Disney suit spells trouble for DeSantis | Letters to the editor
Ron DeSantis, buddy. Every time you open your mouth, you make Disney’s legal case for them. Just shut up!
You are a Yale and Harvard Law graduate?
See 42 U.S. Code § 1985, Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, and 18 U.S. Code § 242, Deprivation of rights under color of law, and 18 U.S. Code § 1343, fraud by wire, radio, or television.
You wanted to “get” Disney for exercising its constitutional rights, because the company disagreed with you.
DeSantis openly speculating about what the state could build next to Walt Disney World:
“Someone even said, maybe you need another state prison…” pic.twitter.com/dlZ2r2OAqZ
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 17, 2023
There are more than 500 active special districts in the eight-county greater Tampa Bay region alone, but you conspired with your gang in the legislature and sculpted a law that only affected Disney (and four others) in the whole state. I have friends in The Villages (also governed by one of those special taxing districts). But the people there mostly vote Republican, so you didn’t mess with them, did you?
Then you go on to brag that you did this to Disney as punishment and as a warning to other businesses in Florida. And continue claiming that you did it in your book. Forrest Gump’s momma taught him what we all know as true, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Governor, my friend, this will not end well for you.
Gary Kampel, Delray Beach
How about The Villages?
I am curious as to why no one is shouting at the top of their lungs that DeSantis can go after Disney, yet he isn’t going after The Villages or the Daytona International Speedway — both of which were created by the same kind of special taxing districts that supposedly benefited Disney.
Could it be that the areas around The Villages and the Daytona Beach racetrack are both heavily Republican, and DeSantis didn’t want to upset those constituents?
Caren Eckstadt, Pompano Beach
Retroactive punishment
I am neither an attorney nor a student of the law. But I remember from my high school civics classes that there’s a rule against ex post facto laws (applying retroactively).
A recent law signed by our governor, Senate Bill 1604, a land use and development regulation bill, includes an amendment to give the newly appointed board overseeing Disney’s Reedy Creek district the authority to nullify developer agreements approved by the previous board.
It would seem that such a law would violate the Florida Constitution, Article I Section 10, which says in part: “Prohibited laws. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law or law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.”
SB 1604 could be unconstitutional in that signed agreements between Reedy Creek and Disney cannot be voided.
Perhaps our esteemed governor would be better off leaving the Mouse alone, as this mouse fights back.
Richard Silver, Boynton Beach
Editor’s Note: Watch Sun Sentinel Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet discuss Disney’s lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis on CNN on April 30.
Using ‘woke’ as a weapon
Thank you for your editorial (“We’re all better off ‘woke’ in DeSantis’ Florida”) blasting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign to demonize “woke” in his attempts to whitewash our nation’s history of Black enslavement and racial injustice. I couldn’t agree more that “the remedy for injustice begins with exposure,” which is why it’s also important to recognize that DeSantis uses “woke” to ridicule any acknowledgement of the humanity of gay and transgender Floridians.
DeSantis wields his “woke” weapon against Black America to rewrite the narrative of the ugliest parts of our nation’s history. He also uses it against the LGBT community as part of his campaign to eradicate us entirely from history and present-day society.
Marc Paige, Fort Lauderdale