Tag: Florida

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Ivanka Trump Jared Kushner

Ivanka And Jared’s Florida Neighbors Don’t Want The ‘Plastic’ Couple In Their Town: Report

After failed, one-term and twice-impeached former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election overwhelmingly to Joe Biden, all of the Trumps packed up their shit and headed for Florida.

The ex-president, of course, returned to his overpriced Mar-a-Lago golf resort, but the other Trump spawn had to go out and look for a place to live in the Sunshine State.

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, wound up in the town of Surfside, which is located in Miami-Dade County, where they rent a luxury condo for $40,000 a month while their massive “Billionaire Bunker” is being built at an estimated cost of $24 million on a private island.

But all is not well in paradise, according to a report from Washingtonian, which notes many of the couple’s neighbors are less than impressed with the two, who are often referred to by the name Jvanka:

One sunny day last June, a Surfside resident spotted a tall blond woman on the hard pack, with a little white dog on a leash. She watched as the woman led the dog off the pathway toward the beach, right past a sign that clearly said dogs weren’t allowed.

The resident, a beach activist who finds high purpose in protecting Surfside’s loggerhead sea turtles during nesting season, mobilized. “I was speed-walking at her and yelling at her,” she recalls. “I just opened my mouth and said, ‘You can’t go out there with the dog!’”

When the startled owner turned around, her face was immediately recognizable. It was Ivanka Trump—accompanied by her ten-year-old daughter, Arabella, and their ultra-white, blue-eyed pooch, Winter.

“Oh-uh, I didn’t realize,” Trump said.

Didn’t realize or didn’t think the rules applied to her? Knowing the sense of entitlement the Trumps all have, it’s probably the latter.

That same resident also remarked that it’s quite obvious Ivanka has had cosmetic surgery and appears more than a bit “plastic.”

The resident was a bit flummoxed herself; this was her first face-to-face encounter with the former First Daughter. “She’s well put together,” the neighbor remembers. “She’s had a lot of work done, and it’s good plastic. It’s Miami, and there’s a lot of bad plastic here. She has good plastic.”

Shortly after that encounter, the same Surfside resident saw the couple at the beach, and she was not impressed with the way the Trump parents seemed oblivious to what happened to their kids:

Ivanka and Jared were out at the ocean’s edge with their five-year-old son, Theodore. He walked up to the neighbor (who asked to remain anonymous because she continues to live near the family) and talked about a fish he’d caught. The neighbor reminded Jared, in swim trunks, and Ivanka, in a “cute ruffled outfit,” to watch out for jellyfish. Ivanka indicated she wouldn’t be swimming, but Theodore hurried into the ocean. The neighbor was immediately concerned.

“I’m thinking, Why is this boy in the water alone on a boogie board with this moderate rip current? I’m a mother, and I would never let my child alone in the water like that.”

Sure enough, young Theodore began drifting from shore, prompting Jared to run in after him.

Those encounters left the resident convinced that Ivanka is living in her reality, quite apart from the rest of us:

 “She seems to be about . . . ‘I live in this little cocoon where the rules don’t apply to me’ . . . in her own little world.”

Sounds exactly like her father, a man who has never thought the rules apply to him but is starting to learn that prosecutors in several venues don’t see things that way and are continuing to investigate him with the goal of indicting him and his company on a raft of charges.

Meanwhile, back in Surfside, perhaps Ivanka has finally learned where she can and cannot walk her pooch.

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GOP Ron DeSantis

DeSantis Allegedly Attended Party With Underage Girls And Alcohol While Teaching At High School

Shortly after he graduated from college and prior to attending law school, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took a job as a history teacher at the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia. His hiring was announced in a 2001 newsletter published by the school:

Ron DeSantis is joining the Upper School history department. DeSantis earned bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from Yale University, New Haven, Conn. While at Yale, he worked for the political science department, the athletic department, and the university sports camp. He has work experience with the Sonic Corporation and the office of Senator Connie Mack.

But it turns out that DeSantis was more than just a teacher while at Darlington, according to Hill Reporter:

His students would have been high school co-eds, teenagers, some of whom would have been living on-campus. According to our whistleblower, he had a reputation among students for being a young “hot teacher” who girls loved, and the girls in the photo are believed to have graduated in 2002, making them seniors at the time.

The photo shows a person purported to be DeSantis, in a group embrace with several young girls, one of whom is holding what appears to be a glass beer bottle. The source who provided the photo says that it was taken prior to graduation — meaning the young girls would still have been DeSantis’ responsibility at the time. It is not clear whether any of them were legal adults, though they would have been too young to purchase alcohol.

Of course, DeSantis isn’t the only Florida politician who seems to have an affinity for young girls. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is current the subject of a wide-ranging federal investigation that reportedly involves the congressman taking underage girls across state lines and paying them, which is sexual trafficking of a minor. And that investigation could also wind up ensnaring the governor, who is up for reelection next year:

Still, the investigation may be moving uncomfortably close to the governor’s office. Besides Gaetz himself, the influential Florida political figures under federal scrutiny include Jason Pirozzolo, a hand surgeon and DeSantis campaign donor, and DeSantis’ political appointee Halsey Beshears, the state’s former top business regulator.

DeSantis has yet to respond to the photo or other revelations from Hill Reporter.

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Congress Crime Sex Scandals

Florida Bar Suspends Matt Gaetz From Practicing Law

 

The bad news just keeps rolling in for embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is reportedly under investigation for sexually trafficking underage girls.

The Daily Beast reports that the Florida Bar Association has suspended Gatez from practicing law in his home state:

As of Wednesday, Gaetz had not paid the fees he owes to The Florida Bar, which regulates lawyers there, prompting the organization to deem him “delinquent” and “not eligible to practice law in Florida.”

As you might expect, rather than be forthright about not paying the required money, Joel Valdez, a spokesperson for Gaetz tried to spin the latest humiliation for the congressman:

“Congressman Gaetz is no longer actively engaged in the practice of law. He is focused on representing his constituents in Congress, not the courtroom.”

However, attorneys who spoke to Daily Beast reporter Jose Pagliery said that sounds like a load of bull:

That explanation may sound reasonable enough. But four attorneys who spoke to The Daily Beast noted that it is extremely rare for lawyers to do this. Instead, attorneys taking a step back from their legal duties normally pay a smaller $175 fee to remain “inactive” but still a “member in good standing.

“He clearly doesn’t take his law license very seriously when he doesn’t take the time to pay the $265 dues,” said Daniel Uhlfelder, a Santa Rosa Beach attorney who lives in Gaetz’s district. “He’s not a serious lawyer. He’s not a serious congressman. He’s not a serious person. This is one small but symbolic example of that.”

The real reason Gaetz isn’t paying his dues to the Bar Association is probably so he can avoid having his law license revoked as more evidence continues to come to light regarding his alleged sexual misconduct with minors, according to Cris Dosev, a real estate developer who ran against Gaetz in the GOP primary last year:

“It might be a calculated move. I think he’s preemptively trying to remove a level of scrutiny from the Bar.”

This has been the proverbial “week from hell” for Gaetz, with his former “wingman,” Seminole County, Florida, tax collector Joel Greenberg receiving a four month delay in his sentencing as he continues to cooperate with federal prosecutors as they investigate whether or not the congressman sexually exploited underage girls.

If convicted of sexually trafficking minors across state lines, Gaetz could be sentenced to life in prison.

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Coronavirus GOP

Stephen King: Ron DeSantis Is Evil Enough To Be A Villain In My Novels – But He’s Too Stupid

Novelist Stephen King has created some incredibly memorable villains in his books, but he doesn’t think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has what it takes to be among them.

As King explained during an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the novelist was asked about some of the tweets he’s sent out recently that were highly critical of DeSantis, and he made it clear that while the governor is certainly evil enough with his absurd COVID-19 policies, he doubts that the Floridian has enough brains to carry off any actual evil plans:

“Ron DeSantis is probably not the brightest bulb in the chandelier at the best of times.”

That led Colbert to ask:

“So, not an evil genius? Not a mastermind?”

King responded:

“No, I wouldn’t say so. You know, he’s got that deer-in-the-headlights look somehow.”

Colbert couldn’t resist adding:

“Deer in the headlights hoping that’s two motorcycles that are going to go right by him.”

It should be noted that King — who is a native of Maine — now spends half the year in Sarasota, so he’s had a chance to observe DeSantis up close, and he’s not impressed, firing off tweets making it clear that he thinks the Florida governor is a few cans short of a six pack:

Or, to put it another way, consider what the AV Club had to say about DeSantis not being fit for a King novel. They pretty much hit the proverbial nail on the head:

“So that’s evil, but is it Stephen King evil? Not according to King, who greeted Colbert’s pitch for a future fictional Florida governor villain with the dismissive shrug of a guy who knows what makes a truly compelling antagonist. After all, your best Stephen King monsters (your Greg Stillsons, your Randall Flaggs) couple their nefarious machinations with a complexity of thought and more than a little charisma, whereas, in King’s authorial estimation, Florida is currently being led by a garden variety venal, callous dope, whose threadbare conservative posturing couldn’t sustain even the shortest tale of terror.”

But if you want to think of something truly terrifying, just imagine Ron DeSantis as president. Now THAT’S enough to give you nightmares.

 

Categories
Coronavirus GOP

Jen Psaki Has The Perfect Comeback After Ron DeSantis Calls Biden A ‘Power-Hungry Tyrant’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants to be president so damn badly! How badly? Enough so that he’s willing to let thousands of Floridians die of COVID-19 while he pretends that everything is just fine in the Sunshine State. He insists mask mandates won’t be allowed on his watch, no matter how many children and senior citizens wind up on ventilators and die in complete isolation, unable to see their families as they take their last, labored breath.

So it should come as no surprise that DeSantis would snipe at the current resident of the White House, President Joe Biden, simply because Biden made this remark on Wednesday while discussing the rise in COVID cases being seen in the states of Florida and Texas:

“I say to these governors: Please help. But if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way. The people are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”

Biden is trying to save lives, even in Republican-controlled states, because he’s doing what he promised he’d do when he was running in 2020: Be a president for all Americans.

How did DeSantis react to Biden’s remarks? Like a spoiled child. Like a man who cannot accept constructive criticism. We’ve had a president like that, and his name was Donald Trump. He’s one of the main reasons we’re in the fix we see before us right now as it pertains to the coronavirus.

DeSantis told reporters this while he was visiting Panama City and was asked about what the president had said:

“Why don’t you do your job. Why don’t you get this border secured, and until you do that I don’t want to hear a blip about Covid from you.”

Shortly after DeSantis made that snippy soundbite, he was also using it to try and raise money for his reelection efforts in 2022, sending out a blast email in which he pretended to be a tough guy:

“Joe Biden has the nerve to tell me to get out of the way on COVID while he lets COVID-infected migrants pour over our southern border by the hundreds of thousands. No elected official is doing more to enable the transmission of COVID in America than Joe Biden with his open borders policies.”

The governor wants us to believe the reason COVID is spreading is because of immigrants coming into the United States, though he has never presented a scintilla of evidence to support his allegation. He’s bullshitting. He’s lying. He’s using hatred and fear of “the other” to try and cover up his own heartlessness and incompetence.

Or, to put it another way, Ron DeSantis is pulling a Trump.

But White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had the perfect response to Gov. DeSantis, telling reporters at Thursday’s daily press briefing:

“25% of hospitalizations in the country are in Florida.

“It is also a fact that the governor has taken steps that are counter to public health recommendations. So, we’re here to state the facts. Frankly, our view is that this is too serious, deadly serious to be doing partisan name calling. That’s what we’re not doing here, we’re focused on providing public health data information to the people of Florida, to make sure they understand what steps they should be taking, even if those are not steps taken at the top of the leadership in that state.”

That’s how you deal with an empty suit, wannabe tough guy like Ron DeSantis. The governor should be ashamed of himself. But to feel shame, you have to possess a conscience. Clearly, DeSantis has no conscience. Just hubris, bluster, and bile.