Biting the Hand That Feeds Ya

By now, one would think this ol’ Captain would be used to the political tomfoolery coming from Red States. They’re all copying Texas’ anti-abortion law. They’re starting to burn books again. They’re jumping on the bandwagon against the teaching of “Critical Race Theory” (CRT). One state wants to outlaw anything being taught in public schools that might make a parent uncomfortable. And Arizona is working on a piece of legislation now to allow parents to sue school teachers.

But apparently Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida strives to push the bar even lower. DeSantis recently rejected more than 50 math textbooks supposedly over CRT.

What math has to do with CRT your Captain just does not know!

But in recent months it’s like a competition to see just how outrageous a Republican governor can get.

Perhaps they abide by the P.T. Barnum maxim:

Or perhaps the more egotistical quote attributed to Oscar Wilde: 

Well, folks are certainly talking about Ron DeSantis, and most of it is not good.

The most recent chatter started with the passing of HR 1557, the “Parental Rights in Education” law that states,

"Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

This law corrects a non-existent problem – and creates new ones – but it is necessary for DeSantis to be able to wrestle Donald Trumpf’s wacky conservative base away from him before the 2024 Presidential election – in which DeSantis hopes to be the Republican candidate.

The law is flawed and out of touch with the reality of most classrooms. As one parent expressed,

"So, it very clearly seems like LGBTQ parents are having their rights stripped by this bill. If I were to have kids, I would worry about my child going to school and sharing a little bit about his family on a family tree or a project or show and tell. So, what happens when the child of a same-sex couple goes to school and wants to share about their two moms or two dads for show and tell or a school project or a family tree assignment? And the teacher has to shut down that conversation. What happens if another student asks, you know, why does Jimmy have two dads? Or why does Margaret have two moms? How is the teacher supposed to respond to that?"

In a very real conversation, a child asked the First Mate if she was a boy or a girl. The First Mate assured the child she was a girl. The child thought for a moment, then asked, “If you’re a girl, where is your purse?”

According to this new Florida law, a teacher would not be allowed to answer the child’s question since it relates to gender identity.

I could go into details about the law commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, but this post is not about HR 1557.

This post is about Walt Disney World (WDW).

After the passing of HR 1557, Bob Chapek, CEO of the Disney Corporation, feeling pressure from within, took a public stance against the law.

Captain’s Note: It should be noted that Disney donates some $200,000 per year to local Republican politicians, so Chapek’s previous silence might betray his true feelings.

Las week Chapek announced his opposition to the new law and vowed to work to repeal it.

And he added that the regular political contributions would be temporarily halted.

This chapek’d the hide on De Santis’ backside.

[See what I did there?]

How dare Disney get involved in the state’s political decision-making!

Captain’s Note: Now mates, in 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “corporations are people too”. This was a financial boon to politicians as corporations were then freed to donate untold amounts in support of politicians.

Unfortunately, all these pro-business Republicans are only pro-business so long as the businesses keep funneling them money and keep their mouths shut.

So now, in an attempt to draw Chapek back into line, DeSantis is threatening to rescind the 1967 legislation that created the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) that gave self-governing authority of the 40 square miles in central Florida that Disney owns, including the communities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake.

By the way, the story about how Walt Disney was able to purchase 40 square miles of land in central Florida in the 1960s is an interesting read.

You see, while Disneyland was a huge success, it sits on a mere 500 acres of land in Anaheim, CA. (a little less than one square mile). Tacky little hotels and other businesses sprung up around the theme park and today it is virtually landlocked. In eyeing an east coast site, Walt Disney wanted to control more of the area around his park.

The RCID was an enticement granted to Walt Disney to lure him and his project to Florida. Having seen the wild success of Disneyland - where attendance in the first six months topped 1 million and rose to 4.5 million in the second year – the legislature was willing to do whatever it took to bring Disney to the sunshine state.

And it worked.

Walt Disney’s original concept for the RCID was EPCOT, the “experimental prototype community of tomorrow”. It was to be a complete, planned development of residences and businesses utilizing the very latest in technology and innovation.

The RCID stipulated that Disney would provide its own fire protection (now 138 firefighters spread throughout four firehouses), utilities (now using 1 billion kilowatt-hours per year), waste management, road maintenance, and security services, in exchange for the rights of independent government, planning and zoning. Agreements were made with surrounding counties for police and courts.

Walt Disney died from lung cancer in November 1966, so he never saw the realization of his dream. 

 

His brother and partner Roy Disney came out of retirement to finish his brother’s Florida project. But Roy tossed out the idea of a planned development (nobody wanted to try to govern an actual city) and redirected the area to be turned into a theme park like Disneyland.

And now, as the largest single-site employer in the United States, Disney wields a lot of power and influence.

And DeSantis doesn’t like that. He wants to show Disney who is “boss” in Florida. 

And he wants to show the rest of America what a DeSantis presidency would look like.

Which is pretty scary if you think about it!

So Dammit, get out and vote!!!

Every vote in every election counts!!!

Don’t let 2022 and 2024 be the end of 

American Democracy!!!

Today a special legislative session begins in Florida, originally called to approve the DeSantis gerrymandering map. Republicans control the state legislature and they allowed DeSantis to draw the lines that will wipe out the possibility of Democrats ever regaining control.

But more to the point, he has extended the scope of the session to include doing away with all special independent districts “created before 1968”.

Odd that he chose that year in particular...

As they deliberate, I hope the Florida legislature keeps in mind that in addition to providing and funding its own services within RCID (see above)...

• Disney pays some $566 million in state and local taxes.

• WDW employs 77,000 people with a $3 billion payroll.

• WDW brings in more than 50 million tourists per year 

• which generates a $75.2 billion economic impact to benefit the state.

So who would get hurt the most?

The counties of Orange and Osceola, in which the RCID is located, would become the governing bodies of the land mass that includes WDW. And those two counties would have to pick up ALL the costs and responsibilities the RCID and Disney previously handled.

By even the most conservative estimates, those two counties would be overwhelmed.

Just imagine – and it’s not outside the realm of possibility – that the Disney Corp. got fed up with DeSantis and shuttered the Florida theme park...

It could happen. After all, theme parks only make up about 13% of Disney’s revenue and WDW is just one of six. It might be a sound business decision to close, especially if DeSantis cranks the screws too tight.

Disney has theme parks and resorts in California, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai that continue to be profitable. It has its own cruise line and private islands. It also owns successful production studios like Pixar, LucasFilm, 20^th Century Fox, and Marvel Studios. It owns ABC, ESPN, A&E and FX television networks (just to name a few). And it has entered the streaming video business with Disney+.

Disney would survive.

But would Florida?

It’s too early to crunch the numbers but the Captain would be interested in looking at how the COVID-19 shut-down affected tourism in Florida. 

In 2018 WDW attracted 58 million tourists. When COVID-19 hit the theme park was closed from March 15-July 11, 2020. Closed for only four months, the park’s attendance was reduced to 18.8 million visitors that year and the numbers did not immediately rebound.

Employment at WDW was reduced to 5,600 during those four months and did not immediately rebound either.  

How did the state weather that loss of revenue?

What would Orlando look like if WDW sat dark? 

An area larger than Miami... empty.

77,000 people out of work and in the unemployment line.

Would DeSantis like to see that as “the new normal”?

How would that impact his presidential ambitions?

But the Captain says, y'all just go on and bite the hand that feeds ya.

Let me know how that works out fer ya!

 

An Homage to Mark Twain

The Captain came across the following quote by Mark Twain recently that inspired this post.

Unfortunately, while it rings true, Twain never said it.

But it makes the Captain think that perhaps it is time we get reacquainted with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain.

Here’s where we’re headed today:

The Captain read a recent news article from Axios.com.

 It was an interview with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in which confirmed he would vote for Donald Trumpf in 2024 if Trumpf is the Republican Party nominee.

“I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party."

McConnell’s thinking here is that a party’s candidate is elected by state caucuses and primary elections; if the states approve Trumpf for 2024, as a party leader McConnell feels obliged to go along with their wishes.

You may recall that during the second impeachment of Trumpf – related to the January 6^th attack on the U.S. Capitol that attempted to overthrow the 2020 election – McConnell voted against impeachment.

But then he followed the vote with this incredible speech:

Even though he believed in his heart - "No question about it!" - that Trumpf was guilty of that which he was accused, McConnell chose party loyalty over doing the right thing for the country. 

This, despite all the insults Trumpf has hurled in McConnell's direction since January 6th.

And despite what we have all witnessed during the four years of petty King Trumpf’s reign and what has come out during the investigation of the January 6^th insurrection, come 2024 McConnell will again choose party loyalty over doing the right thing.

The Axios reporter then followed up with a pertinent question, perhaps reflecting on Trumpf’s comment prior to the 2016 election when he said he could shoot someone in the middle of 5^th Avenue and not lose a single vote: “Where do you draw your moral red lines?”

McConnell essentially assured the reporter – and the rest of us – that he has no moral red line.

“I’m perfectly comfortable with the way I’ve conducted my political career.”

Now mates, the Captain knows a few “Yellow-Dog Democrats”, those who would vote for a yellow dog over any Republican candidate. 

And in previous elections I have heard people comment, “I’m going to hold my nose and vote for such-and-such candidate” or “I’m going to vote for the lesser of two evils.”

Often times, voting is not easy. There are no perfect candidates, no perfect politicians, no perfect people.

But given the moral depravity exhibited by the 45^th President and his subsequent illegal and treasonous activities to stay in office, there is NO WAY the Captain could vote for such a person. 

Mitch McConnell apparently has no such qualms. He’s not holding his nose… in fact, he’s quite willing to walk into the voting booth and inhale a deep breath of Trumpf’s flatulence. He apparently doesn’t care how evil his party’s candidate may be or what might come from four more years of a Trumpf presidency.

“Look at the tyranny of party -- at what is called party allegiance, party loyalty -- a snare invented by designing men for selfish purposes -- and which turns voters into chattles, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, honestly unconscious of the fantastic contradiction; and forgetting or ignoring that their fathers and the churches shouted the same blasphemies a generation earlier when they were closing their doors against the hunted slave, beating his handful of humane defenders with Bible texts and billies, and pocketing the insults and licking the shoes of his Southern master.”-Mark Twain