Ron DeSantis

Go Math! Florida Reveal Math. Thinking Mathematically.

Those math textbooks and dozens more have been ditched by Florida’s Department of Education because some of the math books could indoctrinate students, according to the department.

A crowd of Black pastors, NAACP members and Black legislative caucus members were angry Tuesday about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to dilute Black congressional districts, on the first day of a special legislative session in Florida.

The group, who came to the state capital on Tuesday, also prayed and quoted Bible verses, in hopes of trying to empower voters to get out and cast their ballots so DeSantis would not be reelected in 2022.

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough urged Democrats to call out the Republican Party's "sheer lunacy" as they head into the midterm election campaigns.

The "Morning Joe" host agreed with Democratic strategist James Carville, who recently blasted the GOP's pivot to QAnon conspiracies, 2020 election denialism and other fringe viewports, and he said Democrats must do a better job of highlighting their extremism as a campaign issue.

Real estate developers, investors and realtors who are profiting from Gov. Ron DeSantis' moves to reopen Florida ahead of other states during the COVID-19 pandemic are showing their appreciation by contributing massive amounts of money to the governor and his political action committee.

A Politico analysis of campaign contribution disclosures found that the real estate industry donated more than $7 million to DeSantis in the past year, making it one of the largest donor groups. Some $2.5 million of that came from real estate industry players who previously have not given or had been dormant for several elections.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has laid out as one of his goals for the Florida legislature's special session a bill to abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing zone that essentially allows the Walt Disney World resort complex to act as its own local government. The move is intended to punish the Disney corporation for criticizing his infamous "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits the ability of teachers to discuss the existence of sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom.

But according to Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald, there's a bit of a snag in the proposal: abolishing the district involves paying Disney's $2 billion worth of bond debt from building the resorts — and to do that, families in Orange and Osceola Counties would have to pay thousands of dollars.

On Tuesday, on the first day of the Florida legislature's special session, redistricting expert and former Democratic strategist Matthew Isbell stepped up to give testimony — and bitterly tore into the lawmakers in the state Senate for going back on their previous support for minority representation to consider a map pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that would cut the number of Black-opportunity districts from 4 to 2.

"Members of this committee, for months the vast majority of you pledged your support to preserving districts that gave African-Americans the ability to elect a candidate of their choice," said Isbell. "You defended seats that were, in some form or fashion, drawn three decades ago to correct centuries of injustice. The laws and cases from the late 20th century saw an explosion of minority representation. Since the passage of the 1982 Voting Rights Act, the number of African-American congresspeople has gone from 18 to 60. Florida is part of this very tradition."

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been widely mocked after Florida banned 28 math textbooks in a panic over Critical Race Theory, but the impacts of his culture war may extend far beyond the Sunshine State.

Writing for Time magazine, Philip Elliott warned that parents in states outside Florida should be worried because, "DeSantis and his allies in Florida could be effectively picking the reading lists from afar. You see, in 20 states, officials in the state capitol pick what will be taught in local classrooms, down to the words on page, in exchange for fully funded book orders. That gives states with huge caches of students tremendous sway in what options are available in other states."

On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) called on the week's special session of the legislature to consider abolishing all special taxing districts created prior to 1968 — a direct shot at Disney, which has used a special district in Reedy Creek to run its Walt Disney World resort complex for decades.

Republicans in Florida have been threatening this action for days in retaliation for Disney's criticism of the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, and subsequent decision to suspend political contributions in the state.

Fox News host Harris Faulkner on Tuesday insisted that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) must provide examples to defend his claim that math books are teaching critical race theory (CRT).

Last week, the Florida Department of Education revealed that it had rejected many math books due to the "indoctrination" of students. But DeSantis and other state officials have been unable to provide any examples of CRT in math books.

An anonymous Twitter account that has helped drive the recent spike in anti-LGBTQ crackdowns and possibly was present at the Jan. 6 insurrection has been unmasked.

The "Libs of TikTok" account posted video of a woman teaching sexual education to children in Kentucky, branding the woman a "predator," and the same clip appeared the next night on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News program, and its tweets reach millions of social media users and helps set the agenda in right-wing discourse online -- but the Washington Post has tracked down and identified the account's owner.

Florida has been ridiculed for its recent decision to slash several dozen math textbooks from its schools because Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said that the math books are indoctrinating children with critical race theory.

"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert added to the voices of those asking questions about the math accusations.