"And Tango Makes Three" costs less than $8 on Amazon.
But it's costing a #Florida school board more than $300,000 to keep that children's picture book off school library shelves. www.wusf.org/politics-iss... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s looking “very seriously” at a new congressional map. The current one already heavily favors Republicans.
Here's what to know.
With the board overseeing Florida’s public universities set to vote Friday afternoon on whether to create a new accreditor, some say a massive shift is coming to higher education.
I’m back on Bluesky!
Good overview of First Amendment (religion, speech, press, assembly, petition) issues popping up in this presidential term, and what various 1A groups are saying about them. by @douglassoule.bsky.social
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www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
#Florida school district meets with blowback for banning LGBTQ+ book www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/p... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
Some porn sites now blocked, but others ignore new #Florida law on age verification www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
Florida Attorney Ashley Moody's office says it's already investigating porn websites for not complying with the age verification law that took effect Jan. 1.
A Florida law requiring age verification to visit porn platforms online took effect on New Year's Day, but a number of websites are either just blocking access in the state or not complying at all.
Citing tax dollars spent, judge urges #Florida school district to settle book ban lawsuit www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
A Florida law requires pornographic websites to have age verification by New Year's Day, but a new federal lawsuit is trying to get that struck down.
A federal judge is recommending that a Florida school board enter into a settlement with those suing it for book banning, citing how it's spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover legal fees.
Donations have poured into a GoFundMe account for a Lakeland woman, Briana Boston, who has drawn international attention for her arrest last week after she allegedly uttered the phase “delay, deny, depose” on a phone call with an insurance representative.
First Amendment or threat? #Florida woman's arrest after CEO shooting sparks online uproar www.theledger.com/story/news/l... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
The arrest of a Lakeland, Florida, woman accused of threatening her health insurance provider following denied claims has sparked a national debate about when First Amendment-protected speech veers into illegal threats.
A Lakeland, Florida, woman whose medical insurance claims were denied has been arrested after allegedly telling her insurance company, “Delay, Deny, Depose. You people are next."
Florida is spending millions on a “statewide, centralized, easily accessible” system for the public to review and object to school instructional materials and books.
DeSantis’ administration says it’s a transparency tool.
But it has raised concerns about censorship.
At a Moms for Liberty event, Jessie Thompson — the new Volusia County School Board chair in Florida — made a disparaging remark about a local high school's students and admitted to feeding false data to the board to get agenda items passed.
"Nothing's going to stop me": #Florida's No. 1 book banner interviewed by "The Daily Show" www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/p... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" interviewed the "No. 1 book banner" in Florida, the state that has more books pulled from public schools than any other in the nation.
"Nothing's going to stop me," he said.
www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
Want to read "Wicked" after seeing the movie? You can't in some #Florida schools -- it's been banned www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p... via @douglassoule.bsky.social
"Wicked” is popular. It had the biggest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical ever and continues to defy gravity in the box office.
But the book version has been removed from multiple school districts in Florida.
I explored where and why:
www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
Today I’m not thankful for the NYT Spelling Bee.
Why’d they make it so hard?!
A Florida school district wouldn't let a “Playboy” or a book about bomb-making sit in its libraries. That's why the Escambia County School Board says it should be able to remove an award-winning children’s picture book about a same-sex penguin pair.
www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
The school district argues book bans represent "government speech," which is immune from First Amendment restrictions.
"When the government speaks, it may refuse to endorse or freely remove speech of which it disapproves," it wrote.
This came today from attorneys representing Escambia County Public Schools, where "And Tango Makes Three" has been removed by the school board. It's a children's picture book about a same-sex penguin pair raising a chick together.
They want a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by its authors.
A Florida school district's defense of its ban on a children's book about a same-sex penguin pair:
If a "school library included a Playboy magazine or a book depicting how to make a homemade bomb, a reasonable observer likewise would hold the Board accountable for such an oversight in judgment."
Back again.
In yet another case, Florida's government is arguing that book removals in public schools are "government speech," meaning they are unrestricted by the First Amendment.
It's a controversial legal argument, which free speech advocates have called "authoritarian.”
www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
