Bad moon rising

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

The other day I heard the song “Bad moon rising.” The song is by Creedence Clearwater Revival and is about a coming apocalypse. It made me think of Florida — and the apocalypse that’s torn through the state in the form of an unhinged Governor by the name of Ron DeSantis.

One could indeed argue that since DeSantis took office, so much of the beauty — the good — the beguilement — of the sunshine state has been washed away, receding in the wake of a belligerent tyrant who has gone stark raving mad with power.

And he is seemingly determined to destroy all the beauty of Florida. DeSantis has done everything from trying to cancel Disney to banning books to enacting his pathetic “Don’t say gay” law.

And now he’s in the news again. DeSantis has blocked an African American Studies program — an advanced placement course — from being part of the state curriculum. It’s a mad moon rising. Florida’s Office of articulation has explained that this program is “contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

This pilot course would have been included in Florida high schools.. Apparently, DeSantis does not like that. On January 12, a letter was sent to the organization that oversees AP(advanced placement) Coursework. This letter came from the Department of education and said:

“In the future, should the college board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion.”

LAWFUL? THAT is the word that jumps out. How DARE he. I’m not being hyperbolic either. How DARE he. It’s really heartbreaking. And it’s happening because Florida, try though she did to eject him, has a racist a###ole for a governor. Can there be any doubt that Ron DeSantis is a vile human being and a racist? I think not.

So yes, a bad moon is rising over Florida – a mad moon. It is a sign of increasing madness that such a thing could happen. It does not feel real, and yet it is. I am not worried about DeSantis as a presidential contender because he does not have a chance.

I AM concerned about the children of Florida — these children who only want to learn and whose quest for knowledge is being denied by an all-around horrible human being who would be more comfortable in the days of Jim Crow than in the year 2023.

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.