Ron DeSantis

Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Monday lifted all Covid-19 restrictions in the US state, effective immediately, citing the effectiveness and availability of vaccines.

DeSantis signed a law invalidating local emergency orders -- which impose restrictions due to Covid-19 -- effective July 1, and then signed an executive order that bridges the gap between now and then.

Florida recently became the latest state to pass a sweeping voter suppression bill, but the Washington Post reports that some Republican operatives in the state are expressing "alarm" they could end up suppressing their own voters.

The Post's report notes that Florida Republicans recently adopted new restrictions on mail-in voting despite the fact that they've used mail-in voting for decades to rack up votes from conservative seniors living in the state.

According to a report from subscription-only Punchbowl News, time and political realities beyond his control look to be conspiring against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his drive to become president of the United States.

Rubio --often described as a "rising star" within the Republican Party -- has run several campaigns for the GOP presidential nomination and come away empty-handed and is expected to defend his seat in the 2022 midterms as a stepping-stone with an eye on the 2024 presidential election.

News that founders of a pricey private school in Florida have decided to ban teachers who have been vaccinated with any of the COVID -19 vaccines led the Miami Herald to seek out parents whose kids attend the school to get an idea what goes on behind the doors.

One dad said he's fine with the education his first grader is getting but he has serious questions about the beliefs of the school's high profile founders -- David and Leila Centner -- who are big boosters of former President Donald Trump.

Earlier in the week, Leila Centner issued a statement that vaccinated teachers are not welcome, with the New York Times reporting she claimed, "we cannot allow recently vaccinated people to be near our students until more information is known." A statement was later released explaining, "...that vaccinated people 'may be transmitting something from their bodies' leading to adverse reproductive issues among women,'" for which there is no scientific evidence.

That led to intense scrutiny of the school, with the Herald reporting that from the day the school was founded, some of its policies baffled parents.

"It began with the academy's first open house when David and Leila Centner asked guests not just to wipe their feet but to swaddle the soles of their shoes in Saran wrap. And it continued with an impassioned pledge to mold students into 'emotional ninjas,' and the coverings over the windows to ward off potential radiation from 5G cell towers," reports the Herald's Colleen Wright and Nicholas Nehamas. "Then there were the non-disclosure agreements required of employees who wanted to quit or parents who wanted to withdraw their kids. And the efforts to persuade staff how to vote in the presidential election. And the invitation to anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address the school community. And the constant exhortations against wearing masks."

The operator of a Florida pier that gets most of Key West's cruise ship traffic has donated nearly $1 million to the political committee of Gov. Ron DeSantis, The Miami Herald reports. According to the Herald, the donation from Delray Beach-based businessman Mark Walsh is notable because legislation seeking to overturn a voter-approved referendum to limit cruise traffic may soon find itself on DeSantis' desk.

Walsh gave $995,000 to Friends of Ron DeSantis, the political committee operated by the governor, according to data uncovered by the Herald's investigation.

The Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU is vowing to fight the state's Republican leadership following Gov. Kevin Stitt's signing of a law that will grant immunity to drivers who unintentionally hurt or kill protesters—while holding demonstrators accountable for threatening public safety instead.

"The ACLU of Oklahoma along with organizers on the ground are in a fight to end the systemic violence inflicted on our Black and Brown communities, and our government's escalating attacks on protests against racism and police brutality should concern everyone," said Nicole McAfee, the group's director of policy and advocacy.

On Wednesday, The New York Times profiled how Republicans in state legislatures around the country, with the help of like-minded governors, are advancing legislation to criminalize protests in response to the Black Lives Matter protests against the murder of George Floyd and other high-profile incidents of police brutality.

"G.O.P. lawmakers in 34 states have introduced 81 anti-protest bills during the 2021 legislative session — more than twice as many proposals as in any other year, according to Elly Page, a senior legal adviser at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, which tracks legislation limiting the right to protest," reported Reid Epstein and Patricia Mazzei.

If you had any doubts that the Republican Party had a full-blown white nationalist faction ready and willing to let their freak flags fly, the last few weeks have to have disabused you of them. From Fox News' highest rated prime time host Tucker Carlson endorsing the far-right "great replacement" theory on national television to Kevin Williamson of the National Review, following in the tradition of its founder William F. Buckley, theorizing that we need "fewer — but better — voters," it seems as if right-wing extremism is getting a whole lot of airtime.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene put the white icing on Republican's racist cake last week when she floated the idea of the new Trump-supporting American First Caucus, which caused even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to issue a mild rebuke for its obvious references to white power. Among those who said they were part of the project were far-right Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Louis Gohmert of Texas. The rock has been turned over and all the white supremacists are crawling out, eyes squinting, ready to seize their rightful place in the Republican Party.