Disney Sues Desantis

Does it matter who the judge is at this point? Trump appointed judges have ruled against Trump, so there’s reason to believe this guy may rule against Dee-Santis. I’m sure Disney has all its i’s dotted and t’s crossed with a solid case, but not so sure about the state’s lawyers. Even if he rules in favor of the gov. then it will be appealed to a higher court. Feet will drag and by the time anything starts happening then Dee-Santis will be out of politics and the state will quietly settle with Disney.

 

As he points out in the order, as long as the judge doesn't know, they don't have to recuse. But his relative brought it to his attention. Worth noting too that the standard is "relative within the third degree." But Judge Walker never discloses the relationship of the relative. For all we know, the relative is his wife.

Y'all may think this is overkill. But some federal judges take this stuff very seriously and overly err on the side of caution.

 

I agree that it makes no sense.

 

But it says “substantially affected.” So, if the stock price moves $5 a share one way or the other, Walker’s distant relative is affected to the tune of $150. That doesn’t sound like substantially affected to me.

 

Read the order. He explains all of it in detail, including citing to an ethics advisory opinion and Disney's own statements about the stakes/financial significance of the lawsuit.

 

I don’t read the Canon that way. That would be a ridiculous rule. Let’s say a judge’s cousin who owns one share of a penny stock that is trading at 10 cents per share could have the value of that share go to zero or twenty cents, that is no reason at all for the related judge to recuse himself. That would be a complete absurdity.

 

The advisory opinion says very much the opposite. (And nobody is going to hold one share of a penny stock.)

 

That’s the reason for the disclosures when you file a case in federal court.

 

Not that I agree there's a material difference compared to direct ownership of small amounts of stock, but the code excludes mutual funds from the definition of "financial interests," so it wouldn't require disqualification.

 

So the daughter flew in for the weekend. Cheaper to fly into Orlando, which we combined with dinner at the California Grill on top of the Contemporary. Stepped outside to the Terrace to watch fireworks.

I didn't follow half the voiceovers/songs like when we went when my daughter was young. But watching the little ones light up was a beautiful thing; they were so excited, following every second with unadulterated joy.

And being the political thinker I am, all I could think is (screw) DeSantis and his supportive constituency". They want to destroy this over politics? Build a prison next door to where 5 year olds are getting excited to meet the characters? (screw) them all. You are just hurting kids. You're like Cromwell or Scrooge with Christmas.

If you want to be the type of parent that has the means and still categorically denies your kids all the "world" of normal entertainment their peers enjoy, I think you're unhealthy, but your right. But don't destroy the pleasure of the rest of the world's little ones because of your internal problems.

 

WGA Strike comment. The LA Times illustrates how the studios exploit creators, and then asks them to help fill in for the strikers. Hope Hwang Dong-hyuk uses his current leverage if he is going to help Netflix, the main studio refusing to negotiate

“Squid Game” increased the value of Netflix by an estimated $900 million. It also made South Korean writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk famous — but not rich. In his contract, he had forfeited all intellectual property rights and received no residuals.

 

He scared

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' legal feud with Disney World explained

 

more bad news for desi

Controversial injunction against Biden hands Disney 'open and shut' case against DeSantis: legal expert (msn.com)

A highly-controversial injunction against the Biden administration from a Trump-appointed federal judge could be mean the disney suit against Florida GOP governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is a “solid” and “open and shut” case, according to a top law professor and civil rights attorney.
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“The injunction is strikingly broad and clearly intended to chill any kind of contact between government actors and social media platforms,” Evelyn Douek, an assistant professor at Stanford Law School, told the Post.
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Meanwhile, civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, the former President and Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), a Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation, and a professor of law at Howard University, sees one bright spot in. The injunction could be a boon for The Walt Disney Company.
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“I hope that Disney is reading the decision carefully,” she adds. “Cause by this analysis they have a solid First Amend[ment] claim against Ron DeSantis. Open & shut.”

 

Eisner is not backing down on this while Desi seems to have went radio silent on Disney as other pubs told hm to shut his pie hole about Disney

In spite of hsi radio silence, his new board is looking to cut costs, which means cutting services, and selling of utilities to private operators. Disney looks the way it does because the maintenance and operations budgets are well funded. New board wants to cut costs, very short sighted. but surprise, they gave the fire fighters what they wanted. big part of the cuts is making Disney pay for police instead of the district paying for the police even though the entire district benefits from the additional police presence.

cut the millage rate by 1% (13.9 to 12.9) and the new budget went up by $13M to $198M per year but they have upcoming workshops to cut the budget more including selling property and other assets (utilities)

Disney Rejects Ron DeSantis’ Desire To Kill Retaliation Suit; “The Governor Seeks To Evade Responsibility For His Actions,” Mouse House Says (msn.com)

As dictated by federal court schedules, the Bob Iger-run media conglomerate filed its response today to DeSantis’ June 26 motion to toss out the Mouse House’s retaliation and free speech suit against the ambitious so-called anti-woke politician. And Disney didn’t mince words.

“This case presents the fundamental question whether the Governor and the State can escape accountability for their open defiance of our Nation’s most cherished liberties,” Disney said Wednesday in its opposition to state defendants’ motion to dismiss (read it here).

“The Governor seeks to evade responsibility for his actions on a narrower ground, asserting that a governor cannot be held officially liable for implementing, administering, and enforcing state laws that punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code,” the company added with personal emphasis on the notoriously thin skinned DeSantis. “The motion seeks dismissal on Article III standing, sovereign-immunity, and legislative-immunity grounds, but those principles have no application here.”

Line drawn, sand.


CFTOD Proposes Tax Cuts for Disney & Surrounding Areas (wdwinfo.com)

 

Seems like the wheels are coming off at Disney.

 

They may be doing it to cut costs. But they also may be doing it as a form of gridt, turning over valuable assets to aligned or affiliated private entities. Plus they wouldn't mind hurting Disney. This group is willing to burn down anything to show their dominance. They would destroy an immense economic engine, as well of a great source of joy to children, just to impose their worldview

 

all DEI programs have been eliminated and those employees released. the war on woke continues

DeSantis-controlled Disney World district abolishes diversity, equity initiatives (msn.com)

Park guests stroll past the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Friday, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Disney is asking a Florida judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees to Disney World's governing district. (AP Photo/John Raoux)© Provided by The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday from Walt Disney World's governing district, now controlled by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis, in an echo of the Florida governor's agenda which has championed curtailing such programs in higher education and elsewhere.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said in a statement that its diversity, equity and inclusion committee would be eliminated, as would any job duties connected to it. Also axed were initiatives left over from when the district was controlled by Disney supporters, which awarded contracts based on goals of achieving racial or gender parity.

Glenton Gilzean, the district's new administrator who is African American and a former head of the Central Florida Urban League, called such initiatives “illegal and simply un-American." Gilzean has been a fellow or member at two conservative institutions, the James Madison Institute and the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, as well as a DeSantis appointee to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

 

DeSantis appointee to Disney board taught seminar using discredited research claiming White people were slaves in America | CNN Politics

 

Disney Countersues DeSantis’ Florida Board, Alleging Contract Breach – Rolling Stone

DISNEY IS CONTINUING its fight against Ron DeSantis’ politics and policies in a new legal filing against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which oversees Disney World’s area of Florida. Disney alleges that DeSantis’ government organized the CFTOD to nullify contracts it had with a previous government organization, so it’s countersuing the government for breach of contract and asking a judge to enforce the contract. The company is seeking unspecified damages.

The countersuit, reviewed by Rolling Stone, is included in an answer to the CFTOD’s March filing, asking a judge to enjoin the company for allegedly failing to provide notice of a public hearing about the contracts, not complying with jurisdictional restrictions, “unlawful delegation of governmental authority to private entity,” and other charges. Disney’s answer denied all of these allegations.

The heart of their countersuit lies in how Disney perceives DeSantis’ comments about the company as allegedly retaliating against statements it made against his policies. In March 2022, Florida’s legislature passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, a.k.a. the “Don’t Say Gay” law. When Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek called DeSantis with concerns about the law, the suit says, DeSantis allegedly said, “You shouldn’t get involved[;] it’s not going to work out well for you.” After the bill was passed, Disney released a statement objecting to it and DeSantis said the company “crossed the line” and vowed to “make sure we’re fighting back.” A state representative, Spencer Roach, allegedly threatened retaliation by suggesting to strike down the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which oversaw Disney’s part of Florida, as a way regulate the area “if Disney wants to embrace woke ideology.” The Senate followed through, seeking to do away with the RCID.

 

Wrong thread?