't get to you," he said, adding: "If I wasn't sheriff, trust me – I wouldn't be here."

If you chose to stay or can't evacuate in time, might want to write down your information in sharpie on your arm so you can be identified if help can't come