Florida's attacks on the First Amendment continue with latest propsed bill

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/newtgingrich/sta...71516410146818

The idea that bloggers criticizing a politician should register with the government is insane. it is an embarrassment that it is a Republican state legislator in Florida who introduced a bill to that effect. He should withdraw it immediately.

Even Newt fucking Gingrich things this is insane.

[Breccia]

Even Newt fucking Gingrich things this is insane.

Hey Edge- I understand some posters, likely cowering in a bunker crying into their single scoop of ice cream, have suggested some of these (Florida) Republican proposals are done in jest, satirically, or to prove a point.

Do you think major longtime Republican figure Newt Gingrich would have made such a response, if he with his massive experience and proven ability to work a party, thought this bill was a joke or sarcastic?

And also, how do you feel about leading questions?

[Biglog]

The bigger issue isn't just Florida, it's Florida's (and several other states) GOP actively trying to eliminate democracy. It isn't just normal bi-partisan politics. It's the lack of concessions when they lose, fighting every election loss in court, extreme gerrymandering, and passing laws that they know are so extreme and oppressive that they will drive Democratic voters out of the state. Authoritarian rule doesn't like pesky things like a 2nd party or listening to the 48% of Florida that isn't Republican, instead they like to push the fantasy that "red" states are 100% red to justify ignoring their voices and votes. Not remotely what our founding father's had in mind, and a lot like what we fought with England to get away from.

The latest GOP agenda item on the authoritarian front hasn't been limited to Florida, and that's introducing laws around restricting voting for Democrats moving to red states. Several red states are discussing this, from requiring large fees to move to their state to delaying voting rights for up to 5 years after moving.

[Edge-]

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/n...r/69959804007/

A Capitol crackdown on speech has begun. Groups wanting space to inform the public and lawmakers about state laws or legislative proposals must get an official sponsor "to demonstrate" at the Florida Capitol – and must align with a state agency's mission.

That means lawmakers won’t have to walk past a table set up by family members of inmates who are serving time under Florida's "Two Strikes" law next week when they enter the Capitol for a 60-day session of lawmaking.

Florida PRR Family United, a criminal justice reform group and Capitol mainstay in recent years, is not in compliance with the new speech rules that went into effect Wednesday.

The group seeks to change the Prisoner Releasee Reoffender Act – better known as the two-strike law, which mandates a life sentence for anyone convicted of a felony committed within three years of being released from prison. More than 2,200 inmates are serving PRR life sentences.

Under the new regulations, opposition to state policy makes it all but impossible for the group to comply with the new rules.

In which the state of Florida is denying the public their First Amendment right to protest on public grounds unless the protest aligns with the current Republican administrations political goals.

This is actually, objectively, 100% in violation of the First Amendment. Brazenly.

Yet Republicans are silent. Republicans really do hate the First Amendment unless it's "protecting their right" to discriminate against others, it seems. Then they really like that bit, just not the rest.

[Breccia]

In which the state of Florida is denying the public their First Amendment right to protest on public grounds unless the protest aligns with the current Republican administrations political goals.

I despise the "slippery slope" logical fallacy. People use it all the time when it doesn't apply, and that, more than most misuses of logic, infuriates me.

This is a slippery slope that actually works. Florida, and like @Biglog said the GOP in general, has proven they're willing to take steps to keep people from voting, and this is evidence of the continuation. It can no longer be blamed on a single bad actor, it's a pattern.

The specific issue being cited, mandatory life sentences regardless of the felony, does sound like a GOP thing as well. I'm just going to guess the 2,200 affected inmates just happen to be poor and brown.

[Paranoid Android]

@Breccia. With you on slippery slope take. Why I try to stay away from it as much as possible.

It is amazing how much Florida is moving and I guess accomplished under DeSantis. Especially this second go around. I mean I thought the fascism was in Alabama, perhaps Mississippi, maybe throw in Idaho as a dark horse. Yet, Florida is pushing the boundaries and I think the great Covid migration of right wing nuts moving there from other states have just pushed it into hyper drive. R.I.P. Florida from DeSantis barely winning in 2016 to this state is red.

My state which hold all 3 of the House, Senate and Governor and we have done some progressive things just this year. Yet, know way are we shoving some ultra-Left fascism down people's mouth. Makes we wonder I guess how much each state's legislation will push it into some confederate state(s).

[Edge-]

https://www.tampabay.com/news/educat...ies-vacancies/

Citing the need to better support teachers, the Florida Senate Education PreK-12 Committee on Monday advanced “Teachers’ Bill of Rights” legislation that Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed in January.

The measure, Senate Bill 244, would establish a new chapter of Florida law to consolidate and enhance the rules governing how teachers can control their classroom discipline and academic lessons, and ensure that their employment status is not affected by their membership in a union.

It further aims to establish additional new bonus and certification programs, with the goal of attracting and retaining more educators in classrooms. Those include bonuses for retired first responders and military veterans, and temporary apprenticeship certificates for aspiring educators with an associate degree.

School districts across the state have reported about 5,000 teaching vacancies, with numbers rising over past years.

“This bill creates a solution for something urgently needed,” said sponsor Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami.

The other half of the governor’s proposal appears in a separate bill slated to come before the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday. That legislation, Senate Bill 256, targets the role of teacher unions, which have long been viewed as opponents of the Republican Party at the state level.

As DeSantis requested, SB 256 would increase the required percentage of teacher participation to maintain union certification. It would not allow unions to collect dues through school district paycheck deductions. It also would prevent unions from distributing information at school district properties.

Local teacher union leaders took a dim view of the package of bills, which they saw as the Legislature’s latest attempt to stifle collective bargaining that’s guaranteed in Article I, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution.

If teachers unions become decertified because they cannot achieve 60% representation, as the lawmakers have put forth, then teachers will have no one to negotiate their terms of service, said Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association president Nancy Velardi.

“Their contract is their bill of rights,” Velardi said. Lawmakers are proposing SB 244 “because they’re trying to take away this actual bill of rights that protects” teachers.

She and United School Employees of Pasco president Don Peace noted that much of the language in the “Teachers’ Bill of Rights” proposal exists in current state law. The chapter called “Authority of teacher” includes much of the exact wording included in the bill.

“It isn’t really new, and it really doesn’t help teachers” to restate the law, Peace said. “If the lawmakers and the governor really want to help teachers, they need to pony up some dollars and put it in the kitty, send it to the districts without strings and let us negotiate a reasonable contract.

He noted that the Pasco County district has yet to achieve the state’s goal of $47,500 for base teacher pay despite three years of the state putting millions more toward teacher salaries.

When presenting the bill Monday, Calatayud said it consolidates items from several statutes, similar to what the Legislature did when it created the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” chapter of law in 2021. The argument was that doing so makes it easier to locate the rules.

Her bill would authorize the Department of Education Office of Inspector General, primarily in place to review allegations of fraud and abuse, to investigate accusations or reports of “suspected violations of a student’s, parent’s, or teacher’s rights.” It passed unanimously through the committee, which asked no questions and had no debate.

Velardi called both bills “problematic” for teachers and their unions. She said she expected that once more educators realize what the state is doing, they will decide to join a union. When the Legislature last increased the mandatory minimum participation rate for unions in 2018, most saw membership rise.

Peace said he hoped Floridians will see that teachers unions are not the problem.

“We show up for work every day,” he said. “This is big government getting in a political war, and using students as pawns, and that’s not fair.”

In which Republicans are moving ahead with a "Teachers Bill of Rights" that is actually opposed by Florida educators and teachers unions because it is nothing of the sort.

Where's the usual crowd crowing about 1984 and double plus good think when we have actual fucking examples?

[Relapses]

Remind me again why Republicans consider the other side of the aisle fascist.

[Captain N]

Remind me again why Republicans consider the other side of the aisle fascist.

Every accusation is a confession.

[Edge-]

Well, even DeSantis is running from the blogger bill and wants absolutely nothing to do with it. That should say how obviously bad and dumb it is.

In other Florida news - https://www.newsweek.com/florida-rep...resign-1786287

Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker was asked to resign in a public forum after he was shown in a video using the term "Jew down" to talk about haggling.

Parker was confronted about his comment, which was heard in a snippet of what appeared to be security camera footage, by gun store owner Chris Smith on Monday. He called the use of the term "absolutely ridiculous in 2023." He also accused the commissioner of asking a local small business to not charge him sales tax if he paid in cash.

...

Parker refused to apologize for his comment, saying that the term he used is a well-known adjective and that he can't be antisemitic because he has an Israeli flag in his office. He also rejected the accusation that he had asked for a sales tax break, accusing Smith of taking his words out of context and manipulating them against him.

Smith fired back saying that "the real problem" was that Parker thought he had done "nothing wrong." He said: "Your morals are very, very low. And you just used an ethnic slur joking around. You think the Jewish community is okay with what you said, Sam?"

Parker replied: "The fact that I walked in and said 'Hey, I'm going to have to Jew it down' is not an ethnic slur. This has nothing to do—I'm not referring to the Jewish community. I used that term as an adjective, as a descriptive word of bargaining them down…That is not an ethnic slur."

Florida continues to be Florida, no wonder there are so many Nazi's parading around in public down there.

[Darththeo]

Remind me again why Republicans consider the other side of the aisle fascist.

Because the stupid mustache man called himself a national socialist.

[Edge-]

https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/f...cation-reform/

The Florida Legislature is considering a ban on certain college degrees, and will vote on expanding the list of banned majors in the bill during a House Committee hearing on Monday.

House Bill 999, introduced by State Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Escambia), echoes proposals from Gov. Ron DeSantis. The bill would ban majors or minors in critical race theory and gender studies and subjects like intersectionality. HB 999 also builds on previous legislation from 2022 that created a five-year review process for tenured faculty in Florida, which passed last year.

A proposed committee substitute that will be reviewed in the House on Monday, would expand the list of banned majors by several degrees.

According to the PCS for HB 999, Critical Race Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, Radical Feminist Theory, Radical Gender Theory, Queer Theory, and Critical Social Justice would also be on the chopping block.

Like the previous version of the bill, majors or minors that include curriculum which “promotes the concepts” would also be banned.

Both versions of the bill contain a provision to block universities in Florida from “soliciting pledges” or commitments that are supportive or against viewpoints about diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as CRT rhetoric, or other “political identity or ideology” as part of a hiring or promotion process, including tenure applications and performance reviews.

The bill would also add requirements that the aforementioned viewpoint rhetoric is not used when evaluating admissions or student disciplinary processes. If passed, HB 999 would also allow the boards to “delegate” hiring power to presidents of the institution, but they would still have to approve the hiring decisions.

In which Florida continues to attack the First Amendment and higher education in general.

[SoulForge]

https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/f...cation-reform/



In which Florida continues to attack the First Amendment and higher education in general.

Jesus christ. Just......Leave. If you live in FL leave before they close the border and won't let you anymore.

[Edge-]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/b...y-ron-desantis

In which DeSantis's team may have pressured Axios into firing a reporter because he rightfully called a propaganda release propaganda, and not a press release.

The whole notion that press are supposed to be dogmatically neutral on every issue or aren't supposed to call out blatant bullshit is bonkers to me. It's not about being an activist or bias, but if that's how a reporter is behaving they're simply not doing their job effectively. In political journalism, that means holding those in power accountable, including calling out those in power when they're maliciously lying. This wasn't even done publicly, and I'll note that in the journalism and communications industry this type of thing is not remotely normal.

[s_bushido]

The whole notion that press are supposed to be dogmatically neutral on every issue or aren't supposed to call out blatant bullshit is bonkers to me.

Honestly, it's the same garbage we have to deal with when they say shit like "teach the controversy," or insist that both sides of the global warming """debate""" get equal time, or when some centrist dumbass pretends there's a reasonable middle ground between "LGBT people need to be eradicated from society" and "LGBT people should be able to live and love just like the rest of us."

[Tentim]

Its It's an overreach and stems from a misunderstanding of journalism.

Its understandable why the bill was proposed. Over the years we let journalism standards fall so low they are indistinguishable from simple political commentators to the point its difficult to see a practical difference between the two.

[Endus]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/b...y-ron-desantis

In which DeSantis's team may have pressured Axios into firing a reporter because he rightfully called a propaganda release propaganda, and not a press release.

The whole notion that press are supposed to be dogmatically neutral on every issue or aren't supposed to call out blatant bullshit is bonkers to me. It's not about being an activist or bias, but if that's how a reporter is behaving they're simply not doing their job effectively. In political journalism, that means holding those in power accountable, including calling out those in power when they're maliciously lying. This wasn't even done publicly, and I'll note that in the journalism and communications industry this type of thing is not remotely normal.

If your response as a media organization isn't to immediately call out the government officials who tried to pressure you, you're just a propaganda arm of the government, not a real press organization.

God, it's actually worse than I thought; the reporter didn't even call it out publicly over social media, let alone publish an article about it. He literally just replied back to the press release over e-mail to call it out, essentially saying he wouldn't cover it as a result of it being propaganda.

Fuck Axios if this is what got this guy fired.

[Edge-]

Its understandable why the bill was proposed.

What bill? Are you responding to my post about Ben Montgomery? Because the "press release" he received was not about a bill.

Over the years we let journalism standards fall so low they are indistinguishable from simple political commentators to the point its difficult to see a practical difference between the two.

This is not accurate overall and there remain plenty of great journalists. If you want to show us criticisms of Ben Montgomery's reporting and how he's not living up to journalistic standards you are more than welcome to.

Otherwise I'll just assume this is you repeating what you've read elsewhere because it sounded real good.

[Tentim]

What bill? Are you responding to my post about Ben Montgomery? Because the "press release" he received was not about a bill.



This is not accurate overall and there remain plenty of great journalists. If you want to show us criticisms of Ben Montgomery's reporting and how he's not living up to journalistic standards you are more than welcome to.

Otherwise I'll just assume this is you repeating what you've read elsewhere because it sounded real good.

The thread has a title and opening post no?

What an absurd post to put into written words.

[Edge-]

The thread has a title and opening post no?

What an absurd post to put into written words.

I thought you were responding to my more recent post apologies.

What's the confusion here that we appear to have, then? Can you explain journalism to us?