DeSantis vs. Walt Disney World: Letters from readers address hot button topic in Florida

Note to readers: The Florida Senate voted Wednesday to strip the Walt Disney Company of special privileges in regulating and maintaining 38 square miles of Central Florida, home to its six theme parks and resorts.

This issue has caused quite a stir here in the Sunshine State as well as around the country with many saying this is happening because Disney's CEO vowed to work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act — which opponents decried as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Here's what our readers are saying about this issue:

More: Senate votes to strip Disney of power to self govern its Florida empire

Florida's out-of-control dictator

What other evidence do Floridians need to see to know that Florida has an out-of-control dictator as governor? He is attacking Disney, a huge employer here, and will saddle two counties with millions in expenses. Why, you ask? Because Disney disagrees with his "Don't Say Gay" law which will marginalize kids of gay parents and stigmatize them as "different." You know where that will lead -- no place good for those kids.

The Legislature is his poodle and will play fetch for whatever the dictator wants. But the dictator is going to run for prez. Then where will Floridians be? It will be very costly for us while Chubby Ron will be swanning around DC.

Think about where Florida will end up as a result of the dictator's insanity.

Patricia Napier, Fort Myers

Focus on real problems

Gov. DeSantis has decided to attack Disney for failure to agree with his views. Disney’s self governance may be at an end because of a cultural dispute with the governor. Where have we seen this before? Not to be outdone, the USA/Naples Daily News decides to protest the ruling of a Florida federal judge ending wearing masks on airplanes by attacking the qualifications of the judge to make such a ruling instead of reporting on the merits of the CDC’s position. Meanwhile, Florida homeowners are being cancelled out of their homeowners’ insurance policies or having renewal premiums so high that they can’t afford to insure their homes even though required by their mortgage lender. Florida residents know what is really important and have put enough pressure on the governor and the Legislature that they are going back into special session to deal with this very real problems. Of course, doing this in special session will be at the taxpayers’ expense. The lesson is put the culture wars aside, put political opinion hit pieces back on the editorial page and focus on real problems. You can’t make up what has been going on in Tallahassee this year.

Chris Corrie, Bonita Springs

Support the governor

I want to go on record to say I support our governor, including his bravery to buck the biggest entity in the state, Disney. So many of the letters to the editor seem to come from those who seem to be constantly unhappy with what is taking place in our state. Perhaps they would be happier if they relocated?

Rita Montano, Cape Coral

Stop the hate campaign

As a white, married, Christian grandmother I am deeply pained by the hate campaign being waged against those who are different from us. As a psychologist I have seen the anguish of those who differ in their sexual orientation as they struggle to deal with the hate of those who cannot accept them. My heart goes out to the children in school who will not be able to write that essay next fall after summer vacation in which they describe the family vacation with their two dads or moms because the very mention of a non-heterosexual relationship is forbidden. Imagine the pain of the message given these children, that their parents are contemptible, evil, and that they are a cause for shame. This is not the message Jesus gave us. He said to love your neighbor, to respect and honor all, not wage a war of hate. If Jesus were alive today he would be called a "groomer," for he was friends with prostitutes and tax collectors. He would not be de-humanizing others with hateful messages, which is a tactic of war. Hate was not his message, love was. Let's not use "Christian" as a justification to judge and condemn others. That's not who we are as people of faith or Americans.

Dr. Rosemary Giovannone, Fort Myers

More: Senate votes to strip Disney of power to self govern its Florida empire

Juvenile name-calling, empty theatrics

If Gov. DeSantis had not squandered so much legislative time on his "broke politics" non-issues, taking up the people's business instead, would there be a need to call a special session on homeowner insurance reform?

Am I the only one put off by his using our Florida legislators as extras and Tallahassee as scenery in his national political quest? Ronald Dion DeSantis is a very intelligent fellow with an elite Harvard education who, like his former mentor, is selling himself to the less-than-privileged. Sadly, his juvenile name-calling and empty theatrics do not address the real needs of Floridians.

Instead, he busies himself burnishing both his knuckle-dragging reputation and Florida's as America's political LooneyLand.

Left or middle, we expect more.

Bruce Diamond Fort Myers

People like governor's 'no bull' leadership

More and more all we see in The News-Press Views is anti-DeSantis dialogue. Just because folks are Democrats is no reason not to look at the whole picture in Florida.

People from all over are flocking to Florida. Why?

1. No state income tax.

2. Low COVID rates.

3. Low crime rate.

4. Lee County has the best sheriff in the country.

5. Unlike most Democratic states, Florida does not require a working permit for teenagers. Teenagers make up their own mind as to whether they wish to work or not.

6. Florida's border policy on illegal immigration is strict.

7. 80 percent of parents agree with our governor on restricting sexual language in the grammar schools.

8. Florida has the best health care systems in the country, especially for seniors..

9. Lastly, Florida has great weather. Warm, but great.

These are just some of the reasons why Gov. Ron DeSantis is so popular with those people who agree with his management. Those people who care that their children's education should be math, science, reading, English, etc.. In spite of all the negative Democratic views in The News-Press, most people will be voting for Gov. DeSantis in the fall because they are satisfied with his "no bull" leadership.

Anthony Farina, Fort Myers

If only I'd been a better math student

As a teenage boy growing up in the 1950s I was given to great frustration searching for the secrets concerning sexual education, searching relentlessly and with little satisfaction or success. Needless to say I was looking for love (or sex) in all the wrong places. Imagine my surprise to find out that there it was -- right in front of me in my math book! Who knows what my love life would have been like had I been the math student I should have been. I will be forever envious of the sexcapades those math whizzes must have had! Too bad DeSantis and company has uncovered the very source of the secretive sexual restlessness by studious learners, reducing their sex lives to ashes.

How awful!

Gerald Razowsky, Cape Coral

DeSantis emulating Hungary's Orban

DeSantis has copied Hungary's repressive regime. What you need is a rubber stamp legislature and dictatorial instincts; both are found in Florida's current government. He has used these powers to regulate the schools both K-12 and state colleges and universities to his liking which is basically pandering to an extreme right base. He has the state courts under his thumb. The environment is suffering because of pandering to developers and the sugar industry. He has devolved many responsibilities from local to state government for control to the detriment of local government. Now he has decided to take on business namely, Disney, because they dared to oppose his social policies and has overruled the Legislature regarding redistricting of congressional seats because the redistricting plan they passed is not extreme enough. These are the actions of a budding dictator and what he wants is to take this program nationally. He needs to be stopped for the good of our country in the next election.

Benjamin Glick, Naples

Black voters disenfranchised

Monday's headline, "New district lines anger Democrats," made me angry. The main job of the media is to report important events and explain their significance, not to report on how some people feel about the events or what they say about them.

First, your headline is not news. Each party is always expressing dismay at the other party's actions. Second, the headline allows half your readers to discount the article out of hand. For Republican readers, it might as well have said, "Delicate Dem. snowflakes upset about district lines."

A fair and accurate headline would have been, "Governor's redistricting plan disenfranchises black voters."

Bob Ray, Fort Myers Beach

DeSantis plays punitive politics

Who remembers that famous saying, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”? That goes hand in hand with the First Amendment which says government will not prohibit not abridge freedom of speech.

These lofty principles don’t seem to apply in Florida where Gov. DeSantis just announced his intention to retaliate against Disney for daring to disagree with him.

DeSantis has threatened more than Disney with crippling retaliation for having “incorrect” opinions. School districts were threatened with having their funding pulled over masking, local jurisdictions (who are guaranteed in the Florida Constitution to home rule) have had their local ordinances overturned, students at state institutions of higher education have been told to “report on” professors and educators who don’t share DeSantis’ conservative views, and workplaces have been ordered not to offer diversity training under threat of lawsuits.

There is a name for governments that engage in political retaliation and suppression of opposition, and it’s not “democracy.” Putin and other dictators handle political dissension by retaliating against it also. Our Founders were wise when they encouraged free speech; Floridians must be just as wise in insisting their governor adhere to it.

Susan McGuire, Bokeelia

What happened to transparency?

The Florida Department of Education has chosen to eliminate 54 of 134 math textbooks from consideration for use in our public schools. While the books were condemned as containing inappropriate material, we are not told which books or publishers are guilty.

Examples of the offensive material were not provided. If the department feels it is on firm ground in its decision, surely examples of the forbidden material found in each of the banned book should be provided. Otherwise, how we to accept that decisions were made for other than corrupt political or economic reasons?

What has happened to sunshine laws and governmental transparency?

Bruce Beardsley, Naples

Is investigative reporting dead?

On April 17 the Naples Daily News carried a story describing how the Florida Department of Education rejected more than 50 mathematics textbooks – about 40 percent of those submitted – for failing to meet Florida’s new learning standards or because (they) “contained prohibited topics” that included references to critical race theory. It appears that the FDOE has declined to provide examples of the objectionable content. This alone is a disappointing commentary on what should be an open and honest explanation of the process. Equally disappointing is the lack of any real investigative reporting on this subject. I find it difficult to accept that members of the FDOE are prohibited from speaking to concerned citizens about the FDOE’s specific rationale for the numerous book rejections. There are so many unanswered questions: Who exactly within the FDOE makes these decisions? Assuming that more than just a few individuals are involved, are their votes a matter of public record? Absent a unanimous rejection vote on any given book, isn’t there a single member of the FDOE willing to speak up and demystify the process? If there is an established process for reviewing books and the process was properly followed then why should (and more importantly, how can) FDOE be allowed to withhold the information on which their decision(s) were based? Where are the Bob Woodwards and the Carl Bernsteins of the world when we need them?

Thomas Myers, Naples

Pursuit of imaginary boogeymen

Governor DeSantis has plumbed a new bottom feeding site in his pursuit of imaginary boogeymen. Now he has had the Florida Department of Education reject 54 of 134 math textbooks for elementary students because they supposedly contain “prohibited topics or strategies, including Critical Race Theory.” Since FDOE did not disclose which textbooks were deemed inacceptable, one can only imagine what damaging situations they contain.

“During the Trail of Tears, approximately 20 percent of the 19,500 ethnically cleansed Cherokee died. How many survived to reach the Indian Territory?”

“Planter Beauregard needs 10 people to work his plantation. Hired help costs $300 per year. He can buy slaves for $800 each. How long will it take him to recover his investment in slaves by avoiding paid labor?”

“The law authorizing the Transcontinental Railroad construction allows each company an advance of $200,000 to hire laborers. The Union Pacific Railroad company can hire Irish immigrants for $400 each, while the Central Pacific Railroad company can hire Chinese immigrants for $250 each. How many more laborers can the Central Pacific Railroad company hire for its advance than the Union Pacific Railroad can?”

One can only imagine what the governor and his esteemed base can come up with next, now that they have already initiated banning books from libraries.

Gov. DeSantis claims that he has created the Orange Free State, when in fact he is transforming Florida into an Absurdistan.

Michael F Finkel M..D., Naples

Make redistricting nonpartisan

The chicanery that is taking place regarding the redistricting of Florida’s congressional seats is destined to end up in the courts, either federal or state or, perhaps, both.

The latest episode paving that path was the decision by the Legislature to cede the decision-making authority solely to Gov. DeSantis, after he previously vetoed the map drawn chiefly by the GOP solons due to his dislike of two districts that were likely to produce Democratic office holders because they would have consisted of a plurality of Black voters, who lean heavily in favor of that party. The governor ostensibly struck the plan because it was not race “neutral,” even though the overall GOP-drawn boundaries substantially tilted in favor of extending the Republicans dominance in the state’s 28-seat delegation in the nation’s capital, including one added by the 2020 Census.

But the acrimonious, expensive, and time-consuming route that the governor and the Legislature are pursuing is avoidable. The state should follow the model of another Sunbelt state with a steadily growing population and increase in congressional slots, Arizona.

Circumventing the political gamesmanship and gerrymandering that has plagued so many states, including the on-again, off-again battles here in Florida, that state adopted years ago a non-partisan unit to undertake congressional redistricting following each 10-year Census cycle, a method upheld as Constitutionally-permissible by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 in a case entitled Arizona Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. A handful of other states have followed course, removing to the maximum extent feasible partisan politics from the process.

Another approach, utilized far from the Sunbelt in Minnesota, where I have lived and practiced law, is appointment of nonpartisan judges to do the task, which worked well there this year, averting a century-long history of redistricting litigation in that state. While maps for legislative seats here in Florida are subject to approval by the state Supreme Court, unlike the plenary authority granted the governor for congressional boundaries, that tribunal has its own partisan and ideological features that make it less than ideal for reviewing or revising elective districts.

This time around the Florida redistricting process, as in a number of other states, is looking like a multi-vehicle crash. That type of collision can be averted by trying another route in the future.

Marshall H. Tanick, Naples

What do liberals expect?

Another day, another large number of letters to the editor hating Gov. DeSantis. The liberal mind is hard for me to comprehend. Not sure where they were the day that the political science teacher taught that they who win the election controls the legislative agenda. For some reason these folks think that when the conservative voters of Florida elect a conservative governor that he should follow a liberal agenda. That would be like me expecting President Biden to Make America Great Again. Time for you folks to save your letter writing energy and concentrate on finding a liberal candidate that can win an election.

Don Rader, Naples

This man has done enough damage

The harm that Ron DeSantis has done as governor of Florida might easily be surpassed if he were to be re-elected to a second term. Probably the most egregious piece of legislation that he has supported during his tenure is one creating a stand-alone police force ostensibly designed to crack down on voter fraud. DeSantis advocated for this even though he praised Florida’s election process in 2020.

Such action reminds one of those taken by authoritarian dictators in the 1930s. Are we going to see these so-called officers of the law walking up and down a line of people waiting to vote and saying, “Show me your papers “?

This man has done enough damage already. The voters in Florida have an opportunity to stop him from doing more on Nov. 8 of this year.

Gordon Mulligan, Englewood

Disgraced president's mini-me

Individual freedoms are being systemically canceled by Gov. DeSantis and his complicit state Legislature. They are crafting laws to fit their personal ideologies instead of governing for the good of all. School boards are controlled, teachers are instructed what to teach and how to teach, altering and omitting history as the narrative suites them.

Teachers are ordered to curtail open and honest conversations. To many gay students, at times teachers are the first and sometimes only people students turn to out of fear of rejection and disapproval in families. Who amongst us hasn’t looked back and thanked a teacher or coach for helping to guide us through a difficult time when others have failed us for fear of judgment.

Banning speech, banning books are a means of mind control, indoctrination into our governor's chosen set of ideals.

Parents have rights to know what children learn but also must take into consideration that a child learns from peers, on the street, on social media, TV and the internet. It should be the responsibility of parents to have open and honest conversations in the home to dispel falsehoods and teach right from wrong and instill morals.

Small and large businesses are ordered and can face fines for requiring the wearing of masks during a pandemic to protect their employees and clientele. Not allowed to ask for proof of vaccinations both of which have been proven to reduce the spread of COVID and drastically reduce the number of hospitalizations and death.

HR’s are controlled in trainings on diversity. Did you anticipate this daily intrusion in your business?

Health care, mainly affecting woman, is determined not between a woman and her doctor but by a governor. A governor who is going against the will of the majority. Women are not property; no one owns us or our bodies and no one should be able to control what should be private decisions.

What’s next? Control of freedom of the press, freedom of the right to protest against an overzealous government.

If you think the governor has the back of law enforcement, think again. Being against gun controls including permits and eliminating assault weapons is not protecting our officers who put their lives on the line to protect the lives of others. And once again, goes against the majority of the population.

The voting rights of many are being taken from them. Making it difficult for many elderly and disabled people to get to the polls instead of voting by mail. Those living in rural areas find it difficult to get to polls. Those who know they cannot win in a fair and equitable election are the ones changing are way of voting.

We need to show DeSantis that being a disgraced president's mini-me and a Putin wannabe is a formula for disaster and failure. We must vote him and the current legislators out of office.

Rebecca Scheall, Alva

'Honest politician' an oxymoron

This is a reply to a letter about our governor. I concur with you about the polar opposite description of the governor in opinion letters, however, having "politicians" and "honesty" in the same sentence is an oxymoron.

Carl Schumann, Fort Myers

Left-wing condescension

A recent letter to the editor claims that punishing teachers for teaching CRT is raw authoritarianism and Putinesque. The writer quoted Frederick Douglass. Here is a quote from Black leader Bob Woodson who said "One of the most repulsive parts about the left is their condescension towards minorities. That patronizing attitude manifests in things like Affirmative Action which says minorities are not smart enough to compete with whites on an equal basis so we will cheat in your favor. CRT is racist and divides our country in two groups: on the one side, Blacks and other minorities who are permanent and powerless victims: and on the other irredeemable white supremacists, bent on their destruction. Instead of helping to create a society in which all have an equal opportunity to thrive, it insists that systemic racism prevents anyone except privileged whites from succeeding. CRT is a much more insidious bigotry that plants the seeds of Black self-doubt and self-destruction."

Valerie Johnston, Naples

This isn't conservative governance

A recent op-ed by Mr. Evan Power, chair of Chairs of the Republican Party of Florida, lauded the state's legislative leadership for "governing conservatively." A careful read of Mr. Power's commentary identifies an abundance of legislative acts that refute his stated conclusion.

When elected officials oppose medical science with regard to health/medical issues, legislators place their constituents in harm's way. The first and foremost duty of statesmen/women is to protect those who they serve. In the case of masks and vaccines during the height of the pandemic, Republican leadership failed to speak the truth: masks and vaccines save lives. Security/safety and personal freedom are inversely related: when either increases, the other decreases (Recall 9/11 and its intrusive restriction of individual freedom associated with airport security). Democratic leaders began relaxing COVID preventive policies when the infection rates reached a scientifically derived level unlike their Republican counterparts who largely based their policies upon a vocal base decrying all preventive ("freedom-stealing") initiatives.

Be reminded that "record tax breaks" (falsely attributed to Republican Party members by Mr. Powers) was chiefly the result of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 whereby $350 billion was allocated to state and local governments. It bears mentioning that no U.S. Republican senator voted in favor of this bill that benefited all 50 state treasuries with Florida receiving some $10.2 billion.

"Greater election integrity" was cited as an accomplishment yet invoking the comparative "greater" is disingenuous given that Florida's election integrity was praised as a model for the nation by Gov. DeSantis at the conclusion of the 2020 national election. Spending taxpayer monies to fix what is not broken is the antithesis of conservative fiscal policy.

Claims of legislative success in "protecting human life" are readily dismissed by Florida women whose pregnancies will be deemed life-threatening and illegal in the "Free State." Floridians felled by COVID due to misinformation spread by non-medical politicians discounting the virus' mortality had lives cut short or severely compromised by lawmakers more concerned with finances than saving lives.

The Parental Rights in Education law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in K-3 yet neither topic has been taught in any public school curriculum. The time, effort and funds expended on this moot issue epitomize a political majority's playing to its base at the expense of "conservative governing."

Concepts such as "free speech," "individual liberty" and "marketplace of ideas" are difficult to reconcile with a Legislature determined to silence classroom and job-site race-related discussions that cause discomfort or guilt among its audiences. Be reminded that critical race theory has not been part of any public school instruction. Much ado about nothing.

In the past few weeks we have witnessed Florida's government controlling multiple aspects of teachers', professors', employers', doctors', voter supervisors', pregnant women's lives with ill-conceived laws purporting freedom but, in reality, diminishing freedom. Re-electing legislative candidates whose perspectives coincide with Mr. Power only accelerates the erosion of freedom.

James L. DeBoy, Fort Myers

Blatant hypocrisy evenly distributed

Beginning with its tendentious headline, "Ron DeSantis eyes court fight over Florida congressional map to reduce minority seats” your March 18 article unwittingly reveals the unprincipled nuttiness of our recurring conflicts over redistricting. It presents no evidence that DeSantis’s purpose is “to reduce minority seats,” which would be both offensive and illegal, as opposed to reducing Democratic and increasing Republican seats, which is perfectly legal.

Based on the dated and routinely disproven assumption that whites will not vote for blacks, current election law imposes affirmative action requirements on redistricting — states must create districts containing enough Blacks to allow them to elect “representatives of their choice.” This flawed assumption cannot account for Rep. Byron Donalds, who is Black but represents our own 69 percent white 19th District. If Val Demings must have a majority Black district, what is she doing running for the U.S. Senate? Besides, if Blacks must substantially outnumber other groups in order to have the “ability to elect representatives of their choice,” that must mean that Hispanics, whites, and Asians in those districts have no such ability.

The only equality here is that blatant hypocrisy is evenly distributed between Republicans and Democrats. Even as they trumpet fidelity to colorblind equal treatment, for years Republicans have been trying to stuff as many Blacks as possible into a small number of districts, guaranteeing the election of a few Black representatives but making the surrounding, bleached districts more Republican. For their part, Democrats demand herding enough Blacks into a few districts to ensure the election of an Al Lawson here (Fla. 5) or Val Demings there (Fla. 10) even as they denounce adding too many as apartheid. To the Democrats, “too many” means more than enough to assure the election of a Democrat, and “too few” means not enough. By some cosmic coincidence, the Democrats implicitly argue, that precise balance is what the law requires.

Here’s a thought: why don’t we start treating voters as simply individuals, all of whom have a right to vote without discrimination, not as representatives of their racial and ethnic tribes?

John Rosenberg, Naples

Adding to damage of inflation, climate change

If you are concerned about high gas prices and continuing inflation with rising cost of energy, a must read is ”How Ukraine and high gas prices could take us backward on climate change,” Paul Walkman, Washington Post, March 10, 2022.

The author clearly explained what Florida’s bill would accomplish: less use of clean energy and more fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide pollution.

The Florida bill was about net metering, which allows people who have rooftop solar systems to send surplus electricity they generate back to the grid and get credited on their bills. Net metering is extremely popular with both Democrats and Republicans (even if some of the latter are attracted to it more out of self-reliance than environmental concerns). It encourages more solar capacity by offering a financial incentive that helps defray the cost of installing a home-solar system.

But the Florida Legislature’s bill slashes the rates at which customers with solar panels will be credited for the energy they send back to the grid, and allows utilities to impose fees and charges on those customers. The result will inevitably be fewer people installing solar systems, and more burning of fossil fuels.

Our state (governor and Legislature) is adding to the damage of inflation and climate change.

Lewis Robinson, Fort Myers

Tragically lost to abortion

Millions of unborn fetuses are tragically aborted each year throughout the world. Among them may have been a scientist who develops a new drug to fight cancer, a composer of a brilliant symphony, a statesman who brings lasting peace to a war-weary world, a dedicated teacher who educates thousands of students, a skilled athlete who sets new world records -- or, perhaps best of all, a young girl who brings child-like love and quiet joy to stressed-out parents.

Bill Bond, North Naples

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: DeSantis Walt Disney World: Governor seeks to remove tax privileges for theme park