This will be a short note. I have just started early research and preparation for a book on this subject. However, from my perspective, it can never be too soon to raise this alarm publicly.

The tyrant I refer to is the governor so beloved of my state of Florida’s right wing, Ronald DeSantis. Beware, this is a man who believes in a strict interpretation of the first amendment freedoms of speech and assembly – except for those with whom he disagrees. If he should disagree with you, he will change the law, send his own elections police or even challenge the U.S. constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the past because he believes he will have the opportunity someday to avail himself of the right wing majority on that Court to give any interpretation he disfavors the Roe v. Ward treatment. Thus, he is doing all he can to muzzle or even destroy the Disney company because one of its spokesmen once publicly disagreed with him about a law he was so proud of passed by his puppet legislature called colloquially the “don’t say gay bill”. This despite the fact that the right wing of the U. S. Supreme Court had decided the Citizen’s United case to the great benefit of the right wing in politics announcing the first amendment right of corporations to freedom of political speech. It was also in defiance of the economic importance of Disney to the state of Florida. Simply because he was publicly disagreed with. He will not tolerate disagreement, your freedom of speech be damned.

If it seems good to DeSantis to make public headlines in order to cozy up to the right wing (from whom he wants to take Trump’s voters) he will, and has, arranged to have a group of immigrants awaiting hearing on the issue of their acceptance into the U.S. flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in a hated “blue” state without notice to either Florida or Massachusetts while having lied to these folks who were transported that they would be met in Martha’s Vineyard and taken care of there. They were transported at Florida taxpayer expense and were dumped without recourse of any sort into a totally foreign place. Why? So DeSantis could crow. These folks were never in Florida and this despicable stunt was for no purpose other than to gain publicity with the right.

DeSantis has had book bans enacted by the Florida legislature in the schools of Florida that go so far as to make it a felony for a librarian in a school library to have permitted the presence of one of these books. He then calls it a “hoax” that he is banning books. He is just protecting our children from these books. (By banning them!)

Very recently, DeSantis signed a bill that allows the permit-free carry of concealed firearms in Florida in a signing session not announced to the press nor open to the press and just a day or two after the school shooting in Nashville. He and the right wing call this the “constitutional carry” law. They crow about the second amendment constitutional right to carry arms as being protected. They don’t care that the assault rifles they like to show off are the very weapons gunning down our children, teachers, churchgoers, temple attenders and store customers whose right to live is not being protected at all. That is why DeSantis signed this bill with his customary silly grin in a private ceremony.

Recently, DeSantis declared with respect to the arraigning of Donald Trump in New York, that he would not allow the officials of Florida to assist in the deportation of Trump to New York for that arraignment. Trump, through his lawyers, knew enough (incredibly) to ignore that invitation to chaos. What was the point? DeSantis, a Harvard Law School graduate with honors knew better than most citizens that he could not stop that deportation and if he tried he would be in violation of federal law and an agreement among all the states on this matter. Why did he do that? Not because he loves Trump, who has been publicly denigrating him for months. No, he did it for the MAGA support he will have to have in his certain but not yet announced presidential aspirations.

This man believes that he is paramount. He believes the U. S. constitution can be bent in his favor. He believes that he can make laws to name any would-be opponent a criminal. He is now considering beefing up a volunteer manned thing called the “State Guard” (not the National Guard) into an army that will be armed and have the subpoena power into an army he would command.

Be afraid, America. Be very afraid!

Cliff