Meanwhile in Florida.

[billy.pilgrim]

Florida is bigger than little ron desantis and Florida is way way bigger than than the sum of all the Florida Mans stories, be they stories from a new yoorker, man or woman, a transplant from places beyond the porous borders of this once beautiful River of Grass, a Cracker, an actual Miccosukee or one of the newer Seminole tribes.
Jeb gave us a mafia style government built around kickbacks, graft and subverting the express will of the vote.
It was jeb and Kathleen the makeup-lady who illegally kicked tens of thousands of legitimate voters off the rolls, were complicit in delaying recounts who gave us the bush presidency and all that came with it.

Let’s don’t forget rick - he stole billions from Medicare to buy the governorship before moving on up to the Senate.

Yep, it took a lot of graft and greed to make Florida the kind of place that trumps, hannities and stones can call home.

News from
“Escambia County, Florida, schools have banned the dictionary. 
Five dictionaries are on the district’s list of more than 1,600 books banned”
(Yep, they banned Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus for STUDENTS)
“pending investigation in December 2023, along with eight different encyclopedias, The Guinness Book of World Records, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not – all due to fears they violate the state’s new laws banning materials with “sexual conduct” from schools. 
Biographies of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Nicki Minaj, and Thurgood Marshall are on the list, alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Black Panther comics by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Feminism Book was banned along with The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in Fashion. 
The list obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project also includes Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. The Princess Diaries and 14 other books by Meg Cabot have been taken from libraries, alongside books by David Baldacci, Lee Child, Michael Crichton, Carl Hiassen, Jonathan Franzen, John Green, John Grisham, Stephen King (23 of them), Dean Koontz, Cormac McCarthy, Celeste Ng, James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, and Nicholas Sparks.”

https://pen.org/escambia-county-florida ... ooks-list/

[billy.pilgrim]

She’s a really for-sure 5th generation Flo-man

Standing tall as Florida Attorney General against all wokes and other liberals in defense of all that is good.

As my AG she rallied conservatives in their support for lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, advocated against restoration of voting rights for former felons, and opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana. Moody was a significant surrogate of then-President Donald Trump in Florida during the 2020 presidential election, and joined in the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit, which sought to overturn the results of the election.


https://www.villages-news.com/2023/10/1 ... e_vignette


“These terrorist (Gaza) attacks also illustrate the risks of an unsecured border here at home. This week, I led a multi-state coalition of 27 attorneys general taking action to force the Biden administration to follow public safety immigration policies and stop mass-releasing inadmissible immigrants into the country. More than 260 suspected terrorists have been encountered at our Southwest border since President Biden took office. Additionally, 1.5 million known gotaways have evaded border patrol. Given the massive flood of unvetted migrants into the interior of the U.S., there is no way to know who is in our country or if they plan to enact terror on Americans. We need to secure our border NOW. 
Border security is national security, and we will continue pressuring Biden to follow the law and protect our nation from terrorists. “

[Vrede too]

She’s a really for-sure 5th generation Flo-man

Standing tall as Florida Attorney General against all wokes and other liberals in defense of all that is good.

As my AG she rallied conservatives in their support for lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, advocated against restoration of voting rights for former felons, and opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana. Moody was a significant surrogate of then-President Donald Trump in Florida during the 2020 presidential election, and joined in the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit, which sought to overturn the results of the election.

https://www.villages-news.com/2023/10/1 ... -security/

“These terrorist (Gaza) attacks also illustrate the risks of an unsecured border here at home. This week, I led a multi-state coalition of 27 attorneys general taking action to force the Biden administration to follow public safety immigration policies and stop mass-releasing inadmissible immigrants into the country. More than 260 suspected terrorists have been encountered at our Southwest border since President Biden took office. Additionally, 1.5 million known gotaways have evaded border patrol. Given the massive flood of unvetted migrants into the interior of the U.S., there is no way to know who is in our country or if they plan to enact terror on Americans. We need to secure our border NOW. 
Border security is national security, and we will continue pressuring Biden to follow the law and protect our nation from terrorists.“

The greatest terrorist threat is, always has been and is predicted to continue to be from Attorney General Ashley Moody's White, RW, often xtian fellow travelers. Funny that.

[O Really]

And nobody ever calls these clowns on their immigration balderdash. It isn't "insecurity" of the border that's the problem. People attempting illegal entry get caught regularly and lots of them get sent back. The problem is the asylum seekers who cross somewhere and then sit there waiting for the Border Patrol to pick them up. But Biden can't just send them back because he actually is "following the law."

Bring back Art 42.

[billy.pilgrim]

Has Ashlee coined a new word, or did I miss “gotaways”?


“Additionally, 1.5 million known gotaways have evaded border patrol.”

[billy.pilgrim]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/book-ban-laws ... =106292183

We clocked in this morning at over 2,800 books

“A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging book bans in Escambia County, Florida, can move forward on the same day the county released an updated list of more than 2,800 individual books that have been pulled from shelves for review.

U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ruled on Wednesday that book publisher Penguin Random House, free expression PEN America, authors, and families of Escambia County had standing to pursue their claims under the First Amendment because those protections are implicated when officials remove books based on ideology or viewpoint. However, they were denied to pursue the claims under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.”

“ books include "The World Book encyclopedia," "100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable Women Who Shaped Our World," "Africa (Cultural Atlas for Young People)" and more.”

[billy.pilgrim]

She’s a really for-sure 5th generation Flo-man

Standing tall as Florida Attorney General against all wokes and other liberals in defense of all that is good.

As my AG she rallied conservatives in their support for lawsuits to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, advocated against restoration of voting rights for former felons, and opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana. Moody was a significant surrogate of then-President Donald Trump in Florida during the 2020 presidential election, and joined in the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit, which sought to overturn the results of the election.


https://www.villages-news.com/2023/10/1 ... e_vignette


“These terrorist (Gaza) attacks also illustrate the risks of an unsecured border here at home. This week, I led a multi-state coalition of 27 attorneys general taking action to force the Biden administration to follow public safety immigration policies and stop mass-releasing inadmissible immigrants into the country. More than 260 suspected terrorists have been encountered at our Southwest border since President Biden took office. Additionally, 1.5 million known gotaways have evaded border patrol. Given the massive flood of unvetted migrants into the interior of the U.S., there is no way to know who is in our country or if they plan to enact terror on Americans. We need to secure our border NOW. 
Border security is national security, and we will continue pressuring Biden to follow the law and protect our nation from terrorists. “

oops, I left out that she’s spearheading the investigation against the ncaa for placing Bama above fsu in the playoffs

[Vrede too]

oops, I left out that she’s spearheading the investigation against the ncaa for placing Bama above fsu in the playoffs

I think a border war is the only way to get satisfaction

Does she really want to keep reminding the world of the 3-63 spanking? Fine with me, "chop" that

[Vrede too]

News from
“Escambia County, Florida, schools have banned the dictionary. 
Five dictionaries are on the district’s list of more than 1,600 books banned”
(Yep, they banned Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus for STUDENTS)
“pending investigation in December 2023, along with eight different encyclopedias, The Guinness Book of World Records, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not – all due to fears they violate the state’s new laws banning materials with “sexual conduct” from schools. 
Biographies of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Nicki Minaj, and Thurgood Marshall are on the list, alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Black Panther comics by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Feminism Book was banned along with The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in Fashion. 
The list obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project also includes Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. The Princess Diaries and 14 other books by Meg Cabot have been taken from libraries, alongside books by David Baldacci, Lee Child, Michael Crichton, Carl Hiassen, Jonathan Franzen, John Green, John Grisham, Stephen King (23 of them), Dean Koontz, Cormac McCarthy, Celeste Ng, James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, and Nicholas Sparks.”

https://pen.org/escambia-county-florida ... ooks-list/

Bill O’Reilly Is Furious As His Own Titles Get Removed After Supporting Florida Book Bans
The disgraced conservative pundit, who previously seemed indifferent to casualties of this broadly-applied law, is now naturally aghast.

Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was a rather staunch supporter of Florida’s book ban laws enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). That is until two of his own books were temporarily removed from the Escambia County School District — pending further investigation....

Oh the irony lol

Because people don't understand what happens under fascism. You somehow think no one will come after you. That you won't be a victim of the oppression you supported. That isn't how it works.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opini ... 203943007/


“Despite overwhelming protests by many industry leaders, the Florida legislature passed SB 1718 in May 2023 and voted to drive undocumented immigrants out of the state”

“Now the same industries have a labor shortage, and the legislature is trying to solve this self-imposed problem by replacing those laborers with 16- and 17-year-old students. Florida HB 49 removes the restrictions on under-age student employment and allows them to work 40 hours a week, including overnight shifts when there is no school the following day. The proposed legislation removes all the protections for 16–17-year-old workers previously guaranteed in Florida law.”

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2024/01 ... antitrust/

“Florida’s investigation of College Football Playoff enters next phase
The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its antitrust investigation of the Texas-based group“

[Vrede too]

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2024/01 ... antitrust/

“Florida’s investigation of College Football Playoff enters next phase
The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its antitrust investigation of the Texas-based group“

Thanks for reminding us, AG Ashley Moody!

3-63, 3-63, 3-63, 3-63, 3-63!
Coaches #6, barely, and AP #6, tie with Oregon and that's being generous, final rankings.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings
Opps.

[O Really]

I know most of you guys don't like FSU, and I don't claim to be a fan, but you've got two entirely different circumstances here. The fact that the 'Noles took a 63-3 shellacking really has nothing to do with whether they were shafted in the selection and more to do with many of their players just saying eff this - I'm outta here.

[Vrede too]

I know most of you guys don't like FSU, and I don't claim to be a fan, but you've got two entirely different circumstances here. The fact that the 'Noles took a 63-3 shellacking really has nothing to do with whether they were shafted in the selection and more to do with many of their players just saying eff this - I'm outta here.

Do we know that those players would have stayed for a Playoff game?

A core reason for the CFP choice was that FSU was suddenly down to its 3rd or 4th string QB, which could also be why some players bailed. IMO this is just whining for votes, and it's largely moot now that the Playoffs will soon be expanded. Someone has to make the picks. Would the AP or Coaches polls also be antitrust violations?

[billy.pilgrim]

I know most of you guys don't like FSU, and I don't claim to be a fan, but you've got two entirely different circumstances here. The fact that the 'Noles took a 63-3 shellacking really has nothing to do with whether they were shafted in the selection and more to do with many of their players just saying eff this - I'm outta here.

Do we know that those players would have stayed for a Playoff game?

Another reason for the CFP choice was that FSU was suddenly down to its 3rd or 4th string QB, which could also be a reason that some players bailed. IMO this is just whining for votes, and it's largely moot now that the Playoffs will be expanded. Someone has to make the picks. Would the AP or Coaches polls also be antitrust violations?

No semi-hole fan here. They once were my 2nd favorite team (tied with uga) until the 80s when they chickened out of joining the sec by claiming that joining would hurt their chances of going undefeated.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve heard of players getting hurt changing the rankings.

Bama cheats and pulls strings in all the do. They shouldn’t have been in the playoffs.

[O Really]

Do we know that those players would have stayed for a Playoff game?

A core reason for the CFP choice was that FSU was suddenly down to its 3rd or 4th string QB, which could also be why some players bailed. IMO this is just whining for votes, and it's largely moot now that the Playoffs will soon be expanded. Someone has to make the picks. Would the AP or Coaches polls also be antitrust violations?

We do not, and neither did the selection people (for any team) nor was it an issue.

AP or Coaches polls didn't make the selection, and they're just polls with little real world effect.

And btw, when did being down to the 3rd or 4th string QB keep the defense from, say, holding the other team scoreless while, say, recovering fumbles or running back an interception. Or while the fledgling QB manages to get the 'Noles within field goal range.

[Vrede too]

No semi-hole fan here. They once were my 2nd favorite team (tied with uga) until the 80s when they chickened out of joining the sec by claiming that joining would hurt their chances of going undefeated.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve heard of players getting hurt changing the rankings.

Bama cheats and pulls strings in all the do. They shouldn’t have been in the playoffs.

I think there was a credible case that Bama was the stronger team by mid-Dec.

Do we know that those players would have stayed for a Playoff game?

A core reason for the CFP choice was that FSU was suddenly down to its 3rd or 4th string QB, which could also be why some players bailed. IMO this is just whining for votes, and it's largely moot now that the Playoffs will soon be expanded. Someone has to make the picks. Would the AP or Coaches polls also be antitrust violations?

We do not, and neither did the selection people (for any team) nor was it an issue.
Long analytical article, the CFP rationale:

... In the end, though, the difference between Alabama and Florida State boiled down to the committee's written protocol, particularly the emphasis on strength of schedule -- which gave Alabama the edge -- and the section that allowed committee members to project what Florida State might look like in a semifinal without their star quarterback.

Not having Heisman hopeful starter Travis "changes their offense in its entirety," Corrigan said, "and that was really a big factor with the committee as we went through everything." ...

AP or Coaches polls didn't make the selection, and they're just polls with little real world effect.
FSU's whine is that the CFP is an illegal trust. Prior to the CFP the national "champion" was chosen by these polls, and it was often sloppy. They are the only extant alternative to the CFP "trust". Also, FSU was a complicit participant until the day the selection didn't go their way.

And btw, when did being down to the 3rd or 4th string QB keep the defense from, say, holding the other team scoreless while, say, recovering fumbles or running back an interception. Or while the fledgling QB manages to get the 'Noles within field goal range.
The team with the 3rd or 4th string QB usually loses, the win over Louisville was weak and again, 3-63. FSU was arguably a poser by the end of the season.

As I said at the time it had to be undefeated WA and cheatin' MI. Beyond that, any 2 could have been chosen among:
Texas 12-1
Georgia 12-1
Alabama 12-1
Florida State 13-0
Ohio State 11-1

I did not have an opinion which 2 and was happy it wasn't up to me, but the GA game proved that the CFP was correct to exclude FSU IMO.

Anyhow, water under the bridge, the expanded Playoffs largely make the whine moot, and the FL AG lawsuit is dumb pandering, nothing more.

[billy.pilgrim]

Now it all makes sense thanks to Frank Cerabino at the Palm Beach Post.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opi ... 239602007/

“I know. At first blush, it might sound crazy to ban dictionaries in schools.”

I felt the same way early on, but now I understand that it’s just another sneaky way to indoctrinate our children with smut.

“But it makes sense to ban dictionaries. After all, dictionaries are full of smut. 
It’s just that the offending sexual content in dictionaries requires a little bit of imagination. OK, maybe a lot of imagination.
But the filth is all there in the form of unconnected words that are hidden alphabetically. Yes, it’s diabolical.
Nice try, Webster. But we see what you’re up to, and we won’t stand idly by as dictionaries stealthily indoctrinate our children.”

“It’s undeniable. Dictionaries are the source material for every sexually inappropriate book imaginable. 
You just have to puzzle out the words and figure out which order to put them in.”

“Look at this way: Dictionaries are the “Where’s Waldo?” of pornography. We see you, well hidden sexual content, and we're not going to tolerate it.
And not only that, but dictionaries contain words that on their face are not considered obscene, but are certainly inappropriate when exposed to fertile teenage minds. 
I’m talking about words such as fiduciary, pusillanimous, and syllogism.”

You’re telling me they’re not dirty words? We can’t take that chance with our young people. 
Even the word “dictionary” is problematic.
So, some Florida schools are taking the prudent safeguard by banning the dictionary. 
I think Gov. Ron DeSantis said it best when he talked about the sweeping need for this book-banning initiative.”

“Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children,” he said when signing the bill. “As the world goes mad, Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.” 

Thanks Frank

[billy.pilgrim]

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/flor ... trictions/

“ In a priority of Speaker Paul Renner, the Florida House on Tuesday will take up a bill that would prevent minors under age 16 from creating social media accounts.

“The bill, in part, also would require social media platforms to terminate existing accounts that are "reasonably known" by the platforms to be held by minors younger than 16 and would allow parents to request that minors' accounts be terminated.”

There’s a Click here link in the article to read the bill in its entirety.


“The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 17-5 to approve the bill (HB 1). The bill is now positioned to go to the full House, where it is almost certain to pass.”

[O Really]

When stupid people draft laws, you're sure to get stupid laws.