Disney pulled a fast one on DeSantis

[kadee79]

I love it!

LAKE BUENA VISTA — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handpicked board overseeing Disney World’s government services is gearing up for a potential legal battle over a 30-year development agreement they say effectively renders them powerless to manage the entertainment giant’s future growth in Central Florida.

Ahead of an expected state takeover, the Walt Disney Co. quietly pushed through the pact and restrictive covenants that would tie the hands of future board members for decades, according to a legal presentation by the district’s lawyers on Wednesday.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s new Board of Supervisors voted to bring in outside legal firepower to examine the agreement, including a conservative Washington, D.C., law firm that has defended several of DeSantis’ culture war priorities.

“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” board member Brian Aungst Jr. said. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”

Disney defended its actions.

“All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” an unsigned company statement read.

www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-disney-new-reedy-creek-board-powerless-20230329-qalagcs4wjfe3iwkpzjsz2v4qm-story.html

[Opti]

I skimmed so I'm not sure how legal and likely to stand some of the clauses are. I do agree the new board should have no jurisdiction over Disney characters.

[happyhoix]

Well, how likely did DeSantis think he would be taking on the Mouse?

[tallguy]

Mar 30, 2023 7:12:16 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Well, how likely did DeSantis think he would be taking on the Mouse?

Well, he is a Mighty Mouse.  Wait, that's a different mouse?  Okay, never mind.  

[swamp]

[swamp]

Disney did some really fabulous lawyering.   



Did you really believe that Florida’s arrogant Gov. Ron DeSantis would get the better of Walt Disney Co. in their fight over Disney’s supposed “wokeness”?



If so, you don’t know your Disney.



DeSantis handpicked a board of cronies to take over control of Reedy Creek Improvement District — the quasi-governmental entity that Disney and Florida established more than 55 years ago to control development and management of the land on which Walt Disney World, Epcot and the company’s related enterprises sit.



There’s not a lot to suggest that the legal team assembled by one of the most powerful entities on the planet...[threw] together a slapdash agreement.



— Joe Patrice, former corporate litigator and ‘Above the Law’ blogger



DeSantis’ board has now revealed that, while they were snoozing, Disney executed an agreement with their predecessors that strips the new board of all its powers except the authority to “maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure,” according to one of the new board members.

www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-03-30/disneys-lawyers-outmaneuvered-desantis-control-disney-world?fbclid=IwAR2mZJeJMpyGBUy52ZCKqf6L8Ox-fvQwwRovb1XKH9xa9MrgK6WLZFf9CPk

[Tiny]

DeSantis still probably considers it a "win" - he's got a bunch of "easy money" positions he can hand out to cronies or big contributors as rewards - all paid for by the Tax Payer.

[wvugurl26]

I mean DeSantis would be arrogant enough to think he had better lawyers than Disney.

[laterbloomer]

This highlights a huge misconception a lot of politicians like to push. They often talk about American companies (Canadian politicians talk about Canadian companies etc etc) Companies don't have a nationality, they are companies. They may geographically be located on your land, but they have no loyalty to you at all and will flex their muscle for their own benefit when pushed. I happen to agree with Disney in these circumstances, but companies I don't agree with pull this stuff too.

[tbop77]

Smith, who was the first openly LGBTQ+ Latin person elected to the state legislature, tweeted: "Ronnie lost and was just stunningly outmaneuvered by the Mouse.



"Ron DeSantis invested nearly everything into promoting his narrative of how he stuck it to Disney for having the temerity to oppose his agenda.



"He wrote op-eds about it, bragged on Fox News and made it a central focus of his new book. That house of cards is now collapsing."


www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ron-desantis-board-rages-against-disney-world-after-legal-humiliation/ar-AA19g0JR?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=728e663fba604fb0844454780f5b8737&ei=8

I really thought Trump would have some good social media post about Ron being outdone by a mouse.  Guess he has bigger fish to fry of late.  

[thyme4change]

Mar 31, 2023 10:11:58 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

This highlights a huge misconception a lot of politicians like to push. They often talk about American companies (Canadian politicians talk about Canadian companies etc etc) Companies don't have a nationality, they are companies. They may geographically be located on your land, but they have no loyalty to you at all and will flex their muscle for their own benefit when pushed. I happen to agree with Disney in these circumstances, but companies I don't agree with pull this stuff too.

Few companies have the kind of investment in a certain location as Disney has in Florida. Moving a plant has a huge burden - especially if you have established suppliers located near you - but Disney has a whole ‘nuther level of commitment to this patch of land. I don’t see how fucking with them is beneficial to the state. If the state makes Disney a worse product - how does that help them??

[pulmonarymd]

You are asking for republicans to actually think logically. That ship has sailed. Trump and MTG encapsulate the extent of what is considered thinking by Republicans these days

[laterbloomer]

Apr 5, 2023 17:12:56 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Mar 31, 2023 10:11:58 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

This highlights a huge misconception a lot of politicians like to push. They often talk about American companies (Canadian politicians talk about Canadian companies etc etc) Companies don't have a nationality, they are companies. They may geographically be located on your land, but they have no loyalty to you at all and will flex their muscle for their own benefit when pushed. I happen to agree with Disney in these circumstances, but companies I don't agree with pull this stuff too.

Few companies have the kind of investment in a certain location as Disney has in Florida. Moving a plant has a huge burden - especially if you have established suppliers located near you - but Disney has a whole ‘nuther level of commitment to this patch of land. I don’t see how fucking with them is beneficial to the state. If the state makes Disney a worse product - how does that help them??

That still doesn't make them American in the sense of having any kind of loyalty to the States, or Florida for that matter. They are their own entity and govern themselves. And they have the resources and the muscle to take on a piddly state government. As they have just proven, again.

[resolution]

Apparently DeSantis is now threatening to retaliate by building a prison or another theme park next to Disneyworld. I wonder at what point it will be more profitable for them to move to another state.

www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/desantis-disney-takeover-florida/index.html

[pulmonarymd]

I guess DeSantis isn’t very bright. Hurting Disney’s business helps Florida? How? I am not a business or economics major, so I need this explained to me like I am a four yo

[djAdvocate]

Apr 17, 2023 16:14:03 GMT -5 resolution said:

Apparently DeSantis is now threatening to retaliate by building a prison or another theme park next to Disneyworld. I wonder at what point it will be more profitable for them to move to another state.

www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/desantis-disney-takeover-florida/index.html

it sucks that it is in Florida.  it is too fucking hot in the Summer.

he should open an expanded version of the Jesus Riding A Dinosaur Theme Park.

[busymom]

Apr 17, 2023 17:11:37 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

I guess DeSantis isn’t very bright. Hurting Disney’s business helps Florida? How? I am not a business or economics major, so I need this explained to me like I am a four yo

    Tourism is THE big industry of Florida.  I remember in the community we'd lived in, when Covid hit, how hotels were reducing hours or laying people off, and that definitely hurt.


    If he builds a jail near Disney, that won't just affect Disney.  Think of Universal, and all of the other entertainment venues nearby.  If they all get together, find a friendly state, and bail on Florida, stick Florida with a fork, because it'll be done.  Beaches are nice, but they don't have quite the draw that those theme parks have. 

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Apr 18, 2023 0:03:16 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Apr 17, 2023 16:14:03 GMT -5 resolution said:

Apparently DeSantis is now threatening to retaliate by building a prison or another theme park next to Disneyworld. I wonder at what point it will be more profitable for them to move to another state.

www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/desantis-disney-takeover-florida/index.html

it sucks that it is in Florida.  it is too fucking hot in the Summer.

he should open an expanded version of the Jesus Riding A Dinosaur Theme Park.

They could branch that right off the existing religious theme park that is already there.

[tbop77]

The conservative party has taken a drastic turn.  Hopefully, they realize both DeSantis and Trump are idiots and choose a candidate with some sense.   

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Apr 18, 2023 9:15:00 GMT -5 tbop77 said:

The conservative party has taken a drastic turn.  Hopefully, they realize both DeSantis and Trump are idiots and choose a candidate with some sense.   

Can we have what you are smoking?

[Tennesseer]

DeSantis’ third strike against Disney shows what a powerful man with thin skin can do | Opinion

At a news conference Monday, Republicans decried an “egregious form of corporate welfare,” vowed to uphold “governance in a republic” and stop “special deals” for corporations like Disney.

Please.

Before Gov. Ron DeSantis anointed himself guardian of good morals against Mickey Mouse, lawmakers were happy to take Disney’s cash and draft legislation two years ago that allowed the corporation to evade Florida’s social-media crackdown.

So blatant is the hypocrisy of Republicans who profess to fight corporate power that, on the same day they announced a new round of actions against Disney, a Florida House committee was busy helping another kind of big corporation: utilities. A provision slipped into a hurricane-recovery bill shields companies such as Florida Power & Light from lawsuits related to damages caused by extensive power outages during a storm.

There are plenty of reasons to go after Disney and its outsized power to self-govern in Central Florida. To use DeSantis’ own words, “We are a government of laws, not of individual men.” Or corporations.

Higher office
If DeSantis were to follow his own words, however, there would be no fight with Disney to begin with. This is revenge against the company’s opposition to a parental-rights law critics call “Don’t say gay.” It should serve as a prelude to what a potential DeSantis administration would do if he ascends to the White House. He is expected to announce he’s running for president after the legislative session ends next month.

Consider what DeSantis would do if given a bigger bully pulpit, more authority and more bravado. It’s not unreasonable to assume that the so-called leader of the free world could use the weight of his office to go after any corporation, government agency or adversary. Today, DeSantis’ enemy might be your enemy, too. Tomorrow, it might be a different story.

Rest of article here: DeSantis’ third strike against Disney shows what a powerful man with thin skin can do | Opinion

[tbop77]

Apr 18, 2023 9:35:27 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

Apr 18, 2023 9:15:00 GMT -5 tbop77 said:

The conservative party has taken a drastic turn.  Hopefully, they realize both DeSantis and Trump are idiots and choose a candidate with some sense.   

Can we have what you are smoking?

Gummies...smoking is bad for you!  

[happyhoix]

Apr 18, 2023 10:16:13 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

DeSantis’ third strike against Disney shows what a powerful man with thin skin can do | Opinion

At a news conference Monday, Republicans decried an “egregious form of corporate welfare,” vowed to uphold “governance in a republic” and stop “special deals” for corporations like Disney.

Please.

Before Gov. Ron DeSantis anointed himself guardian of good morals against Mickey Mouse, lawmakers were happy to take Disney’s cash and draft legislation two years ago that allowed the corporation to evade Florida’s social-media crackdown.

So blatant is the hypocrisy of Republicans who profess to fight corporate power that, on the same day they announced a new round of actions against Disney, a Florida House committee was busy helping another kind of big corporation: utilities. A provision slipped into a hurricane-recovery bill shields companies such as Florida Power & Light from lawsuits related to damages caused by extensive power outages during a storm.

There are plenty of reasons to go after Disney and its outsized power to self-govern in Central Florida. To use DeSantis’ own words, “We are a government of laws, not of individual men.” Or corporations.

Higher office
If DeSantis were to follow his own words, however, there would be no fight with Disney to begin with. This is revenge against the company’s opposition to a parental-rights law critics call “Don’t say gay.” It should serve as a prelude to what a potential DeSantis administration would do if he ascends to the White House. He is expected to announce he’s running for president after the legislative session ends next month.

Consider what DeSantis would do if given a bigger bully pulpit, more authority and more bravado. It’s not unreasonable to assume that the so-called leader of the free world could use the weight of his office to go after any corporation, government agency or adversary. Today, DeSantis’ enemy might be your enemy, too. Tomorrow, it might be a different story.

Rest of article here: DeSantis’ third strike against Disney shows what a powerful man with thin skin can do | Opinion

Yeah, I heard a talking head on the news this AM discussing how this looks bad for DeSantis - like a petulant toddler mad that Disney thwarted him. 

Everyone is exhausted from the last childish president. I can’t be the only one who doesn’t want to go down that road again. 

[laterbloomer]

Isn't "state takeover" what communists do?

DeSantis said lawmakers will advance a bill that will “make sure that people understand that you don’t get to put your own company over the will of the people of Florida.”

That there is some serious pinko talking, just sayin....

[kadee79]

Can you imagine the state of our public education system if DeSantis got in as President?  OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[billisonboard]

Apr 18, 2023 22:05:37 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Can you imagine the state of our public education system if DeSantis got in as President?  OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The President has almost no power over our public education system.

[Tennesseer]

Apr 18, 2023 22:15:46 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Apr 18, 2023 22:05:37 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Can you imagine the state of our public education system if DeSantis got in as President?  OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The President has almost no power over our public education system.

If the majority of state boards of education are made up of majority of DeSantis supporters then DeSantis could have great influence over them.

[billisonboard]

Apr 18, 2023 23:10:01 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Apr 18, 2023 22:15:46 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

The President has almost no power over our public education system.

If the majority of state boards of education are made up of majority of DeSantis supporters then DeSantis could have great influence over them.

If a majority of are a majority of, we are screwed whether he is president or not.

[tbop77]

The ex-president was all too happy to join in the ridicule.



“DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, trying one of several nicknames he’s thrown at the governor.



“His original P.R. plan fizzled, so now he’s going back with a new one in order to save face,” Trump continued, and then offered some advice for Mickey.



“Disney’s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor – In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing,” he wrote. “Watch! That would be a killer.”



“In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT!” Trump concluded. “Ron should work on the squatter MESS!”


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-smacks-desantis-for-getting-absolutely-destroyed-by-disney-over-political-stunt/ar-AA1a0Mlw?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=adfb3af844144db9bd28b200b8a8f489&ei=11

LOL, I'm sorry, you can't make this stuff up!  The GOP is such a joke!

[djAdvocate]

i am chucking, too.  Trump will probably make mincemeat of that fucking meatball.