BeaverFever

I’ve not heard about evil union leaders ruining or even managing anything - the management is the school boards domain. That said there are plenty of teachers who suck and/or don’t give AF but there’s nothing anyone can do about it as long as they aren’t violating any rules and they’re doing the bare minimum because it’s a unionized job. That said there are also many teachers with multiple university degrees in the field of education and care deeply, some of whom teach at colleges and universities, and coach other teachers so there is a mix Also the school boards are rats nests of shameless nepotism. Everyone in management and administration is somebody’s niece or son or friend or spouse. It’s really bad. I don’t know why we need local school boards in the 21st century anyway. Just merge it into one board run by professionals not local carpet-bagging politicians.

My wife and most of her friends are public and catholic board teachers at different schools and communities around the GTA Ive never heard any stories such the on described in the OP. I definitely hear about kids who are behaviours or are very low but not the “blackboard jungle” scenario presented. The biggest problem for the teachers is time and physical resources managing so many kids th way they’ve let class sizes get so big. Many parents simply don’t give AF about how their kids perform, especially the fathers. It’s not so much divided along racial or cultural lines as it is socioeconomic. Blue collar/working class, low income families are less likely to care about academics or have any goals ambitions for their kids. Naturally, immigrants and people of colour are over represented in this economic category but plenty of “white” people also. Even among the more affluent there are kids whose parents are just clueless like in the case of one particular obese kid who is academically low-ish and comes to school with a 1L of pop, multiple chocolate bars and either a personal-sized restaurant pizza or McDonalds for lunch everyday. Homework and schoolwork rarely completed but much of or is laziness and lack of discipline. Basically has what my wife calls “parent-induced ADHD” from all the junk food tv and video games they let him gorge on 24-7

I don’t think that’s accurate. Hamas victory was narrow garnering 44% of the popular vote and 56% of the seats. Furthermore I don’t believe that at the time they ran on a “destroy Israel” platform. in fact they ran under the party name “change and reform”Exit polling showed most voters who voted for Hamas did so for domestic/economic reasons and supported a 2-state solution with nearly 80% supporting peace with Israel amd nearly as many saying Has should change its policy towards Israel. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Palestinian_legislative_election At any rate collective punishment of civilians for the actions of their government is officially a war crime, no matter how anyone tries to justify it.

No not even the moderate ones. But yes the non-moderate ones. So are you saying conservative views about women and sexual minorities have no place in Canada? I might agree with you there. Funny how today mainstream conservatives are trying to unite with Muslims for that same reason.

Well I really don’t think the people knew what they were getting into. Hamas was elected just the one time over a decade ago as sort of a fluke and has held on through force since then. But at the time Hamas was elected they were claiming to be moderate with some of their internal factions actually being sincere about that. They ran a lot of charities and other vital public services that people valued (still do). The election’s alternative to Hamas alternative was the secular Palestinian Authority which was for a long time the de facto leader of Palestinians and ultimately recognized as such by Israel. However PA had been in a bit of disarray in the years following Arafat’s death and I believe there was some dissatisfaction with perceived corruption. In addition many felt that the PA had not done enough to stand up against increasing Israeli aggression. As previously mentioned, Israeli hardliners had assassinated their own Prime Minister, seized power soon afterward then took took a very aggressive hardline approach to Palestinians such as accelerating illegal settlements in the territories and especially electing Ariel Sharon, “the Butcher of Beirut” as Prime Minister despite the fact that Sharon had been found responsible by his own government for the massacre civilian refugees in Lebanon.

You have no idea what the words communist, socialist or Marxist even mean.

Right wing dictators In no particular order off the top of my head : Vladimir Putin Augusto Pinochet Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Francisco Franco You can find a definition of right-wing dictatorship and an extensive listing here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_dictatorship

Yeah but how have the economies evolved? Ontario’s nominal GDP in 1989 was around $247Bn now it’s more than tripled to nearly $760Bn at the end of 2022. Whereas Sweden went from $218Bn to only $585B. It’s even worse for Finland who went from $188B to $280B, which is less than a growth of 1.5x One could argue that those Scandinavian countries are growing more efficiently on a per capita basis and that the numbers prove there are diminishing economic returns to population growth even if overall GDP growth increases. But then again Sweden and Finland are a generous welfare state where people who are financially disadvantaged or who encounter financially difficult times can access programs that ultimately allow them to contribute to the economy whereas in North America its much harder to escape those circumstances. Lastly: in the next few decades decades we will begin to witness the great dying of the baby boomers which will result a massive economic and demographic shift and the shortage housing crisis will begin the grave plot shortage crisis. We need new people and workers to replace them. Granted that doesn’t solve a bigger problem of who will replace the immigrants when they age but it buys a little time I think. As I understand, Scandinavia didn’t experience as much of a baby boom as we did due to a different experience in WW2 so perhaps they’re less concerned about the demographic time bomb we are facing.

Gee, 2 guesses. Current and future citizens of Israel, act now and buy your future luxury home pre-construction for big savings! Expedited Israeli immigration and citizenship for eligible confirmed foreign purchasers* available! Forced deportation or relocation of civilian population is already recognized as crime against humanity. The Armenian genocide for example was largely the result of mass deaths resulting from mass forced i think you misrepresent Palestinians and Muslims here. First of all Palestinians are some of the most secular people in the Arab world and secondly many Palestinians including prominent ones are Christians. Furthermore I think you unfairly criticize “muslim culture” as if it’s one thing as if they’re all conservative. In Canada the anti-muslim terrorist attacks carried have killed far more Muslims than any Muslim terrorist attacks. I’ll agree that religious conservatives of any type are incompatible with modern western society but if we tolerate Christian and Jewish ones however distasteful their beliefs are theres mo reason not to tolerate Muslims. Once again the fact being that Muslim terrorism is virtually non-existent despite constant failed conservative predictions to the contrary. And now that many conservatives are starting to embrace Muslims as a useful ally in the latest culture war against the great tranny menace I think you’ll see less opposition from the right.

That’s hilarious narrative because during this same period western Judeo-Christians were doing the same thing to others and arguably they did worse when you look at what they did in the new world The REAL narrative is not evil Muslim Ottomans vs good guy Christians. The real narrative is that until very recently, all countries whether Christian, Muslim, Turks or European attempted to expand their territories and conquer their neighbours. The Jews and Christians in the Ottoman Empire fared much better than Jews and Muslims in Christendom and that’s just a fact.

Liar this conversation has long ago evolved beyond just talking about Hamas to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Palestinian people as a whole. My comments that you quoted above were in response to false statements that were not just about Hamas but of course people like you HATE having your narratives challenged and HATE relevant context 1) the expression “seizing power” doesn’t preclude being elected 2) In the 16 years since they haven’t held any other elections and engage in violent thuggery to keep any potential internal rivals at bay especially the Palestinian Authority.

The Dirty South remains a one-party backwater of democracy where officials rule their respective fiefdoms of dull-eyed, unquestioning subjects with uncontested power, even from within their own party….no wonder most of those states lag the rest of the country in virtually every economic and social indicator ——————— In Mississippi, most voters will have no choice about who represents them in the Legislature JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — After being in office for over a decade, Mississippi state Sen. Dean Kirby got challenged in the Republican primary. He won with 70% of the vote. That was in 2003 — and it remains the last time Kirby faced an opponent. The longtime Jackson-area senator is on the ballot again this year without either a Democratic or Republican challenger. While the length of Kirby’s uncontested streak is unusual, his situation is not. More than four-fifths of Mississippi’s legislative candidates will have no major-party opposition in the Nov. 7 general election. And more than half of this year’s winners will have faced no other Republicans or Democrats in either the primary or the general election. “I think people are happy with the state and the way things are going,” Kirby, Mississippi’s Senate president pro tem, said in explaining the lack of challengers. Other news Though Mississippi represents an extreme example, it highlights a national decline in competition for state legislative seats. New research suggests the reasons are more complex than mere voter satisfaction with incumbents. It also raises questions about the ability of American voters to hold their elected representatives accountable. In some states, “there’s so many uncontested seats that one party wins the chamber before an election takes place,” said Steven Rogers, a political scientist at Saint Louis University who focuses on state legislatures. A democracy “relies on this notion that the people will have some sort of choice,” Rogers added. But “without someone running for office, there isn’t really a choice.” In Mississippi, the percentage of legislative seats with no major-party opposition in the general election has risen steadily from 63% in 2011 to 85% this year. The percentage with no Republican or Democratic challengers in either the primary or the general election has grown from 45% to 57% over that same time, according to data compiled for The Associated Press by Ballotpedia, a nonprofit organization that tracks elections. Rogers’ research found that legislative competition around the U.S. has been dwindling for decades. Though contested elections were common in the 1960s and 1970s, about 35% of incumbent state lawmakers did not face either a primary or general election challenger from 1991 to 2020, according to Rogers’ new book, “Accountability in State Legislatures.” One reason is political gerrymandering — a process by which those in power draw voting districts to give their party’s candidates an advantage. Lawmakers are less likely to face challenges when one political party holds an overwhelming majority in the legislature and when district boundaries are drawn to include voters predominately favoring one party, Rogers found. Competition also is lower when lawmakers’ salaries are lower. And fewer challengers are likely to step forward when they are of the same party as an unpopular president. All those factors are in play this year in Mississippi. Republicans currently hold lopsided legislative majorities. The vast majority of districts are packed with voters favoring one party. The legislative salary is $23,500, plus a daily expense allowance when lawmakers are at work. And President Joe Biden is underwater in public opinion polls, adding to the challenge for fellow Democrats in Mississippi. “Candidates don’t want to run races they think they’re going to lose,” said Abhi Rahman, communications director for the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. The DLCC is spending a few thousand dollars this year on several legislative races in the largely uncompetitive Republican-leaning states of Mississippi and Louisiana. It said it has spent $50,000 in Democratic-controlled New Jersey, one of just four states with legislative elections this year. But it has spent $2.2 million so far on legislative races in Virginia. Other Democratic- and Republican-aligned groups also are pouring millions of dollars into Virginia’s legislative races. The stakes are high in Virginia because Democrats currently hold a narrow majority in the Senate while Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Delegates and control the governor’s office. Both parties see a pathway to a legislative majority. The races also are being watched as a test of the two major parties’ messaging ahead of the national 2024 elections. In contrast to Mississippi, the percentage of Republican or Democratic candidates in Virginia facing no major-party opposition in either the primary or general election has declined from 61% in 2011 to 28% this year, according to Ballotpedia data. The districts in place for this year’s election were crafted by court-appointed expertsafter a bipartisan commission responsible for redrawing boundaries based on 2020 census data failed to reach a consensus. “In Virginia, there’s a sense that no matter what the district is, you at least have a puncher’s chance,” Rahman said. “Whereas in states like Mississippi and Louisiana, a lot of people feel like they’re just running to get creamed.” Though Democrats are a minority in Mississippi, many of the districts they do win are packed with a large proportion of their voters. Three Democratic lawmakers will be succeeded by their sons running in uncontested races this year. Sen. Barbara Blackmon and Rep. Ed Blackmon, who are married to each other, both initially qualified for reelection with one of their sons in the Senate race and one in the House race. After nobody else signed up to run, the incumbents dropped out and cleared the way for Bradford Blackmon to be elected to the Senate and Lawrence Blackmon to the House. Sen. Robert Jackson’s son, Reginald Jackson, is unopposed for his father’s seat. Though he lacks such family ties, first-time Republican candidate Andy Berry also is getting an uncontested path to the state Senate after a two-term Republican incumbent chose not to seek reelection in a reconfigured district south of Jackson. Berry, who has worked the past nine years for the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association and the affiliated Mississippi Beef Council, has connections to three of the four counties in the district. He grew up in one, lives in another and has a cattle farm in a third. Though Berry said he’s “very blessed” to be guaranteed a victory, he is still asking people for their vote by reminding them that casting a ballot is their chance to have a voice in government. But it’s hard to spur interest without an opponent. “Turnout is a struggle in all these elections,” Berry said. https://apnews.com/article/uncontested-legislative-elections-mississippi-virginia-8d8b1e7dc7d50d2af4a27a2076ecea07

There have been so many revelations in the still-unfolding Doug Ford developer scandal it’s tough to keep up, I may have missed some. But here’s the newest one: And don’t give me BS about housing because as the article makes clear there were special MZO deals to reward CONSERVATIVE PARTY CRONIES and deals for commercial properties including an Amazon warehouse and a Chinese-owned glass factory Developer guests at Doug Ford family wedding got fast-track zoning approvals from government Housing minister reviewing more than 100 MZOs, but says ‘vast majority’ not of concern Mike Crawley · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago Premier Doug Ford's government has issued more than 100 minister's zoning orders (MZOs) to fast-track development on properties around Ontario. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra is now reviewing them but has said he's not concerned about the vast majority. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) There's fresh scrutiny of how Premier Doug Ford's government issued dozens of fast-track approvals to rezone select properties, some of them owned by developers who also stood to benefit from Greenbelt land swaps. Minister's zoning orders (MZOs) are a powerful tool the province can use to expedite development on a specific parcel of land. At the stroke of a pen, a cabinet minister overrides local planning rules, avoids public consultation and changes what can be built on the property. The Ford government has handed out MZOs at an unprecedented pace: at least 110 of them since 2019. By contrast, previous Liberal governments issued just 18 between 2003 and 2018. A tally by the Ontario NDP finds that just four guests at a Ford family wedding reception benefited from as many MZOs as previous Liberal governments issued in total over the course of their 15 years in power. For years, the Ford government has defended its use of MZOs as a way to spur housing construction or to clear away red tape from urgent provincial projects such as long-term care facilities. But now, after investigations by Ontario's integrity commissioner and auditor general found the government improperly furthered the private interests of certain developers by approving their Greenbelt properties for housing, there are questions about whether the government's use of MZOs bears any similarities. By granting an MZO, the provincial government instantly changes the zoning rules for a specific property, increasing the potential value of the land at the stroke of a pen. (Patrick Morrell/CBC News) Ford's new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra says he has almost finished a review of all MZOs granted by his predecessor, Steve Clark. But unlike the government's recent moves to put land back into the Greenbelt and reverse the urban sprawl it forced on various cities, Calandra is signalling he's unlikely to scrap more than a handful of MZOs. "By and large, the vast majority of them frankly, I'm not concerned," he told reporters last Monday. The opposition parties think Calandra needs to be more concerned. "We see lots of evidence that the government should be very, very worried about the process for handing out MZOs, what they're being used for, and who's benefiting from them," said Jeff Burch, the NDP's critic for municipal affairs. "There are Conservative insiders who are benefiting from MZOs just as they have benefited from insider information around the Greenbelt grab," Burch said in an interview. Shakir Rehmatullah, founder and president of Markham, Ont.-based Flato Developments, has described himself as a friend of Premier Doug Ford. Rehmatullah's company has received nine MZOs, more than any other developer in Ontario. (Flato Developments/YouTube) NDP leader Marit Stiles has scheduled a news conference for Monday morning on the topic of what the party calls "Ford's corrupt pattern of gifting MZOs to well-connected insiders." Green Party leader Mike Schreiner is calling for a careful review "to make sure that the same corrupt process that led to [the government] removing land from the Greenbelt hasn't been involved in any of these MZOs." "I think the people of Ontario deserve an honest answer around that question," Schreiner said in an interview. 'Pattern' of issuing MZOs to same developers Ontario's auditor general has already called the government's process for issuing MZOs "not transparent." A 2021 report by then-auditor general Bonnie Lysyk found that nearly 40 per cent of the MZOs the government issued over a two-year stretch benefited just seven development companies. "Such a pattern opens the MZO process to criticisms of conflict of interest and unfairness," Lysyk wrote in her report. WATCH | How Doug Ford backed down on building in Greenbelt 'I'm very, very sorry': the story of Doug Ford's Greenbelt disaster Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced he is reversing a contentious land swap for the province's protected Greenbelt. Andrew Chang breaks down the messy course of events that led to this decision. "Our audit found that the application and decision-making process for issuing MZOs, as well as public communications about them, is not transparent," Lysyk added. Calandra said his review of MZOs is designed "to ensure that the decisions we made were done in a manner that maintains and reinforces public trust." He has praised the use of MZOs to get shovels in the ground quickly on long-term care and health care projects. He said his review is primarily looking at properties that were granted MZOs where work has not yet substantially begun. 9 MZOs to 1 company The New Democrats want Calandra to focus more on whether the government played favourites in handing out the fast-track zoning approvals. Publicly available records compiled by the NDP show: Flato Developments, owned by Shakir Rehmatullah, has received nine MZOs, more than anyone else in Ontario. The orders speed the way for the company to develop more than 8,000 new homes on properties that include farmland and rural locations. Rehmatullah has described himself as a friend of Ford. Companies owned by Mario Cortellucci or his family benefited from six MZOs for properties in Vaughan, Innisfil and Caledon. The fast-tracked projects include a warehouse and distribution centre and mixed-use (residential and commercial) developments. Members of the Cortellucci family donated more than $12,000 to Ford's PC leadership campaign, according to Elections Ontario records. Two companies (the Rice Group and Lakeview Community Partners) that have been represented by lobbyist Nico Fidani-Diker were granted MZOs for projects in Caledon and Mississauga. Fidani-Diker worked for more than two years in the premier's office, including a stint as Ford's executive assistant. Craft Development, whose president is Carmine Nigro, received an MZOfor a project in Kawartha Lakes. Ford appointed Nigro to be chairman of the LCBO in 2019 and a board member of Invest Ontario in 2022. Ford also appointed Nigro to be chairman of Ontario Place, and he is currently the sole member of its board of directors. When the MZO was issued, Nigro was vice president of the PC Ontario Fund, the fundraising arm of Ford's party. The government granted an MZO in October 2020 to allow a giant distribution warehouse on this protected wetland in Pickering. After CBC News revealed that the potential tenant was Amazon Canada, the company pulled out of the project. (Patrick Morrell/CBC) The integrity commissioner's investigation reported that Rehmatullah "had his hand in" three separate requests that led to the Ford government approving Greenbelt land parcels for housing. Rehmatullah and Fidani-Diker both confirmed to the integrity commissioner they attended Ford's daughter's wedding in August 2022. Meanwhile, publicly posted photos from the event showed that Cortellucci and Nigro were guests at the wedding reception, seated at Ford's table. The Greenbelt investigations released this summer by the auditor general and integrity commissioner found a small number of developers used their access to a senior political staffer to get their land approved for housing development, a process that boosted the collective value of their properties by $8.3 billion. Ford had promised not to touch the Greenbelt back in the 2018 election campaign. Then in 2022 his government approved housing construction on 15 parcels of land in the protected area. For nearly a year, Ford repeatedly defended the move as a way to get housing built. In September, he called it a mistake, apologized for breaking his promise and announced he's reversing all the Greenbelt removals. Then last week, Calandra announced the government is reversing another of its controversial moves to open more land for housing: boundary expansions and zoning changes it forced on 12 municipalities, including Ottawa, Hamilton and Waterloo Region. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk raised concerns in 2021 about what she called a pattern of the government giving MZOs to benefit the same few developers.(Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press) Whether Calandra will continue the trend by reversing many of the MZOs remains to be seen. "There are a couple of MZOs where they were issued and no work has been done to advance the goal of building homes or building long-term care or building hospitals," Calandra said in question period last Tuesday. "If we're not seeing the action to do what the MZO was issued for, I'll revoke them." A list of all ministerial zoning orders can be found by clicking on the tab labelled "Regulations under this Act" on this provincial webpage. The government has previously revoked two of the 100-plus MZOs it has issued, but only after the companies involved abandoned the projects amid controversy: The government granted an MZO in October 2020 to allow development on a protected wetland in Pickering. Just days before the developer was poised to begin bulldozing the wetland to build a giant distribution warehouse, CBC News revealed that Amazon Canada was the potential tenant. Amazon soon pulled out of the project and the government scrapped its approval to build on the wetland. The government gave a fast-track MZO to allow Xinyi Canada to build a $400 million glass factory on the southern edge of Stratford. Local residents got up in arms over the proposal, which was originally backed by the local council. The company announced in February 2021 it was suspending its plans. Then five months later, the government revoked the MZO. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-doug-ford-mzos-land-zoning-orders-greenbelt-1.7010332

DeSantis and his cronies are just pigs at the trough …. DeSantis allies earn big paychecks on the front lines of his culture fights Steve Contorno CNN — none Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently recounted blow by blow at an Iowa sports bar his takeover of a tiny liberal arts school, describing how he turned Sarasota’s New College from a “Marxist commune” with gender studies courses into a conservative vision for higher education. “So I appointed seven conservatives to the board of trustees,” the Republican governor and 2024 White House hopeful told those gathered. “They fired the president, hired a conservative president.” As it was, the ink was barely dry on the contract for that new president, Richard Corcoran, a former state education chief under DeSantis. The day before DeSantis’ Iowa appearance, those New College board members pushed through an agreement that could eventually pay Corcoran up to $1.3 million a year to oversee their university — a school of about 700 students. Working on the front lines of the culture fights for DeSantis can be quite lucrative, it turns out. Many of the governor’s top lieutenants in charge of executing his hard-charging agenda — which doubles as a platform for his presidential campaign — earn six-figure incomes. In some cases, their pay far outpaces the salaries for their jobs under past Florida governors. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the state surgeon general who is leading DeSantis’ crusade against the coronavirus vaccine, collects about $447,000 a year through an arrangement that also includes a paid position at the University of Florida College of Medicine. That’s nearly twice as much as what his predecessor was making when he left the position, which included a salary from the college as well. DeSantis says he won’t support Covid vaccine funding if elected president Cord Byrd, the appointed secretary of state overseeing DeSantis’ new election police force and leading his crackdown on alleged voter fraud, makes $188,000 a year, a pay bump of 32% compared with the officeholder in the previous administration. Manny Diaz Jr., the public education commissioner who recently sparred with Florida’s only Black Republican congressman over the state’s new African American history standards, has a salary of $314,000 — about $38,000 a year more than the previous two people to hold the job, one of whom was Corcoran. Other allies have found themselves in high-paying positions not long after delivering on contentious DeSantis priorities. Like Corcoran, they were hired by boards stacked with DeSantis appointees. A spokesman for the governor’s office did not respond to questions about how these salary decisions are made. His campaign declined to comment, referring questions to his gubernatorial staff. A well-compensated inner circle DeSantis was once a stickler for keeping executive branch pay in check. He entered politics as a tea party conservative, and his first bill after getting sworn into the US House of Representatives in 2013 sought to freeze the pay of federal employees and halt raises for senior Obama administration staff. It passed the House and died in the Senate. But in Florida, where he has wielded the powers of the executive branch unlike any of his predecessors, DeSantis’ inner circle is well compensated. There are 59 people in his office earning more than $100,000 a year, according to an online employee salary database maintained by the state, twice as many as there were at the end of the term of his predecessor, fellow Republican and now-Sen. Rick Scott. James Uthmeier, who was DeSantis’ chief of staff before taking a leave of absence in August to join his struggling White House bid as campaign manager, made $196,000. His salary was about $30,000 higher than what Scott’s final gubernatorial chief earned. The paychecks of DeSantis’ appointees and allies have at times drawn criticism from Democrats in his home state as he campaigns for president on a promise to slash spending in Washington and cut federal agencies. “Republicans are supposed to be about small government, no bloat and fiscal responsibility, but this guy likes to pad salaries like nobody’s business,” said state Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Miami Democrat. “He talks about draining the swamp and bloat in DC, but these salaries are nuts.” DeSantis calls for institutionalizing more people instead of nationalizing Florida’s red flag law in wake of Maine shooting In the case of Corcoran, DeSantis’ appointees on the New College board of trustees have defended the agreement. “We aspire to be one of the top, if not the top, liberal arts institutions in the nation and that’s what we are setting as a goal and that’s what we’re going to be asking of our president,” said one board member, Tampa lawyer Ron Christaldi. “And that was the litmus test for me on how we should approach these things.” New College’s progressive student body, shaken by the Republican overhaul there, was already skeptical about Corcoran, a deeply conservative former state House speaker who led the charge to ban critical race theory in schools as DeSantis’ first education commissioner. But his pay, once revealed, became a lightning rod of its own. Corcoran will earn a $699,000 base salary plus several hundred thousand dollars in perks and incentives and an additional $200,000-a-year in retention payments that will be paid out if he stays at the university through February 21, 2026. His base pay is double that of his predecessor. The base pay of the president at Florida State University, a campus of nearly 45,000 students with athletic teams perennially ranked among the best in college sports and a $300 million research budget, was recently raised to $1 million. To justify the salary, trustees pointed to a study that showed Corcoran’s total renumeration would be in the median of salaries paid to the leaders of “peer” schools reviewed by a consultant hired by New College. However, all of the schools in that study were private universities — some religiously affiliated. They also had larger student bodies than New College, some by a factor of 10 or more. Amy Reid, a New College professor and the faculty representative on the board of trustees, questioned whether the school could even afford Corcoran’s pay. “This is not a competitive salary. This is an excessively generous salary,” Reid told CNN. She voted against the contract. Falling in line Florida governors yield considerable power in hiring, though state lawmakers could rein in the executive branch through the budget and the state Senate can block certain appointments. But Republicans, who control both Florida legislative chambers by wide margins, have largely acquiesced to DeSantis’ demands. Last year, it appeared Republican state lawmakers were prepared for a rare standoff with DeSantis during the once-a-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional boundaries. In an unprecedented move, DeSantis submitted his own map — a heavily partisan redrawing of district lines that critics said illegally diluted Black voting power. State Sen. Ray Rodrigues, the GOP leader on redistricting in the Senate, initially urged his colleagues to reject the DeSantis map. But he later changed sides, and the DeSantis plan was passed. The new districts ultimately helped congressional Republicans add four House seats in the 2022 midterms, a fact DeSantis now touts on the campaign trail. The map, though, faces significant legal headwinds and lawmakers may have to someday redraw it. It won’t be a problem for Rodrigues to deal with, though. In September of last year, he was named chancellor of the state university system by its board of governors, a body where 14 of 17 members are appointed by DeSantis. At $420,000, Rodrigues’ salary is higher than any paid by Florida taxpayers. Florida cargo flights arranged by DeSantis carried drones and body armor for Israel Another board mostly made up of DeSantis appointees, the South Florida State College trustees, also plucked a lawmaker this year to be their institution’s next president: Fred Hawkins. The former state representative is paid $250,000 a year under his contract. Hawkins doesn’t have a background in higher education and was once charged with impersonating an officer while serving as a local county commissioner, earning him a suspension from DeSantis. But months before his hiring, Hawkins sponsored one of the most controversial bills of DeSantis’ tenure: the legislation that stripped Disney of its special taxing authority and gave the governor authority to pick the new board to oversee the entertainment giant’s Central Florida theme parks. The bill escalated DeSantis’ feud with Disney over the company’s opposition to a Florida law that restricted the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. With his new power, DeSantis filled the Disney oversight board, called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, with Republican donors and like-minded conservatives. In May, the board picked a new administrator, Glenton Gilzean Jr., the former president of the Central Florida Urban League whom DeSantis has regularly tapped for key assignments. Gilzean, who is Black, also defended DeSantis in an earlier fight against the College Board over a proposed African American Studies Advanced Placement course. Gilzean will make $400,000 a year in his new position — $45,000 more than the person he succeeded. Justifying the pay bump in May, board President Martin Garcia said, “It’s a very different job description.” Indeed, Gilzean has already taken the district in new directions. In August, he abolished diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the district — a top priority of DeSantis’ as governor and a regular talking point on the campaign trail. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/29/politics/ron-desantis-florida-allies-big-paychecks/index.html

No it was due to continuing fallout from the gas plants scandal. There was going to be a contempt of parliament finding for not turning over all related documents. On top of that had only been able to form a minority government a year prior and then lost a subsequent by-election…largely due to this same scandal that would not go away.

Agree. Everything the liberals say and do these days smacks of desperation. Stunts like this aren’t going to reverse or prevent negative opinions of them. The only policy change that could even have a snowball’s chance in hell of reversing their fortunes would be a big Hail Mary play like launching a national pharmacare program but I don’t think that they’ve got enough gas in the tank (financially or politically) to pull that off right now. Perhaps that’s the carrot they’re waiting to dangle at the next election but since they’ve already dangled it once before and only to cast it aside, it might not work on voters the second time.

A warning to other forum members: please don’t eat or drink while clicking on that link, there’s a real risk of choking during all the laughter.

Total BS. You are so shamelessly dishonest it’s disgusting. Just because someone expresses an opinion on a tragedy doesn’t mean they’re “thrilled”. Were conservatives thrilled about the Hamas massacre? By your logic they must be Neither did you. Must mean you’re thrilled. Wow such pathetic dishonesty from you. Nothing was celebrated and nothing horrible. Not one word in my post suggests im happy or celebrating. You can lie all you want and falsely claim with zero evidence how I feel so let’s both play your 1diotic game “you’re THRILLED people got killed, it’s obvious from the way you couldn’t wait to attack people who call for fun control!”

Yes Coyne is criticizing the reporter who interviewed PP for trying to do a “gotcha” interview. Coyne is not saying “Let’s break PP” as you originally suggested. Coyne may be a Red Tory (or not) but to say they are job different than the liberals or that Coyne values are aligned to Liberals is ridiculous. He spend most of his ink lambasting Liberal policies, gaffes and scandals and moaning about the deficit and what he sees as excessive spending. He’s not out to get PP, although I think he would probably personally prefer politicians who are more of a Stephen Harper type over performative politicians like PP or Trudeau.

OMG That is the dumbest thing you’ve ever said on this forum . You want me to give you an example where PP said publicly “I dont actually believe in what i’m voting for I’m just doing it because it’s right wing”. And according to your idi0t logic: 1) that is what “seeing the world in terms of left and right” means 2) He would openly admit that to the public if that’s the case then no human being eho has ever walked the face of the earth has ever viewed anything in terms of left s right. PP is always talking about denouncing “the left” calling them socialists marxists, communists etc. probably moreso than any other conservative politician, every chance he can. You’ve been presented with ample quotes and video clips your continued denial of reality ridiculous justification attempts and absurd excuses are absolutely pathetic. Who calls themselves Marxist, speaks of his works and follows his teachings? Be specific and provide examples. You’ve been provided quotes and videos of him doing it. And you’re even defending him doing it (“they are Marxists”h while denying that he did it. What more evidence do you need? Well you ate the one twisting yourself into pretzels trying to claim that PP doesn’t see things as left and right and he only calls liberals leftist so much because that’s what they call themselves. He wouldn’t be using the name if it had no meaning to him. Show me an example of liberals calling themselves leftists. That turned out to be correct and directly quoted and caught on tape. You’re just desperately making absurd excuses for it Not quite what I claimed. I claimed some who frequently and loudly denounces “the left”, “leftist policies” and other analogous terms like “socialism”’, “Marxist”, “communist” etc clearly can’t claim they don’t think about things in terms of left vs right. I strongly disagree with that statement because you definitely are being one right now. False I have claimed nothing of the sort. This is a perfect example of you being the 1diot, as mentioned above.

The article is clearly a critique of the reporter’s poor questioning not a call to bring down PP. Coyne is no anti-conservative. Thank for NOT paying attention.

No I’m just challenging the usual “evil Muslim” narrative. Up until the last century or so Jews usually had it better in the Muslim world than in the Christian world. That is all.

In a war zone. Where dozens of people she knew already died. Seriously that is a dumb question. Why would that matter if they are “sympathizers?” Surely you’re not saying CBC should have done in-depth background checks on each of the 34 people killed and spiked the story if any of them were “sympathizers”? You don’t wonder how many Israeli victims might have had extreme anti-Palestinian views or are “sympathizers” of the settler militias that terrorize Palestinians in the West Bank Says the “Jewish Nazi”, “Biolabs”, “stolen 2020 election” and covid conspiracy nut. I believe you also once believed Obama was a secret Kenyan too, didn’t you? Easier said than done especially when you have no resources of your own. Hamas is in power. It’s called “in power” for a reason.

In 1993 when PA recognized Israel it was the “government” in Gaza. Hamas only seized power there more than a decade later in 2007, long after relations had seriously deteriorated.

Only because that’s what you want to believe. Gaza is one of the smallest and most densely populated jurisdictions on earth. I’m sure if an airforce bombed the neighbourhood where you and your extended family members all lived and worked - not to mention your friends and coworkers and their extended families - with death tolls in the thousands you would know a couple dozen of the victims as well. I get them from you, I simply show you how stupid they are Hamas is not synonymous with the Palestinian people. Hamas is a terrorist organization and deserves to be wiped out. The secular Palestinian Authority didn’t bargain in bad faith. After PA and Israel reached a peace deal in Oslo and PA unilaterally recognized Israel, what happened? Israeli hardliners assassinated their PM for making the deal and immediately commenced aggression and provocation of Palestinians, such as accelerating settlements in occupied territories, etc. and that hardline policy continues to this day.