It may be that I’ve recovered from my fit of tobacco shop over-righteousness. Rumor has it that a hatchet has been buried and I’m back where I belong. The bad elements, if any, can usually be avoided; it’s all a matter of timing. And, as with smoke, so it is with politics.
The timing was just off in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis, his cabinet, and his entire elephantine party in Tallahassee are about what one would expect of any band of Republicans these days. Not even with the unanimous assistance of the (equally what one would expect) Florida Democratic party could they get right a simple matter of temporal patience.
The Sunshine State has another new and very special law. House Bill 741 (2019) took instantaneous effect upon DeSantis’s signing. It revises and expands certain language concerning Florida Statute § 1000.05, et seq., regarding Florida’s K-20 government education scheme. (Nevermind, the lumping together of all levels of “education,” from kindergarten to graduate school…).
Advised that the first feature picture helps with social madness promos, I include this cutesy snapshot which I believe shows DeSantis and Ashley Moody enjoying lunch. Pic by Perrin.
Legislation like this is gaining in popularity with the States, being in the mold of this year’s federal H.R. 183. Florida’s new ordinance is designed to silence certain speech. It might best be summed up as The FL Anti-Anti-Semitism Act (in “Education”). Or, it could be summed up as The Unconstitutional, Ordinarily Illegal, Sellout of State Sovereignty Act (in “Education”).
A sampling of the prohibitive language:
Examples of anti-Semitism include: … Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as a collective, especially, but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
- H. 741 (2019) at (a)(2)(emphasis mine).
The very assertion and sentiment that such legal admonition is necessary are patently ridiculous. Maybe, lacking actual examples of concern, they decided to manufacture one via the law itself, by giving the appearance of a conspiracy to control the government by:
Drafting a law that in no way benefits Floridians or Americans and in fact infringes upon their rights, a law that presents a prima facie case that the entire government is beholden to a particular people and/or nation;
Devising a law that violates: the Federal First Amendment, through the Fourteenth (doubly, against the Establishment/Exercise Clauses and the protection of Freedom of Speech), and the Florida Constitution, Article I, §§ Three and Four (possibly Six, maybe more);
Having the State House pass it 114-0 (April 11, 2019);
Having the Senate pass it 40-0 (April 29, 2019); and,
Having DeSantis sign it (May 29th) about the time of his field trip cabinet meeting, convened illegally in a foreign nation while bowing and groveling before that foreign nation and pledging his State’s allegiance to the same foreign nation.
Controlling a government?? Gimme a break!
Capture from the Twitter account of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Jerusalem).
The crazy thing here, is that all this kneeling down was probably done sua sponte. Jerusalem Post editor: “Huh? Who’s here to do what, now? Really! That’s just embarrassing. Someone elected this fool?”
And, for what? The law will not survive a court challenge (one has already been filed). Even as state after state pass law after law like this, they are quickly struck down. Texas is the latest example. A federal judge enjoined enforcement of a similar Texas measure designed to stifle public discourse, writing, “This the First Amendment does not allow.”
Why the rush, nation-wide, to abridge the freedoms of American citizens for the alleged benefit of foreigners? And, why is it always, always for the benefit of the one party? No state passes laws to discourage anti-Messianism. I know of no prohibition against Europhobia. And, those might be of benefit to Americans.
At least the current crop of idiocy is geared towards employees of state institutions. For now. A fear stirs that these are but outliers of future general felony statutes. That was the pattern in other jurisdictions which lacked the protections of the magic parchment.
But, again, what really bothers me is the poor timing of the signing, pomp, and ceremony. If DeSantis could have just held off a single week, he could have performed his act of supplication on Saturday, June 8th. Given the letter of this law, would it have not been more fitting to enact it, from Israel, on the 52nd anniversary of the attack on the U.S.S. Liberty? Given all the circumstances, the nature of this law, and the name and fate of that good ship, there could not have been a greater or more entertaining irony.
As a cogent aside, one wonders if mentioning AGTR-5 in a Florida K-20 setting, now violates the law. One wonders if, illegal laws aside, any Florida students have ever heard of the Liberty, period. As with the new crop of unjust laws, that maritime episode, and the continuing cover-up, was and is primarily an American problem, with no need to blame any outside party. But, hey, facts, right?
Floridians, kindly remember this during that next exciting election. Strongly consider joining the 500,000 other Sunshine families who homeschool their children. All other Americans, watch your Republicrats carefully.
Post-Script Note: Any opinions herein, including but not limited to, the text, numbering, and passage record of any statutes or bills, the existence of certain Constitutional provisions, state and federal, the travel itinerary of a governor, the Tweets of said governor, the existence of any foreign nation, the quoted words of a federal judge, and an account of an unprovoked attack on a Navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea in 1967, are purely the opinions of Perrin B. Lovett, who has very powerful opinions, which may appear fact-like in nature. However, any picture or commentary depicting dining politicians, despite marine mammalian appearance, is pure, hard fact. And, if you’re interested, one more opinion about the Liberty, which is pure opinion and NOT an investigative report entered into the Congressional Record, Vol. 150, No. 130, (Oct. 11, 2004).
