🇺🇸 Duking It Out With Disney

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Good morning, and happy Thursday! This early retiree says these 8 books helped him save $1 million and ‘live an uncompromisingly happy life’.

Plus, 10 majors earning the lowest salaries 5 years post-college...

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FLAG POLLS

📉 Wednesday, May 3, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 46, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Tuesday, May 2, Republican Presidential Nomination 2024: Trump 58, DeSantis 22, Pence 5, Haley 4, Ramaswamy 5, Christie 2, Scott, Youngkin, Sununu, Hutchinson 1 (CBS News/YouGov)

🐎 Tuesday, May 2, Nevada: Trump vs. Biden: Biden 48, Trump 40 (Nevada Independent)

🐎 Tuesday, May 2, Nevada: DeSantis vs. Biden: Biden 43, DeSantis 42 (Nevada Independent)

TRENDING

Left: Democrats Shouldn't Fall for McCarthy's Debt Limit Trap Max Sawicky, In These Times

Left: Is First Republic's Failure Sign of a Slow-Motion Banking Crisis? Nicole Narea, Vox

Left: Katie Porter Is Teaching Government How To Govern David Dayen, American Prospect

Right: Biden Demands Clean Lipstick for His Spending Pig Hugo Gurdon, Washington Examiner

Right: The Mission Was Never Accomplished Bradley Devlin, The American Conservative

Right: RFK Jr. Will Be Tough Foe for a Weakened Biden Daniel McCarthy, New York Post

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Atlanta Active Shooter, All About the Debt, Mafia Raids

US: Atlanta 'active shooter' situation leaves at least 1 dead, 4 injured, police say: suspect reportedly captured (Fox News)

World: Kremlin drone: Zelensky denies Ukraine attacked Putin or Moscow (BBC)

US: Trump doesn't plan to put on a defense case in E. Jean Carroll trial, his lawyer says (CNN)

US: America faces a debt nightmare (The Economist)

US: Families of detained Americans plead for meeting with Biden (CBS News)

World: Police detain 130 in raids across Europe targeting ’Ndrangheta mafia (The Guardian)

US: Nashville Police Refuse To Release School Shooter’s Manifesto, Citing Pending Lawsuit (Daily Wire)

World: Bolsonaro's home raided and aides arrested in Brazil vaccine probe (Reuters)

CULTURE

Duking It Out With Disney

Last week, Walt Disney Corporation filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, arguing he "weaponized" the state government in his dispute with the company. This dates back to last year's law restricting discussions of sexual identity in classrooms with young students, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. On Tuesday, a DeSantis-appointed district board voted to countersue Disney.

Reporting from The Left: These residents live near Disney World. Hear what they think of DeSantis' feud Anderson Cooper, CNN

Reporting from The Right: DeSantis claps back at Disney: 'They're not going to have their own government' Kassy Dillon, Fox News

From The Flag: After repeatedly attacking Disney for being "woke," DeSantis and Florida lawmakers passed legislation ending Disney's special tax zone district status, which afforded the company's Central Florida operations the authority and responsibility of a county government. Disney's lawsuit says it's being punished for a free speech issue. Here's more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Disney vs. DeSantis: A Simple Case, Except Where It's Not

• Some aspects of Disney's lawsuit are straightforward, while others could lead to complicated rulings and new legal standards.

• DeSantis is clearly targeting Disney because they took issue with a state policy, and precedent works in the corporation's favor.

• This is similar to when the Southern Baptist Convention took on Disney in the 1990s.

Disney’s Lawsuit Against Ron DeSantis Could Get Very Weird Matt Ford, New Republic: "Once upon a time, there was a magic kingdom named the Reedy Creek Improvement District. It was the stuff of fairy tales... Everyone prospered under this arrangement, bringing joy and mirth to all visitors and creating employment and tax revenue at the same time. Then came Ron DeSantis. The evil governor cast a magic spell with the Florida legislature to strip the Reedy Creek Improvement District of its special powers for defying him. Like all great adventures, this one takes place in federal court. Disney sued DeSantis and his allies this week in a wide-ranging federal lawsuit. Some of its contentions, like the First Amendment retaliation claim, are so obvious that it will be hard to see how the state of Florida will mount a competent argument against them. ... Disney movies often follow a typical hero’s journey arc. But this lawsuit could take audiences to unexpected places."

Disney v. DeSantis: How Strong Is the Company’s Lawsuit? David French, New York Times Opinion: "Make no mistake, the Florida government’s actions against Disney were directly motivated by the company’s disagreement with a policy pushed by DeSantis. Disney’s legal complaint... is chock-full of evidence that the governor and other Florida officials targeted the company for one overriding reason: It put out a statement objecting to House Bill 1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act, which sharply restricted instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida public schools. Statements from Governor DeSantis and other Republican state officials are remarkably brazen. DeSantis said he thought Disney’s mild opposition... 'crossed the line,' ... He accused Disney of 'pledging a frontal assault on a duly enacted law of the State of Florida.' So what? Laws are not holy writ, and if the First Amendment protects anything, it protects our ability to object to the laws passed to govern our states and our nation."

One more opinion piece from the Left: “It’s Like DeSantis Is Holding a Knife to His Own Throat” Aymann Ismail, Slate

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

DeSantis and Disney Are Dug In, But What Does It Accomplish?

• Prior to filing the lawsuit, Disney attempted an illegal end-around the Florida legislature through a phony development agreement.

• Both sides have problems here, as DeSantis appears to have targeted a company for political reasons, and Disney's woke turn is not appreciated by many customers.

• This is a weird case for partisans on both sides: conservatives are cheering on the government messing with a business, while progressives back the huge corporation.

Disney Is Going To Lose (Again) to DeSantis Josh Hammer, American Greatness: "The first round of the 'Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis v. The Walt Disney Company' fight, held last spring, ended in a clear DeSantis victory and Disney defeat. Following Disney’s vocal opposition to Florida’s commonsense Parental Rights in Education Act, misleadingly dubbed the 'Don’t Say Gay' bill, Florida passed a law to abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which in 1967 incentivized Disney’s initial planting of a flag in Central Florida by giving the corporation unparalleled government-like powers over basic municipal services such as zoning, building codes, and waste treatment. Disney thus paid the price for coming out in favor of indoctrinating impressionable kindergarteners in vogue gender ideology and queer theory by having its gratuitous, extra-legal corporate welfare rescinded, putting it on an equal playing field with every other corporation operating in the state of Florida."

The Disney-DeSantis Knife Fight Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: "The donnybrook between Disney and Ron DeSantis keeps escalating, and what should be a dispute over corporate welfare has devolved into an unfortunate political brawl that both could lose. ... The media fueled a backlash against Florida’s law by giving it the false label of 'don’t say gay.' Disney then felt pressure from its employees to denounce it. ... The Governor’s best defense is that the state has a right to rescind special privileges that it once granted to Disney, which is true. Corporate welfare and favoritism for some businesses but not others is an unseemly political habit. The legal difficulty is that Republicans appear to have targeted Disney and abrogated contracts for political reasons. ... But why is Disney CEO Bob Iger escalating the fight when he has bigger business problems? Millions of his customers—i.e., parents—don’t appreciate the company’s woke turn."

One more opinion piece from the Right: DeSantis-appointed board votes to invalidate previous agreement with Disney (and Disney sues) John Sexton, Hot Air

FLAG THIS

DeSantis' Disney Battle Could Help Him With GOP Voters

Polling conducted last month among likely US voters found 44% of Republican respondents said they have a more favorable view of DeSantis, following his back and forth with Disney.

But a majority (73%) said they were less likely to support a candidate who looked to punish a company for its political stances — including 82% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans.

Independents were evenly split when asked if sexual orientation or gender identity should be taught in schools. Three-quarters of Republicans were opposed to it, while three-quarters of Democrats were in favor. (Reuters-Ipsos)

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Building the Panama Canal, Deadly Steamboat Races, Glass vs. Plastic

A ceremony on May 4, 1905 marks the official beginning of the second attempt to build the Panama Canal. This second attempt to bridge the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans will succeed, dramatically altering world trade as well as the physical and geopolitical landscape of Central America.

Smithsonian Mag: When Deadly Steamboat Races Enthralled America

BBC Future: Glass or plastic: which is better for the environment?

WaPo: How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes Without Killing Friendly Pollinators

Today I Learned a McDonald's in the Netherlands once fired an employee for selling a coworker a hamburger and then separately giving them a piece of cheese, arguing she should've charged more for a cheeseburger. Courts ruled in the employee's favor, ordering the rest of her contract paid out in full.