I'm one of those folks who live in Florida and have watched, truly horrorstruck, as De Santis slashes and burns every single democratic value this country is built upon. He is enormously popular and, for those of us who were outraged by Trump as president, the notion that De Santis could well be our next president is even more frighten…
I'm one of those folks who live in Florida and have watched, truly horrorstruck, as De Santis slashes and burns every single democratic value this country is built upon. He is enormously popular and, for those of us who were outraged by Trump as president, the notion that De Santis could well be our next president is even more frightening. He has gotten away, in Florida, with anti-democratic behavior that would never have worked in our beloved Massachusetts.
I've had this letter in my draft folder for months, and decided to edit it again:
Governor DeSantis:
I lived in Florida from 1975 to 1985. I was lucky enough to be able to transfer to Massachusetts in 1985 and continue working for the company that had employed me for eleven years. My family has been in Massachusetts since then, and there has not been a single day go by that I wished I had stayed in Florida. Most days I wake up thankful that my family and I escaped.
In 1985, the city of Boca Raton paid a starting policeman (with little training) more than it paid a high-school teacher with a Master’s degree. As my oldest child was approaching school age, and Florida’s state ranking vis-a-vis schools was dismal, it behooved me to find a better place to raise my children. An opportunity in Massachusetts became available, and I jumped at the chance.
That was the best decision I have ever made.
My children are all successful, all have Master’s degrees, and successful careers. My grandchildrens’ futures are promising.
So I write to thank you for your decisions vis-a-vis COVID-19 and masking, your actions in urging book banning, your threats against school teachers if they don’t follow your direction, the police actions you directed against voters exercising their right to vote, and your attempts at taking over institutions of higher learning.
All these things underscore how stunningly good the decision I made in 1985 really was.
Your actions have been despicable, and deserve censure, if not criminal charges.
You are unfit for office, and remain a clear and present danger to the citizens of Florida. In fact, a clear and present danger to the United States.
The only honorable path is to resign your office. I call on you to do just that: resign. To remain will only bring more disgrace to the State of Florida. To pursue higher office will only put the country in grave danger of losing our hard-won democracy.
I’d put that letter in every newspaper in the state of Florida. It needs to go public. As a matter of fact, you should send it to all major news outlets across the country. The people of the United States need to be aware of the “storm that’s coming” if DeSantis is elected!
Last year, we followed you and left behind our winter friends and sold our house in Florida. We have watched a warm friendly rural Florida coastal town slowly become a place where we no longer wanted to spend time. Multi-generational Floridians have also left. We returned to Massachusetts full time and sold our Florida winter cottage. We’ve watched the MAGAs move into the Sunshine state and slowly darken it’s future magnificent sunrises and sunsets. The coastal beaches are being trashed and the springs polluted. A way of life is disappearing. It just sucks and we feel sorry for the friends whom we left behind.
Even when I lived there the water supply was in question, due to saltwater incursion because so much was being pumped out of the aquifer. I'm sorry to hear it's gotten worse - in 1985, there was still farmland west of Boca Raton, but I hear that is all built up now. The land just can't support that many people. My neighbors have been snowbirds in North Port for many years, but stayed in MA this winter: travel woes and hurricane destruction combined to keep them here. The political climate was another factor: he's a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, as am I.
Your comment relative to low education police officers making significantly more than highly educated teachers isn’t unique to Florida. I live in California where in Los Angeles a rookie cop with a GED and 6 months of training makes in excess of $70k, far more than most teachers in the LA Unified School District.
I worked in law enforcement in Florida. When I started, on 1980, I made a whopping $900 a month GROSS PAY. I took home $423 a month. Now, an officer fresh out of the academy starting salary statewide average is about $33,000 a year.
Mike, All “ the white ones” , including those “ fat white people “here are not “ all in for DeSantis”. There are many of us writing, calling, donating, canvassing because doing nothing is not an option.
I suggest you adjust the tuning of your violin before casting vague assumptions about us being "all in" for the man sir! All, and always are words I use carefully, especially with regard to people I do not know at all. Further, your suggestion we are all "Fat white people' further reveals ignorance equal to that of DeSantis himself. Crikey man, grow a brain before you begin painting everyone with the same brush
The election of DeSantis didn't surprise me, as Florida had been moving red over the years. But it did disappoint me, ever more so as he slid further and further towards fascism. Now that he's reached that destination, he has to be removed from office. I hope the people in Florida do that at the next election.
James, I was born and raised in Rhode Island and moved to Florida after graduating from URI in 1981. Many things I miss about NE!
It will be up to all of us to vote against DeSantis when he runs for President.He is term-limited ( of sorts) as Florida restricts Governors from serving more than 8 years in a 12 year period. So I guess he could come back to haunt us..😱
💙 your letter. FYI :The Orlando Sentinel prints many opinion pieces and is all about exposing all things DeSantis.
Let's skip the body shaming, Mike! Several members of my quilting group are "fat white people" and they all vote blue. Tarring all members of a certain group never ends well.
My dad moved our family from Maine to Florida in 1969. In 1981, I moved back to Maine, but the rest of my family is still down there. (Work, friends, etc) They are fighting the good fight, but it's hard when Democratic voters are disenfranchised, removed from voter rolls, and gerrymandered out of existence. They are close to giving up and moving away, but it's dangerous to assume that everyone in Florida is the same. Many have roots there and are suffering.
Mike, I live in Floriduh & am white and while not fat, I am old, another group that gets grouped as monolithic. You should never imply, much less actually say that any demografic is "ALL" alike. That is prejudicial.
Rob I agree. I am 89, male, at my high school weight, and white. Am I in an ‘all alike’ category? Would my adding college educated switch me from the red to blue category? Painting with a broad brush I find misleading and insulting.
Not only does this White Male vote against the Repugnant party in Floriduh, but I am a minority here for having been in a loving relationship with another white male for 5 years and with a black female for 20 years. I am also English speaking so I don’t even speak the dominant language in South Florida.
I have a friend who refers to him as Stubby, so now for me it is Stubby DeSatan. When I see him, I also see places like the Villages. Can't imagine living in such a place. And it is totally corrupt as well. I do note the posts below that not every white person in the swamp supports him and I support them in their determined fight against him and the ideas he represents. Btw, I am a fat white female who lives in Oregon and votes blue and has for many years, so I agree about not stereotyping.
Kathy, you are correct about the many people who do not agree with DeSantis. But facts are facts. The state elected him. He is the governor. In 2022, Florida became more reliably Red. True confession. I lived in Florida 1986 to 1989. I lived James Lander Poel's experience. I left and never looked back. I have many wonderful friends who have retired there. But the sanity is outnumbered by the insanity. I lived it. It continues.
“Many,” perhaps, but not a high percentage. DeSantis was elected in a landslide. I sympathize with your point but object to this use of the word “many.” It’s Trumps go-to trick: “many people are saying” this and that. Yes, it’s “many people” even if there are only ten of them, so the statement can be technically correct while also being intentionally misleading, essentially a lie. When I see “many” used in the context of public sentiment, I always want to know what percentage of the population the “many” comprise, or at least to have an estimate of what percentage of the referenced population “many” is intended to mean.
James, as a native Bay Stater, I am glad you are happy here. Our record is hardly unblemished however. 🤥 Scott Brown bought a barn coat, rented a truck and pretended to be a man of the people. And Mitt, the spineless wonder who does not even defend his own insurance plan. Charlie Baker, who knew what a bum tfg-manbaby-45 was but could never bring himself to say so and came late to covid prevention. Some useless Dems also. But we do have many shining stars especially Elizabeth Warren who nevertheless persists. I totally agree with you that Florida is the epitome of an unlivable prehistoric swamp, so send your letter and I will write one too. 👏🏼🙏🏼👍🏻
When I grew up in Michigan, my father had no use for George Romney (Mitt's father). Imagine my chagrin when, after moving to Massachusetts, I end up with Mitt as governor. He did some good here, but I'm more than happy he's found his place in Utah.
Yes, he can do less harm in Utah because almost any other Senator the Utah electorate might put in office would be even worse. Romney is about as close to being a decent human being that any Republican can be, while not actually making the grade since “decent” and “Republican” cannot simultaneously apply to any person.
James, lucky escape and that move for you and your family was life changing. But even if DeSantis disappears, he isn’t working alone. His values and core beliefs are not only in Florida. The repubs must not only be stopped, white supremacy supported by government must be stopped. And it’s not only a Southern phenomena.
Excellent and certainly the right choice to leave that swamp. We were there to visit my cousin in lived in Stuart and we were not impressed. When I read do the honorable path, my mind, shame on it, went to ancient Rome.
It’s no longer the “farming communities” I was raised in. It’s turned into the “concrete jungle”! Even Stuart, where we used to deliver agriculture supplies to farmers. It too is now almost all concrete.
Florida was number 1 in this country ranking right up there with California and Texas in farming, producing food fir the nation and world. Now, it’s fallen drastically because farmers are being pushed out by DeStalin and his quest to bring big business into the state. He’s turning the farmland into concrete.
James, you and your family really are fortunate to have escaped Florida. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Escaping in our own country? So incredibly sad and frightening. Maybe leave out this one line, ...”thank you...” which may be true, but unfortunately some readers may not understand sarcasm or irony. If they did they would not vote vote R. You are indeed lucky.
Sunday, we are leaving our beloved Massachusetts to visit family in Florida. For 10 days we will focus on celebrating a 96th birthday and reconnecting with cousins we love. For 10 days I will need to constrain myself from political discussion outside the family home. My tolerant, all embracing Democratic family is surrounded by frightening bigots. For 10 days I will be living in a world that I consider unsafe.
It wasn't always this way. For many years we were "snow birds". We operated a seasonal business in Maine that closed for the winter. That gave us the opportunity to join family and friends in Florida for up to three months. We were "pines and palms" folks. From Bean boots to flip flops. The only politics discussed were with our Canadian neighbors who rented next to us. It was a good way of life. It is over. Our nation is dividing up - emotionally and spiritually.
In Massachusetts we thrive on education, tolerance and the financial success that leads to. It is far from perfect here. But I feel really safe. I feel I can speak freely. I don't worry about the school system being attacked by bible thumping idiots. BTW, our high school is rated as one of the best in America and I am proud to pay wicked high taxes to support it. Our grandchildren are already thriving in a school system that is built on diversity. They are four and six. They already know that there are many different kinds of people - it is normal in their minds.
In MA we have taxes, tolerance and teaching excellence. In Florida, apparently the goal is to harbor and cultivate hate. If the state continues on this path, it will join other states as a pariah. Companies that want to attract bright young minds will think twice about locating in a spiritual cesspool.
And then there are the red tides and fertilizer pollution killing off all manner of wild life and making tourists think twice (it is really nasty smelling). We cancelled a Captiva visit accordingly. Of course, all that and more is being swept away as the planet responds to our mistreatment. Florida has a future as coral reef. Mother nature knows what to do.
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Massachusetts. Good schools, with generous support, were the main reason for coming here. And I continue to argue with the locals (we have about 30 percent of the electorate voting T**** here) whenever they say they don't feel the need to continue that support: public education is something you have to pay for, from cradle to grave. It's the best investment you can make.
Rising oceans will doom large sections of Florida at some point. It is, perhaps, inaccurate to think the disappearance of the state will be attributed to the planet's revenge on the corruption of Florida's voters, but there is some comfort in imagining that to be the case.
I don't think so. The guys who run Disney are very rich Hollywood liberals who won't be intimidated by the DeSantis Fascist Mafia.
Also, I believe the new Peter Pan movie will be a "woke" swipe that will add gas to the conflict. The Disney /DeathSantis duel might end up being a proxy war over "modern open minded liberal tolerance/acceptance/love they neighbor" and the "anti-woke racist Nazi bigots."
My next question is: Will this battle be settled before Mother nature swallows all those canal homes? And once it is clear that a huge percentage of Florida housing stock is almost worthless, what will happen to Florida's economy?
My condolences. I enjoyed visits to your beautiful state in the past. I always imagined taking my grandkids to Disney World some day. But now that DiSatan is using it as a staging ground for a future Fascist takeover, I may have to wait. What a shame.
It's fabulous... looong ago, I rode trails across the glades from Boca to Belle Glade, and back via Palm Beach. I think my friend and I clocked about a hundred miles that day. Wear good bug repellant: there are flies out there that drill holes in you, even when you're moving along at twenty miles an hour trying to escape their swarm.
A cousin of mine live on a east coast barrier island and was always saying to me, come visit me in Florida. We have sunshine, beautiful beaches and Disney World. This was long before Desantis was even a blip on the political radar and I had no desire to visit the state even then. Besides, I live in California and we have sunshine, beautiful beaches, and Disneyland. And a state government that isn’t autocratic.
She's moved to Kansas to live with her daughter. Too many evacuations due to hurricanes over a single bridge to the mainland in recent years. I'm definitely not visiting her in Kansas!
My son and his wife take the grandchildren there every year. They'll probably continue going, even though I worry when I hear Florida may become an 'open carry' state.
I was heartened to see the decision below in Idaho. Republicans did NOT open up the public school coffers to allow them to flow behind closed doors with little or no oversight regarding academics or finances. We should all be keeping and eye on our legislatures for the introduction of bills that will funnel public dollars for public school into private schools and private pockets.
It is a constant game of wack a mole with this legislature; school funding, censuring/removing books in libraries and schools, public land protections, etc.
I am the only family member still in MA. My siblings have all left. 2 are in FL. I am dumbstruck the kids in FL aren't demonstrating like we did back in the day. DeSantis scares the heck out of me. Tfg not so much.
I'm one of those folks who live in Florida and have watched, truly horrorstruck, as De Santis slashes and burns every single democratic value this country is built upon. He is enormously popular and, for those of us who were outraged by Trump as president, the notion that De Santis could well be our next president is even more frightening. He has gotten away, in Florida, with anti-democratic behavior that would never have worked in our beloved Massachusetts.
I've had this letter in my draft folder for months, and decided to edit it again:
Governor DeSantis:
I lived in Florida from 1975 to 1985. I was lucky enough to be able to transfer to Massachusetts in 1985 and continue working for the company that had employed me for eleven years. My family has been in Massachusetts since then, and there has not been a single day go by that I wished I had stayed in Florida. Most days I wake up thankful that my family and I escaped.
In 1985, the city of Boca Raton paid a starting policeman (with little training) more than it paid a high-school teacher with a Master’s degree. As my oldest child was approaching school age, and Florida’s state ranking vis-a-vis schools was dismal, it behooved me to find a better place to raise my children. An opportunity in Massachusetts became available, and I jumped at the chance.
That was the best decision I have ever made.
My children are all successful, all have Master’s degrees, and successful careers. My grandchildrens’ futures are promising.
So I write to thank you for your decisions vis-a-vis COVID-19 and masking, your actions in urging book banning, your threats against school teachers if they don’t follow your direction, the police actions you directed against voters exercising their right to vote, and your attempts at taking over institutions of higher learning.
All these things underscore how stunningly good the decision I made in 1985 really was.
Your actions have been despicable, and deserve censure, if not criminal charges.
You are unfit for office, and remain a clear and present danger to the citizens of Florida. In fact, a clear and present danger to the United States.
The only honorable path is to resign your office. I call on you to do just that: resign. To remain will only bring more disgrace to the State of Florida. To pursue higher office will only put the country in grave danger of losing our hard-won democracy.
Sincerely,
James A. Vander Poel
Massachusetts
I’d put that letter in every newspaper in the state of Florida. It needs to go public. As a matter of fact, you should send it to all major news outlets across the country. The people of the United States need to be aware of the “storm that’s coming” if DeSantis is elected!
"The Storm", that is excellent phrasing for what appears to be a coming intellectual as well as moral darkness.
Behavior like that of DeSantis is always for power and money.
But if it’s published in FLA, the writer would be charged with a felony. Governor Snowflake can’t handle any criticism, remember?
Sir,
Last year, we followed you and left behind our winter friends and sold our house in Florida. We have watched a warm friendly rural Florida coastal town slowly become a place where we no longer wanted to spend time. Multi-generational Floridians have also left. We returned to Massachusetts full time and sold our Florida winter cottage. We’ve watched the MAGAs move into the Sunshine state and slowly darken it’s future magnificent sunrises and sunsets. The coastal beaches are being trashed and the springs polluted. A way of life is disappearing. It just sucks and we feel sorry for the friends whom we left behind.
Even when I lived there the water supply was in question, due to saltwater incursion because so much was being pumped out of the aquifer. I'm sorry to hear it's gotten worse - in 1985, there was still farmland west of Boca Raton, but I hear that is all built up now. The land just can't support that many people. My neighbors have been snowbirds in North Port for many years, but stayed in MA this winter: travel woes and hurricane destruction combined to keep them here. The political climate was another factor: he's a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, as am I.
Your comment relative to low education police officers making significantly more than highly educated teachers isn’t unique to Florida. I live in California where in Los Angeles a rookie cop with a GED and 6 months of training makes in excess of $70k, far more than most teachers in the LA Unified School District.
I worked in law enforcement in Florida. When I started, on 1980, I made a whopping $900 a month GROSS PAY. I took home $423 a month. Now, an officer fresh out of the academy starting salary statewide average is about $33,000 a year.
https://www.joinlapd.com/salary
James,
Unfortunately, I do think your perspective is in the minority in Florida. Those folks down there (the white ones anyway) are all in for DeSantis.
Fat white people look at Fat White DeSantis and they resonate like a string on a violin.
Mike, All “ the white ones” , including those “ fat white people “here are not “ all in for DeSantis”. There are many of us writing, calling, donating, canvassing because doing nothing is not an option.
Thank you Kathy!
I suggest you adjust the tuning of your violin before casting vague assumptions about us being "all in" for the man sir! All, and always are words I use carefully, especially with regard to people I do not know at all. Further, your suggestion we are all "Fat white people' further reveals ignorance equal to that of DeSantis himself. Crikey man, grow a brain before you begin painting everyone with the same brush
The election of DeSantis didn't surprise me, as Florida had been moving red over the years. But it did disappoint me, ever more so as he slid further and further towards fascism. Now that he's reached that destination, he has to be removed from office. I hope the people in Florida do that at the next election.
James, I was born and raised in Rhode Island and moved to Florida after graduating from URI in 1981. Many things I miss about NE!
It will be up to all of us to vote against DeSantis when he runs for President.He is term-limited ( of sorts) as Florida restricts Governors from serving more than 8 years in a 12 year period. So I guess he could come back to haunt us..😱
💙 your letter. FYI :The Orlando Sentinel prints many opinion pieces and is all about exposing all things DeSantis.
Let's skip the body shaming, Mike! Several members of my quilting group are "fat white people" and they all vote blue. Tarring all members of a certain group never ends well.
My dad moved our family from Maine to Florida in 1969. In 1981, I moved back to Maine, but the rest of my family is still down there. (Work, friends, etc) They are fighting the good fight, but it's hard when Democratic voters are disenfranchised, removed from voter rolls, and gerrymandered out of existence. They are close to giving up and moving away, but it's dangerous to assume that everyone in Florida is the same. Many have roots there and are suffering.
Mike, I live in Floriduh & am white and while not fat, I am old, another group that gets grouped as monolithic. You should never imply, much less actually say that any demografic is "ALL" alike. That is prejudicial.
Rob I agree. I am 89, male, at my high school weight, and white. Am I in an ‘all alike’ category? Would my adding college educated switch me from the red to blue category? Painting with a broad brush I find misleading and insulting.
Not only does this White Male vote against the Repugnant party in Floriduh, but I am a minority here for having been in a loving relationship with another white male for 5 years and with a black female for 20 years. I am also English speaking so I don’t even speak the dominant language in South Florida.
Can I claim to be Latino? My Cuban grandmother was born in Cuba in 1870.
I have a friend who refers to him as Stubby, so now for me it is Stubby DeSatan. When I see him, I also see places like the Villages. Can't imagine living in such a place. And it is totally corrupt as well. I do note the posts below that not every white person in the swamp supports him and I support them in their determined fight against him and the ideas he represents. Btw, I am a fat white female who lives in Oregon and votes blue and has for many years, so I agree about not stereotyping.
Mike, please stop with the body shaming.
Kathy, you are correct about the many people who do not agree with DeSantis. But facts are facts. The state elected him. He is the governor. In 2022, Florida became more reliably Red. True confession. I lived in Florida 1986 to 1989. I lived James Lander Poel's experience. I left and never looked back. I have many wonderful friends who have retired there. But the sanity is outnumbered by the insanity. I lived it. It continues.
“Many,” perhaps, but not a high percentage. DeSantis was elected in a landslide. I sympathize with your point but object to this use of the word “many.” It’s Trumps go-to trick: “many people are saying” this and that. Yes, it’s “many people” even if there are only ten of them, so the statement can be technically correct while also being intentionally misleading, essentially a lie. When I see “many” used in the context of public sentiment, I always want to know what percentage of the population the “many” comprise, or at least to have an estimate of what percentage of the referenced population “many” is intended to mean.
' Have to laugh, but many of those same people, of the same description, are even MORE all in for Trump!
James, as a native Bay Stater, I am glad you are happy here. Our record is hardly unblemished however. 🤥 Scott Brown bought a barn coat, rented a truck and pretended to be a man of the people. And Mitt, the spineless wonder who does not even defend his own insurance plan. Charlie Baker, who knew what a bum tfg-manbaby-45 was but could never bring himself to say so and came late to covid prevention. Some useless Dems also. But we do have many shining stars especially Elizabeth Warren who nevertheless persists. I totally agree with you that Florida is the epitome of an unlivable prehistoric swamp, so send your letter and I will write one too. 👏🏼🙏🏼👍🏻
When I grew up in Michigan, my father had no use for George Romney (Mitt's father). Imagine my chagrin when, after moving to Massachusetts, I end up with Mitt as governor. He did some good here, but I'm more than happy he's found his place in Utah.
Yes, he can do less harm in Utah because almost any other Senator the Utah electorate might put in office would be even worse. Romney is about as close to being a decent human being that any Republican can be, while not actually making the grade since “decent” and “Republican” cannot simultaneously apply to any person.
Did he listen and take your advice. Maybe a letter to the editor somewhere in Fl.
That is quite the letter
James, excellent, this needs to be shared and shared, you mind?
James, lucky escape and that move for you and your family was life changing. But even if DeSantis disappears, he isn’t working alone. His values and core beliefs are not only in Florida. The repubs must not only be stopped, white supremacy supported by government must be stopped. And it’s not only a Southern phenomena.
Thank you, James!!
Well framed and well stated; something that I struggle to do in my anger.
Excellent and certainly the right choice to leave that swamp. We were there to visit my cousin in lived in Stuart and we were not impressed. When I read do the honorable path, my mind, shame on it, went to ancient Rome.
It’s no longer the “farming communities” I was raised in. It’s turned into the “concrete jungle”! Even Stuart, where we used to deliver agriculture supplies to farmers. It too is now almost all concrete.
Florida was number 1 in this country ranking right up there with California and Texas in farming, producing food fir the nation and world. Now, it’s fallen drastically because farmers are being pushed out by DeStalin and his quest to bring big business into the state. He’s turning the farmland into concrete.
All I remember about the area around Stuart is all the empty strip malls and trailer parks except Jupiter Island, of course. Truly ugly.
James, you and your family really are fortunate to have escaped Florida. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Escaping in our own country? So incredibly sad and frightening. Maybe leave out this one line, ...”thank you...” which may be true, but unfortunately some readers may not understand sarcasm or irony. If they did they would not vote vote R. You are indeed lucky.
What's the name of the Amherst bar?
Thanks. I think people can be warned off without actually naming the owners.
aha... at zoo mass... well, there ya go!
Not being familiar with the school, could you elaborate ?
UMass - Amherst.
Meant why Zoo?
Sunday, we are leaving our beloved Massachusetts to visit family in Florida. For 10 days we will focus on celebrating a 96th birthday and reconnecting with cousins we love. For 10 days I will need to constrain myself from political discussion outside the family home. My tolerant, all embracing Democratic family is surrounded by frightening bigots. For 10 days I will be living in a world that I consider unsafe.
It wasn't always this way. For many years we were "snow birds". We operated a seasonal business in Maine that closed for the winter. That gave us the opportunity to join family and friends in Florida for up to three months. We were "pines and palms" folks. From Bean boots to flip flops. The only politics discussed were with our Canadian neighbors who rented next to us. It was a good way of life. It is over. Our nation is dividing up - emotionally and spiritually.
In Massachusetts we thrive on education, tolerance and the financial success that leads to. It is far from perfect here. But I feel really safe. I feel I can speak freely. I don't worry about the school system being attacked by bible thumping idiots. BTW, our high school is rated as one of the best in America and I am proud to pay wicked high taxes to support it. Our grandchildren are already thriving in a school system that is built on diversity. They are four and six. They already know that there are many different kinds of people - it is normal in their minds.
In MA we have taxes, tolerance and teaching excellence. In Florida, apparently the goal is to harbor and cultivate hate. If the state continues on this path, it will join other states as a pariah. Companies that want to attract bright young minds will think twice about locating in a spiritual cesspool.
And then there are the red tides and fertilizer pollution killing off all manner of wild life and making tourists think twice (it is really nasty smelling). We cancelled a Captiva visit accordingly. Of course, all that and more is being swept away as the planet responds to our mistreatment. Florida has a future as coral reef. Mother nature knows what to do.
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Massachusetts. Good schools, with generous support, were the main reason for coming here. And I continue to argue with the locals (we have about 30 percent of the electorate voting T**** here) whenever they say they don't feel the need to continue that support: public education is something you have to pay for, from cradle to grave. It's the best investment you can make.
Rising oceans will doom large sections of Florida at some point. It is, perhaps, inaccurate to think the disappearance of the state will be attributed to the planet's revenge on the corruption of Florida's voters, but there is some comfort in imagining that to be the case.
Would Disney ever leave Florida?
I don't think so. The guys who run Disney are very rich Hollywood liberals who won't be intimidated by the DeSantis Fascist Mafia.
Also, I believe the new Peter Pan movie will be a "woke" swipe that will add gas to the conflict. The Disney /DeathSantis duel might end up being a proxy war over "modern open minded liberal tolerance/acceptance/love they neighbor" and the "anti-woke racist Nazi bigots."
My next question is: Will this battle be settled before Mother nature swallows all those canal homes? And once it is clear that a huge percentage of Florida housing stock is almost worthless, what will happen to Florida's economy?
My condolences. I enjoyed visits to your beautiful state in the past. I always imagined taking my grandkids to Disney World some day. But now that DiSatan is using it as a staging ground for a future Fascist takeover, I may have to wait. What a shame.
I pledge to not travel to or spend a dime in the State of Florida.
Me too. Not a dime.
Someday, I'd hoped to visit the Everglades... but it's not going to be while DeSantis (or any other authoritarian leader) is in the governor's office.
It's fabulous... looong ago, I rode trails across the glades from Boca to Belle Glade, and back via Palm Beach. I think my friend and I clocked about a hundred miles that day. Wear good bug repellant: there are flies out there that drill holes in you, even when you're moving along at twenty miles an hour trying to escape their swarm.
I'd hoped to go back to Hungary but won't until the Authoritarians are out of power.
A cousin of mine live on a east coast barrier island and was always saying to me, come visit me in Florida. We have sunshine, beautiful beaches and Disney World. This was long before Desantis was even a blip on the political radar and I had no desire to visit the state even then. Besides, I live in California and we have sunshine, beautiful beaches, and Disneyland. And a state government that isn’t autocratic.
But maybe you should visit your cousin's barrier reef, a unique environment in itself, while you can.
She's moved to Kansas to live with her daughter. Too many evacuations due to hurricanes over a single bridge to the mainland in recent years. I'm definitely not visiting her in Kansas!
My son and his wife take the grandchildren there every year. They'll probably continue going, even though I worry when I hear Florida may become an 'open carry' state.
Excellent point. Massachusetts is #1 in the nation in education spending. I live in Idaho we are currently 50th. This is not a stretch.
I was heartened to see the decision below in Idaho. Republicans did NOT open up the public school coffers to allow them to flow behind closed doors with little or no oversight regarding academics or finances. We should all be keeping and eye on our legislatures for the introduction of bills that will funnel public dollars for public school into private schools and private pockets.
https://apnews.com/article/business-religion-education-idaho-86d4acd6ad198a28b5bc058ca7ade57c
It is a constant game of wack a mole with this legislature; school funding, censuring/removing books in libraries and schools, public land protections, etc.
Yes and nationwide the trifecta republican legislatures are exploring this model.
Yippee, cooler heads prevailed!
Wow!! Think NH used to be 48th or 49th... it was crazy.
I am the only family member still in MA. My siblings have all left. 2 are in FL. I am dumbstruck the kids in FL aren't demonstrating like we did back in the day. DeSantis scares the heck out of me. Tfg not so much.
Again I repeat the place is a swamp! What else to expect from the voting populace there! No personal offense intended!