There are politicians whose legacies will be death and destruction. Of course there’s 45, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also working to kill as much of their electorate as possible, particularly their followers. As Florida coronavirus cases and deaths reach record levels, including children under 12 who are ineligible to be vaccinated, DeSantis is appealing a ruling that allows school boards to set mask mandates. Of course he’s doing this. He’s also imposed $5,000 fines for businesses asking for proof of vaccination, but that’s another story. Here’s more on this:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appealed a judge’s ruling that the governor exceeded his authority by ordering school boards not to impose strict mask requirements on students to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor’s lawyers took their case Thursday to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.
DeSantis wants the appeals court to reverse last week’s decision by Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper, which essentially gave Florida’s 67 school boards the power to impose a student mask mandate without parental consent.
DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference earlier this week that he is confident the state will win on appeal by linking the mask mandate order to the Parents’ Bill of Rights law. That law, the governor said, reserves for parents the authority to oversee their children’s education and health.
Cooper found, however, that the Bill of Rights law exempts government actions that are needed to protect public health and are reasonable and limited in scope — such as masking students to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
“It doesn’t require that a mask mandate must include a parental opt-out at all,” Cooper said in an oral ruling Friday.
State election officials have “moved to withhold salaries for school board members in Alachua and Broward counties” where they’re instituting mask mandates. Last month four teachers in Broward county died of covid within 24 hours. The Biden administration has stated that they will cover the salaries of teachers penalized in Florida for mask mandates. Maybe this is why DeSantis turned down $820 million in federal food aid recently, to stick it to the libs who want kids to be fed and healthy. The good news is that DeSantis and Abbot have seen their approval ratings drop as more people die from their terrible policies. Both are up for reelection next year. Maybe next year these large red states will finally get competent governors who aren’t actively trying to kill people and take away their basic rights. I hope that this appeal is unsuccessful and that school boards in Florida are able to keep their teachers and students safe.
Look at this f’er promoting monoclonal antibody treatment. I wonder why he’s doing that.
You know what also saves lives? Fucking vaccines.
Vaccines are the earliest treatment you can get! The idiocy is astounding.
Yes, but DeSantis and his donors aren’t invested in the vaccine companies, they’ve invested in Regeneron, so that has to be promoted. Especially since they’ve poisoned the well of their own supporters by questioning the safety of vaccines.
He’s pushing “early treatment” INSTEAD of prevention because a HUGE R donor (to him and Abbott esp) is the head of the company that makes that treatment.
ALWAYS follow the money. ESP. with GQP republiTHUGS.
You know it just dawn on me that while the Governor of my State (New York), Cuomo, resigned amidst all of the allegations leveled against him, Abbott and DeSantis get to keep their jobs, depriving women of their rights and ensuring Covid breeds indiscriminately throughout their states. It makes me feel so…rage-y.
Cuomo also seems to have covered up how many died in nursing homes in New York State. Cuomo was trash, Desantis is trash and so is Abbott. All. Trash.
Cuomo ran his office like a dictatorship–and exploited countless women. He only resigned because he was forced to, not out of some noble motive.
I don’t think anyone ascribes a noble motive. I didn’t read his resignation, but it was pretty much sorry not sorry, right? The point is – Democrats resign and Republicans just keep on keeping on.
It must really suck to live in a state where those in charge run counter to science and data. It must also suck to have an ass like this undermine others who are trying to protect the masses. They have no clue what it’s like to be an every day person, because if they did, they would act very differently. He should be removed from office like the rest of them.
Don’t worry. He will pay one way or another for what he is doing. Just wait…
Given the last 5-10 years of history, he’ll probably be president in 2024. Seems like that is the goal and these folks don’t play fair.
DeSantis is a fcking ghoul. I hope he is sued into oblivion for this.
I hope so and would think that may be in the works. People sue when hot coffee spills on them.
DeathSentence won FL by 32,463 votes in the last election. It is amazing that this worthless excuse for humanity is taking our whole state down with this attitude that he is governing with the actual consent of the majority. Most of us here are fed up with his grandstanding/political theater antics. I just hope it equates to votes here next year.
I live in Wyoming, which is just as shitty and anti-science as Florida is. I work in EMS. I’m fucking exhausted and pretty much hate most of my neighbors. The joys of being a Democratic voter in the heart of trump country (i’m more left than liberal, but i’m politically active and trying to do my part).
I’m confused, what’s the end game? Why are they doing this? Why are they letting people get sick and die??
Because he is making money shilling the treatment. So he wants people to get sick
Seriously, can these two be charged with war crimes or something equivalent. They are some of the most malevolent entities I’ve ever witnessed. Seriously, this is a form of genocide.
@Snuffles, I agree. Seems like this is a crime against humanity.
I think it might qualify as democide (think Mao pushing on with the Great Leap Forward, knowing that it would result in tens of millions starving to death). Though this has the interesting twist of PARENTS (who really don’t deserve that title) gleefully sacrificing their own children at the anti-intellectual Republican altar.
As a terrified Florida parent of three, two of whom are not old enough for the vaccine, I do not understand these parents fighting school boards for the right to infect and possibly kill their own children. Their reality is not the same as ours.
If I were an editorial cartoonist, I’d draw Trump, Abbot, and DeSantis planting a GQP flag on a pile of dead kids, Iwo Jima style. What a fucked up hill to die on.
I have but one request: include Ducey too, pls. He fills out the Abbott / DeSantis trio, he’s quieter but no less deplorable.
The Republicans are trying out this shiz on a state-level. If they get the presidency in 2024, this authoritarian way of governance will be Federal law.
Yeeeeeeeep. And the Supreme Court has signalled what they will do about it, which is nod and smile.
Aren’t Republicans supposed to be against government overreach? He’s overstepping and he’s wasting the courts’ time.
Government mask mandates are too intrusive for the right but government forced pregnancy is fine.
It’s just pandering at this point. Unfortunately, the more they pander, the more people die. It’s already hit these states hard and you hear SO MANY regret stories about anti-maskers suddenly wishing they did the right thing while on their death bed. I’m sick of it. These are the same states who care so much about unborn babies but don’t want to protect actual children who are at risk of dying. Fuck them.
I don’t understand this. Can someone please explain to me why a governor seems to be ok with the people he’s responsible for suffer and die en made? What is the end game here? What is the point. This infuriating and so incredibly tragic.
Meant to type en masse. Silly autocorrect.
As a Florida resident, I can tell you that I do not understand this at all. You’d think DeSantis would at least want to keep his voters alive. Possibly he’s willing for Floridians to die if his nonsense will help him with national voters in 2024? At some point, enough people will die that most of his voters are affected, but I think enough of them have drunk the Kool-aid that they won’t even blame him.
Echoing @claireb
Everything DeSantis is doing right now is for a national audience. He’s absolutely trying to get the MAGA/Q crowd and the 2024 nom.
I’ll be doing everything I can to get him not elected (really hoping Crist doesn’t get the nom though cause he’s a Republican in Dem colors) and if he does get re-elected I’ll be saying adios to Florida.
I am completely unable to square the circle of MEDICAL FREEEEEEEDUMB! with masks/vaccines and being pro-forced birth. I know the cruelty is the point, white supremacy, and men gonna men, but how does the average person hold these thoughts on their head and scream about them with such conviction? And there’s nothing you can say to point out it that will get through! I know, know…decades of defunding education, right wing propaganda, and social media but JFC.
These 2 really make me sick. What a waste of time for the courts. It’s frightening that they wield this power
DeSantis’ face becomes unbearable to look at time goes on. Besides being a vile human being, he physically resembles a garbage pail kid. And since I am feeling crabby today and her picture showed up in this post, f*ck Casey DeSantis and her Botox filled face too. She plays a behind the scenes role and apparently is his only political advisor — she is an accessory to her husband’s murderous policies, all in the quest to become occupants of the White House. Just screw these people to hell.
Disney World is empty right now. It is so hard for me not to hop on the next flight. But I will not give another cent to FL until it gets its act together. I’ll wait to I get to CA in January and hit DL.
I’ve got the end of November booked and the only reason we are going is because I’ll lose a bunch of DVC points and our annual passes are expiring. I don’t spend any money outside of Disney. I grocery shop at home and don’t get gas in FL.
Every day he makes me hate living here. I swear he’s in a race with Greg Abbott to win the crown of “worst governor.” DeathSantis has now killed more Floridians than his margin of victory last time, so hopefully he’s rejected when he’s up for re-election. But I can’t wait that long, I feel less and less safe here every day. I know I’m supposed to stay and fight from within, but when the US collapses I can’t be trapped here with these idiots.
What an effing a-hole. What about “freedom of choice”??
Dumb European here – working in medical research – who’d like to know why monoclonal antibodies treatments are available at a *public library*, of all places.
Is it a (new) thing, or a Floridian thing?
Because I’d like to get the best medical advice and care, if possible, if I were really sick.
And while librarians are for the most part nice, helpful, intelligent people, I’d much rather have a team of different specialists looking after me. Especially if I came down with a case of Covid.
Fingers crossed for the voters in FL and TX, and everywhere else where there are stupid GQPers trying to run a state into the ground, to get rid of people like Death Sentence.
Or hollow out voting rights, restrict the access to safe abortions and generally treat all non-male and non-white people like dirt…
They’ve set a medical clinic up at the libraries. The librarians aren’t administering the treatment.
I actually teach 11 year olds and we just finished our month. 1. Masking doesn’t really bother most of them, if it means they’re back in school with everyone. 2. We have rolling mandated quarantines for close contacts, which put a lot of pressure of every member of the community.
I would not teach any more in a place like Florida. I cannot imagine if I led to getting a bunch of students sick. I feel so badly for reasonable teachers there.
He doesn’t give a shit if your kids die. Trust that his kids and whole family are protected 110 percent. The court ruled he overreached and it’s beyond his authority to prevent school boards from endorsing mask mandates. He is still punishing two school districts by denying pay to school employees (administrators?). The federal government said they’ll reimburse these people for pay loss. Just unbelievable. De Santis has turned Florida into another circle of hell. He wants a fight with Biden.
Topping Trump and “owning the libs” are all politicos like him care about. Their base sees life as constant oneupmanship–and proving they are the big dogs is all that counts.
I don’t understand why these governors are being allowed to turn their states into little Russia. They have attacked voting rights, abortions, mask mandates, CCRT and The 1619 Project, and protesters(giving legal protection to anyone who rams their car into a crowd of protestors and giving long sentences to protestors who “vandalize” confederate statues). It’s scary to see what they will go after next. They purposely underreported Covid deaths and cases, with DeSantis threatening nursing homes and staff members who opposed him. When DeSantis abused his power and had Rebekah Jones arrested, he learned that he could do whatever he wanted and never face consequences for his actions. When is enough going to be enough?
Desantis and Abbott have always had low approval ratings, but what saved them were their ties to donors who were linked to Russia. Why isn’t DeSantis being investigated for his ties to Matt Geatz’s teen trafficking cases?
They do realize that wearing mask is not for forever, right?
They need to wear it till the pandemic is over or till all the people are vaccinated.
I’m in California and my whole family is in Florida. To say we disagree is an understatement. The only thing keeping me from pulling my hair is knowing Desantis is One by one mass murdering his base