Judging Freedom - Florida vs. Disney It's Only Just Begun

Episode Date: April 21, 2022

Florida Republicans vote to dissolve Disney’s special district, eliminating privileges and setting up a legal battleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. You know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself? Talking to someone who understands can really help. But who is that person? How do you find them? Where do you even start? Talkspace.

Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need. With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule, wherever you feel most at ease. If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship,

or if you want some counseling for you and your partner, or just need a little extra one-on-one support, Talkspace is here for you. Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers, and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance? No problem. Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code SPACE80 when you go to Talkspace.com. Match with a licensed therapist today at Talkspace.com.

Save $80 with code SPACE80 at Talkspace.com. Hello there, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here with judging freedom today is thursday april 21st 2022 it's about 2 30 in the afternoon on the east coast of the united states about a thousand miles south of me i'm up in northwest new jersey the battle is brewing Many people think it's over. It's just the beginning of this fight between the Disney company, which is now huge. You know, they bought two thirds of Fox a couple of years ago and the state of Florida. The Disney company, many people may not have been aware of this, has been in a special and unique relationship with the state of Florida. The 40,000 square acres of Disney down there in Orlando is privately owned and privately governed. They are relieved of a lot of obligations that everybody else has. So if there's a pothole, it gets fixed in five minutes,

not in five months waiting for the government to arrive. They are relieved of having to pay a lot of taxes and they are relieved of much of government regulation. In return, they take care of themselves and the streets are beautiful and white and clean and everything works. But this is a form of corporatism. This is a unique and immoral relationship between a government and a corporation. How does the government favor one corporation over another? I'm sure American Airlines would like the same sweetheart deal and any of the other major corporations in the United States. But they didn't get it. It went to Disney. Now there's this big kerfuffle in Florida about LGBTQ plus, and there's legislation

that was just enacted and signed by Governor DeSantis, which prohibits the schools from discussing these LGBTQ plus issues with five and six and seven-year-olds. I mean, this is not anything that government schools should be discussing with children that age. That is reserved for the parents. The Supreme Court has ruled that the highest and most sacred relationship there is in American society is parent and child. And the government's ability to inveigle itself in there is nil. That's effectively what this legislation is doing. Disney attacked the legislation.

Disney employs 80,000 people. 80,000. That's 10 times more than the DOJ employs FBI agents. But many of these people are members of the LGBTQ plus community, and they pressured management to disagree with the legislation. Question. Can the legislature of the state of Florida punish Disney because of its exercise of free speech? Answer, absolutely not. Question, can the legislature of the state of Florida interfere with its own contract with Disney because it doesn't

like what Disney is saying? Absolutely not. Question, does Disney have to agree? Does the agreement have to be bilateral to end this unusual corporatism relationship? Answer, yes. Florida statutes require there has to be a majority vote of those who reside in the corporate area. It's huge. It's 40,000 square acres. You know how many people live there? 50. Five-zero. Guess who they work for? They all work for Disney. There isn't a chance in hell that 26 of them are going to vote to end all of this. Moreover, if it is ended, legislation that exists in Florida requires that the two counties in which these 40,000 square acres sit will assume the debt of the managing company. Guess what that debt is? It's in excess of a billion. That's going to be sad.

The government doesn't pay debts. Taxpayers do. Let's face it. So that debt, Governor DeSantis, will now be put upon the taxpayers of these two counties. I'm not trying to give you a lesson here. The governing document is 100 pages long in its single space and will drive any lawyer crazy trying to read it and figure out what it means. And it was written 60 years ago when legal terminology wasn't as fluid or as easily understandable or in as common parlance as it is today. However, this is the tip of the iceberg. This will not be resolved by the legislature. This will be resolved by the courts. Were the rights of the Disney people violated? Were the rights of the taxpayers violated? Should government be in the business of granting separate exemptions to corporations in return for political contributions or whatever the corporations bring? What does the Constitution say about this?

Take a long time, but we'll eventually find out. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom