Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Ron DeSantis
March 7, 2023 6:26 PM - Season 10, Episode 3 - Subscribe
This week... leading off with the main story, on Ron DeSantis, who has been doing a lot of horrible things as the governor of the US State of Florida, trying to position himself as the Republican nominee for President over the head of that other horrible person. And Now: Jerry O'Connell's Wife is a Scorpio, And He Needs Help. A final word on the TV ads of local business Radiant Plumbing which includes, among many others, Mister Scream, The Toiletnator, The Toilet Exorcist and... Toilet Dune. Last Week Tonight challenged Radiant Plumbing to make their next commercial based on their prompt sight-unseen, in exchange for a $10K food bank contribution, and Radiant Plumbing has already agreed, in classic fashion.
F. 37: "Comic Sans," DILBERT, referring to the strip being dropped by its syndicate following racist remarks by its creator Scott Adams on his podcast.
Ron DeSantis: "Business Fred Flintstone."
B.D.E. stands for "big dick energy," a phrase that, unlike like Kari Lake says, you should not ask your kids about, or indeed any kids. The list of people with Big Dick Energy (which doesn't necessarily involve having a penis) is Bryan Cranston, Christine Baranski, the Pixar Lamp, Charles Darwin and Snoopy.
From "What Just Happened: Notes on a Long Year" by Charles Finch, DeSantis would tell dates that he liked Thai food, but pronounce it "thigh," to try to goad his date into correcting him. If they did, he would abandon the date because "he didn't want a girlfriend who corrected him."
Horrible things DeSantis has done:
* Urged his state's medical board to ban gender-affirming care for minors,
* Signed a 15-week abortion ban, and more recently suggested he'd be willing to sign a six-week ban.
* His "anti-riot" law was criticized by the United Nations. Key parts of it have also been blocked by a judge in a preliminary injunction, saying it could criminalize legally-protected speect and was vague to the point of unconstitutionality.
* His "Stop Social Media Censorship Act" threatened social media with fines for banning political candidates is also under a preliminary injunction, from a judge who told DeSantis' lawyers "I won't put you on the spot and ask if you've ever dealt with a statute that was more poorly drafted." (CBS News Miami)
* DeSantis sent armed cops, with guns drawn, to arrest inellgable people who had been accidentally added to voter rolls. (The Guardian)
* His "Parental Rights in Education" act, a.k.a. "Don't Say Gay," which is written to basically disallow all discussion of same sex relationships thoughout school, unlike what DeSantis claims.
* His "Stop W.O.K.E." act "limits the ways concepts related to systemic racism and sex discrimination can be discussed in [...] schools." (ACLU)
* While some claims about books banned by DeSantis in Florida schools are overblown, the picture of empty school shelves turn to be real, and "only approved books be included in any school library, and that approval must come from a certified media specialist." (Snopes) DeSantis has created an environment where any person in a community can challenge a book's presence in a school, including people without children and who have never read the books in question. (WPEC 12 News)
Florida Man stories:
"Shopper recorded shoving crossbow into his sweatpants at Florida store, sheriff says," Miami Herald, February 23, 2022 There is video.
"After police chase, Florida woman crosses 'getting arrested' off bucket list, deputies say," WFLA 8, NBC
"Florida man charged for throwing hot dog at St. Pete officer," WFLA 8, NBA, an act for which, if he's convicted, he faces a minimum of three years in jail. BECAUSE FLORIDA, HA HA.
And seriously, look through Radiant Plumbing's playlist linked in the main part of the post. I'm sure it'll be very poopular.
F. 37: "Comic Sans," DILBERT, referring to the strip being dropped by its syndicate following racist remarks by its creator Scott Adams on his podcast.
Ron DeSantis: "Business Fred Flintstone."
B.D.E. stands for "big dick energy," a phrase that, unlike like Kari Lake says, you should not ask your kids about, or indeed any kids. The list of people with Big Dick Energy (which doesn't necessarily involve having a penis) is Bryan Cranston, Christine Baranski, the Pixar Lamp, Charles Darwin and Snoopy.
From "What Just Happened: Notes on a Long Year" by Charles Finch, DeSantis would tell dates that he liked Thai food, but pronounce it "thigh," to try to goad his date into correcting him. If they did, he would abandon the date because "he didn't want a girlfriend who corrected him."
Horrible things DeSantis has done:
* Urged his state's medical board to ban gender-affirming care for minors,
* Signed a 15-week abortion ban, and more recently suggested he'd be willing to sign a six-week ban.
* His "anti-riot" law was criticized by the United Nations. Key parts of it have also been blocked by a judge in a preliminary injunction, saying it could criminalize legally-protected speect and was vague to the point of unconstitutionality.
* His "Stop Social Media Censorship Act" threatened social media with fines for banning political candidates is also under a preliminary injunction, from a judge who told DeSantis' lawyers "I won't put you on the spot and ask if you've ever dealt with a statute that was more poorly drafted." (CBS News Miami)
* DeSantis sent armed cops, with guns drawn, to arrest inellgable people who had been accidentally added to voter rolls. (The Guardian)
* His "Parental Rights in Education" act, a.k.a. "Don't Say Gay," which is written to basically disallow all discussion of same sex relationships thoughout school, unlike what DeSantis claims.
* His "Stop W.O.K.E." act "limits the ways concepts related to systemic racism and sex discrimination can be discussed in [...] schools." (ACLU)
* While some claims about books banned by DeSantis in Florida schools are overblown, the picture of empty school shelves turn to be real, and "only approved books be included in any school library, and that approval must come from a certified media specialist." (Snopes) DeSantis has created an environment where any person in a community can challenge a book's presence in a school, including people without children and who have never read the books in question. (WPEC 12 News)
Florida Man stories:
"Shopper recorded shoving crossbow into his sweatpants at Florida store, sheriff says," Miami Herald, February 23, 2022 There is video.
"After police chase, Florida woman crosses 'getting arrested' off bucket list, deputies say," WFLA 8, NBC
"Florida man charged for throwing hot dog at St. Pete officer," WFLA 8, NBA, an act for which, if he's convicted, he faces a minimum of three years in jail. BECAUSE FLORIDA, HA HA.
And seriously, look through Radiant Plumbing's playlist linked in the main part of the post. I'm sure it'll be very poopular.
Really puts the butt in Butlerian Jihad
posted by Cogito at 10:34 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Cogito at 10:34 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oliver's segment on DeSantis keeps popping up in my YouTube recommendations, but I'm avoiding it like the plague. The man makes my blood boil so much that I can't even. What a petty, vindictive prick.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:05 AM on March 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:05 AM on March 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
Ah, I forgot to add the Youtube link to the main story this time. Here it is, sorry for the reminder AlonzoMosleyFBI.
posted by JHarris at 1:53 PM on March 8, 2023
posted by JHarris at 1:53 PM on March 8, 2023
It's horrible to think that it may come down to Tr*mp or Meatball Ron and trying to think which would be worse. As an outsider it seems that the latter would be worse for USA and the former worse for the rest of the world.
posted by Marticus at 2:32 PM on March 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Marticus at 2:32 PM on March 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ron sounds like competent evil. So frankly, that might be worse.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:04 PM on March 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:04 PM on March 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
There's a short animation where the character front-centers then goes "poof" in a ring of smoke (ring plane perpendicular to an upright human observer).
posted by porpoise at 10:17 PM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by porpoise at 10:17 PM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Thai/'thigh' thing has off-the-charts levels of Tiny D energy.
posted by box at 5:07 AM on March 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by box at 5:07 AM on March 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
Does he mention DeSantis's time as a torturer at Gitmo? I just learned about that and it seems like an important insight into his character.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:35 PM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:35 PM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
Really hoping for a really nasty showdown between those two utter pricks, each airing all the dirty laundry of the other... oh please oh please.
posted by Glinn at 7:55 AM on March 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Glinn at 7:55 AM on March 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
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I bet it is annoying to be a Radiant plumbing mechanic though, and have people recapping toilet dune at you when you are just trying to unclog their damn toilet.
posted by the primroses were over at 9:16 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]