“Well, it’s sort of a cross.’ Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage…All we were doing is promising a diversion.”

I drank at a table in The Hut with Tom Hanks who went to elementary school in Oakland. His black schoolmate brought him in after his first movie. Are DeSantos and Hanks on a collision course in -The White Rubberized Zone – that Pence made famous?

Ten years ago I founded the Western Nation of Fromond and bid Democrats to move into these states. The drought has nixed my dream. Newsom needs to know about the Frodo, Pharamond, Rosamunde connection so he can win the Fantasy War. Starfish is a California Girl. I want Hanks to play Professor John Von Bond.

John Presco

Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis Wage Taunting War as Florida Governor Calls SF a ‘Dumpster Fire’ (sfist.com)

Newsom has been going out of his way to pick fights with the Florida governor for more than a year now, throwing shade at Florida in a New York Times interview last June, and pointing out on The View last December that there were “53% more deaths per capita in the state of Florida” than in California. In the wake of the fallout from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and resulting spat with the Walt Disney Co., Newsom took another unprovoked swipe.

Dec. 14: The fake electors convene in seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Some falsely declare they are duly elected (raising questions about whether they broke the law), while in a couple of states they make their status as electors contingent on the election results being overturned. In some states, they fail to meet the legal requirements outlined by Chesebro (i.e. failing to meet in the Capitol in Michigan and not having the secretary of state present in Nevada).

Trump aide Stephen Miller cites the fake electors, saying that “we are going to send those results up to Congress.” They are initially pitched as precautionary — in place just in case courts later overturn the results.

Timeline: The Trump team’s ‘fake elector’ plot (msn.com)

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger: ‘My party has utterly failed the American people at truth’ (msn.com)

GOP Rep Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee, slammed his party Sunday.

• Kinzinger has charged that Trump knew he lost the 2020 presidential election ahead of the Capitol riot. 
• “Unfortunately, my party has utterly failed the American people at truth. It makes me sad, but it’s a fact,” he said.

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans in the Jan. 6 committee, said on Sunday that former President Donald Trump “knew what he was doing” ahead of the Capitol insurrection and his party has failed “at truth.” 

WATCH: Joy Behar says voting rights are being stripped from black people (msn.com)

On a special Juneteenth episode of The View Monday, host Joy Behar told viewers that the black community is losing its right to vote.

“We should be aware on a day like this that voting rights are being systematically taken away from African Americans and other people too in this country,” said Behar. “It’s a good day to reflect on that, I think.”

Fromondia – Oregon’s Disneyland | Rosamond Press

New Nation of Fromond | Rosamond Press

Pretty Vicky and Armed Badland Prophet | Rosamond Press

Tom Hanks Calls ‘Da Vinci Code’ Trilogy ‘Hooey,’ Not ‘Good Commerce’ at the End

“Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage.”

Samantha Bergeson

Jun 13, 2022 3:00 pm

“Inferno”

Columbia Pictures

Tom Hanks has cracked “The Da Vinci Code”…and dubbed it “hooey.”

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Oscar winner Hanks called the Ron Howard-helmed trilogy “as cynical as a crossword puzzle” and an outrageous adventure story ripe for the box office. The franchise kicked off in 2006 before spurring two sequels, “Angels & Demons” and “Inferno.”

“God, that was a commercial enterprise,” Hanks said. “Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey. ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was hooey.”

Hanks continued, “I mean, [author] Dan Brown, God bless him, says, ‘Here is a sculpture in a place in Paris! No, it’s way over there. See how a cross is formed on a map? Well, it’s sort of a cross.’ Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage…All we were doing is promising a diversion.”

The Castle of Pharamond and Rosamunde

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Royal Rosamond Press

I identify the Disney Castle as belonging to Pharamond and Rosamond. Catholic Popes ordained the Franks as Keepers of The Faith. Sleeping Beauty is named, Rosamond. I declare Disneyland, and Disney World – a World Religion – that is now Titled ‘The Rose of The World’.

John Presco

Argotta “la Mère de tout les Roys” des FrancsFrench: Argote des Cimbres, Swedish: Argotta av Westphalia (av Östfrankerna)
Also Known As:	“Argotta Rosamunde “Mother of All the Kings” of France”
Birthdate:	circa 376
Birthplace:	Frankish Territory, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Death:	circa 438 (53-70) North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Immediate Family:	Daughter of Genebald II, duke of the East Franks and Blesinde of the Suevi Wife of Pharamond, king of the Franks (Fictitious) and Théodémir, King of the Franks at Thérouanne Mother of Fredemundus; Adalbertus de Cologne; Chararic (Guerric) de Tongres; Weldelphus; Frotmund (Fictional) and 6 others Sister of Amalaberge of the Franks
Occupation:	Queen of the Franks, ABT 0376, Koningin van de Franken, Princesse, des Cimbres, Princess France/Sicambrian Heiress, , Princess of the Salic Franks, Queen of the Salic Franks, Queen of Franks, Queen of the Salian Franks, MSD2-MQM

Explained: DeSantis’s effort to end Disney’s self-government power | The Hill

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is trying to strip Walt Disney World, “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” of its self-government power amid an ongoing battle with the state’s biggest sources of revenue.

Are Jesus and Pharamond Fairytales?

DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE Act’ faces court test as universities become targets. At issue: free speech

John Kennedy – Yesterday 2:53 PM

Florida Legislature: How are teachers supposed to teach history with ‘anti-woke’ laws?Unmute

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TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act” is facing its first federal court test after weeks of being celebrated by the political right for restricting race-based teaching and training in schools, universities and workplaces.

A civil liberties organization, which has sided with Florida Republicans in the past on campus speech issues, is among those now condemning DeSantis’ approach.

“It’s intended to chill speech,” said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). “The entire point of the new law is to set out certain categories or concepts that the state disdains and says you can’t introduce.”

Much of the debate over “Stop WOKE” has centered on public schools and businesses.

But the law may be the most significant among several measures DeSantis signed that put his imprint on higher education in Florida, not only restricting speech but also adding new limits on tenure for Florida professors and changes to how public colleges and universities are accredited.

DeSantis signs ‘Stop WOKE Act’: DeSantis signs into law ‘Stop WOKE Act’ to restrict race discussions in Florida

What is ‘wokeness?’ How the meaning of woke evolved: What does it mean to be ‘woke,’ and why does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis want to stop it?

Draft legislation shaped by the governor’s office also suggests that DeSantis may want even more control over faculty hiring at colleges and universities if he wins reelection in November, heightening anxiety in Florida and across the nation’s higher ed community.

“People in hiring positions are telling us they’re hearing from professors in other states who question, ‘What’s the political environment like on your campus?’” said Andrew Gothard, president of the United Faculty of Florida, a union representing 25,000 members across the state.

“They’re wondering if government is going to keep them from doing their jobs or research. Clearly, based on these kinds of questions, there’s a narrative and concerns about working in Florida,” Gothard said.

While “Stop WOKE” may be the latest battleground, the nonprofit FIRE has fought restrictions on campus speech in Florida before. But then it was with the support of conservatives.

DeSantis began with demonizing CRT: Gov. DeSantis takes on how racial history is taught in Florida schools

Conservatives once hailed free speech

FIRE, which receives funding from several conservative foundations, supported a 2018 law signed by then-Republican Gov. Rick Scott intended to eliminate “free speech zones” on Florida campuses, a move hailed by conservative lawmakers who felt these zones were being used to quarantine right-leaning speakers.

That measure gained added focus because it was seen as opening more campuses to the political right. It emerged shortly after protests rocked the University of Florida ahead of a speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer, a leader of 2017’s neo-Nazi torchlight parade in Charlottesville, Virginia.

FIRE, though, has broken with Florida Republicans over “Stop WOKE” because, Steinbaugh said, it hammers speech suppression into Florida law.

“For conservatives who think this is a good idea and that maybe these topics or concepts should be verboten in higher education, I’d say, consider what a legislature in a left-leaning state might do with the authority to say which subjects are true or false, or can or can’t be discussed,” Steinbaugh said. “It’s a Pandora’s box that you don’t want to open.”

FIRE is asking Florida universities to narrowly interpret the new “Stop WOKE” law, set to take effect July 1. It also has reached out to faculty members, possibly ahead of a lawsuit if educators feel their ability to discuss areas of expertise is limited by the new speech restrictions. 

Lawsuit pinned to First Amendment

But a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the measure is already slated for its first hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee. The challenge was filed by the Jacksonville firm of Sheppard, White, Kachergus, DeMaggio & Wilkison, known for its civil rights work.

Plaintiffs include a pair of high school teachers, a professor at the University of Central Florida, and a soon-to-be kindergartner from Nassau County. They’re asking Walker to stop the law from going into effect. FIRE is not among the plaintiffs.

Along with violating free speech rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit claims the Stop Woke law gives the state power to “arbitrarily decide what speech is prohibited and what speech is permitted.”

“As such, plaintiffs have every reason to believe that these vague standards can and will be used to silence speech on these topics with which Florida’s GOP politicians disagree,” the lawsuit said.

Attorneys for DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody have countered by arguing that First Amendment issues are not at play. Instead, “public school curriculum set by elected officials is government speech,” that earlier court decisions have said can be regulated.

“The in-class instruction offered by state-employed educators is also pure government speech, not the speech of the educators themselves,” the state argues in defending the law.

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What is Critical Race Theory?Unmute

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What ‘Stop WOKE’ restricts

“Stop WOKE” was approved in March, mostly along party lines in the Republican-led Legislature. It prohibits any teaching that could make students feel they bear personal responsibility for historic wrongs because of their race, color, sex or national origin.

It also blocks businesses from using diversity practices or training that could make employees feel guilty for similar reasons. Anyone offended could sue an institution or individual, arguing their civil rights were violated by being made subject to such instruction.

Universities also could lose state funding.

Speaking at a charter school in Hialeah Gardens when he signed the law in April, DeSantis condemned “pernicious ideologies” like critical race theory, which examines the role racial discrimination has played in shaping American history and modern society.

He also blistered the media, “elites,” “leftists” and Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia.

While the measure earned its nickname when DeSantis termed it the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act,” the Legislature settled on a simpler title, calling it the “Individual Freedom Act.”

Workplace restrictions for Florida businesses: DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ Act could force Florida businesses to rethink diversity training

DeSantis picks his targets

DeSantis, though, embraced the attack on “woke,” which found its place in his policy agenda that included a move to strip Disney World of its special tax district because of its parent company’s opposition to another priority of the governor, the parental rights legislation opponents branded “Don’t Say Gay.”

“In Florida, we will not let the far-left woke agenda take over our schools and workplaces,” DeSantis said. “There is no place for indoctrination or discrimination in Florida.”

DeSantis clearly views higher education as a big target for change.

United Faculty of Florida has already sued the governor over “intellectual freedom” surveys being distributed to faculty, students and employees at colleges and universities that the union sees aimed at stifling open discussions on campuses.

The annual surveys, approved under a law last year, are to be analyzed by university and college leaders in a report scheduled to be released in September.

This year, DeSantis signed new legislation that could make it more difficult for faculty to retain tenure, which has been a standard at universities since the 1940s. Tenure was enacted to blunt political interference and give faculty freedom to discuss and research controversial topics without fear of dismissal.

But DeSantis has condemned what he termed “lifetime appointments” for professors, adding he wants to “make sure the faculty are held accountable.”

Critics say political payback at play

The law also requires universities to periodically change accreditation agencies every five- to 10-years.

That provision was viewed by critics as retaliation by DeSantis after the current agency used by most schools criticized the University of Florida for attempting to deny two professors from testifying as expert witnesses in a voting rights lawsuit.

The agency also cautioned Florida State University during its presidential search when the governor’s former Education Commissioner, Richard Corcoran, was an applicant.

Yet even with these changes, DeSantis appears to want more.

A 70-page proposal drafted by Republican lawmakers at the governor’s request and obtained by the news site, Seeking Rents, outlined plans for giving university boards of trustees — heavily influenced by DeSantis — faculty-hiring authority, taking it away from school presidents.

Similarly, the proposal would give the university system’s Board of Governors, whose members are mostly governor appointees, power to investigate university presidents, fire employees, review existing degree programs and veto budgets.

The measure never made it past the concept stage. But many think it shows what may be in store for colleges and universities in a DeSantis second term.

“We’re at a tipping point right now,” said Gothard of United Faculty. “We have a Legislature and a governor who are taking their time to attack groups and individuals who disagree with their political ideology.”

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport