WEEKLY DEBRIEF: Millions for Trump; nothing for Miami. Lawsuit claims the deal is illegal
Your curated summary of the top news from the previous week, plus a look ahead to coming events
That Was The Week That Was
Trump and DeSantis sued over presidential library land deal
Miami residents have filed a lawsuit against both Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump over the deal to donate millions of dollars’ worth of downtown property for the construction of Trump’s presidential skyscraper.
The suit claims that the library foundation—run by Trump’s family and friends—and state officials, including DeSantis, have violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which forbids states from giving financial benefits to a sitting president.
“Miami Dade College should be getting something back. The state of Florida got $10 for that land, which could be worth close to $300 million, yeah, that’s a ripoff,” said Dr. Marvin Dunn, a retired Florida International University professor who filed the original lawsuit to block the deal.
Dunn’s nonprofit organization is one of the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit, which, according to lead attorney Gerald Greenberg, “absolutely has a chance in court; we’re very confident about it.”
Judge hears arguments to block new Florida congressional maps
With filing deadlines looming for candidates running in the midterm elections, a Circuit Court judge in Tallahassee heard arguments last week that the hastily redrawn congressional map violates Florida’s “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments.
The new map is designed to eliminate four safe Democratic seats in Congress, reducing the number of Democrats by half.
The state, countering that claim, argued that there isn’t enough time before filing deadlines to change the maps, a specious argument ignoring that if time were a factor, there was no compulsion to redraw the maps in the first place.
The judge, Joshua Hawkes, appointed to the bench by Gov. Ron DeSantis, did not issue a ruling on Friday, saying he would do so after reading the full transcript of the hearing.
Expect further developments this week.
DeSantis upset House speaker won’t ‘cut and paste’ his wishes
It’s not news that Ron DeSantis doesn’t much care for Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez.
Unlike other Republican leaders who have served with DeSantis since the governor took office in January 2019, Perez has acted more independently since taking over as Speaker of the House.
“All you have to do is, like, copy and paste what has been done,” DeSantis declared about what the Legislature should be doing — in other words, approving the governor’s priorities. “That’s what folks want. They want us to continue with what’s been successful.”
Which is not even remotely true. Perez, for instance, has been a major roadblock to DeSantis’ ambitions to weaken childhood vaccination requirements, something a majority of Floridians oppose.
Legislature may cut funding for the Florida Wildlife Corridor
Florida lawmakers may take money that was supposed to be spent assembling a vast conservation corridor allowing animals to roam across the state and use the funds instead to buy an isolated piece of waterfront property in the Panhandle.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature did the exact same thing last year — in a fiasco that ended with Florida taxpayers paying more than $80 million to buy four acres of little ecological value from a prominent real-estate developer and Republican Party donor.
Trump’s Hantavirus official is a penis implant specialist
In the category of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up,” CNN reports that the Trump administration chose a doctor to lead the nation’s response to the terrifying hantavirus outbreak whose background is not exactly in infectious diseases.
Before being named the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Brian Christine was “an Alabama-based urologist who specialized in penile implants.”
He hosted a YouTube series entitled “Erection Connection” and has promoted conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic. “Was there a worldwide concerted effort to close small businesses and to force them out of business? I don’t know if there was but it looks mighty suspicious to me,” he said.
Meme of the Week
Quotable
“Government is the ultimate monopoly. And monopolies, as any economist will tell you, often breed complacency and lack of innovation.”
— California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Letter of the Week
“I remember being embarrassed by having George W. as president. God, what I would give to have him back. I saw a map yesterday of the states that are actively trying to gerrymander their red states redder. Know what? It was a map of the 1861 Confederacy. It's not conservatism. It's racism. Ask a MAGA why he's for Trump, and he will fumble round and say things like "Trump's a businessman" or "Trump tells it like it is" but what he really means is "Trump is no longer giving our country away to people of color."
— Nick Gallup
Onward Thru the Fog
When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead.
May 17. Country Music Awards. Shania Twain hosts this year’s awards that will stream on Prime Video from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas beginning at 8 p.m. EDT.
May 18. World AIDS Vaccine Day. Since the disease was first identified, more than 44 million people have died from HIV/AIDS. There is no vaccine to prevent it, but this day honors the work that continues to find a cure.
May 19. Civil rights leader Malcom X was born on this day in 1925. He was assassinated 40 years later in New York City.
May 20 is World Bee Day. Why do we celebrate bees? Because we like to breathe. Without bees, plants would be inadequately pollinated. Without plants, which oxygenate our air, well, let’s face it, breathing would be a challenge.
May 21. Talk Like Yoda Day. An app online there is, that converts proper English to Yoda-speak, it will. In this week’s Florida Weekly column, I used it. Trivia question: Did Yoda say, “May the Force be with you,” or did he say, “With you, the Force may be”?
May 22. Mandalorian and Grogu premiers in American movie theaters. Will Grogu speak? Will he say: “May the Force be with you?” I guess we’ll find out.
Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines
In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click the headlines to view the stories.
Trump may ‘settle’ lawsuit against himself by creating a slush fund worth $1.7 billion
Hey, let’s build a concentration camp in the middle of a swamp--then tear it down
Florida a hotbed for UFO sightings, but so far, no little green men
Trump flies off the handle as he flies to China--what could go wrong?
ASK THE BIRD: How big a ‘savings’ was Alligator Alcatraz? And will we be moving buffalo there?
Help make the midterms competitive
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The upcoming midterm elections provide a generational opportunity to change the complexion of Florida’s political makeup. But for that to happen, Republican candidates for the state Legislature must face opponents on the ballot.
Currently, there are far too many seats where Republicans are running unopposed. You can change that. You can decide to run. In which case, Project 140 can help you. Or you can pitch in and help fund those candidates who have already volunteered.
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J.C. Bruce
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Answer to the Yoda-speak trivia question:
Yoda used proper sequencing of words when saying “May the Force be with you” in the Star Wars movies. He didn’t mangle it with Yoda-speak. Din Djarin—the Mandalorian (or, simply Mando) — also used the phrase once in season two of the eponymous streaming series even though he likely had no idea what the Force is.
This prompted me to look up the list of people who attended the Constitutional Convention. It's impressive that they saw the need for the emoluments clause as early as 1787.
Trump is trying to kill us by hiring incompetent boobs, and does anyone want to take bets on when he bankrupts America?