Governor DeSantis declares "Freedom Summer" by banning most of the rainbow for bridge lighting displays

Pommer · May 22, 2024

AlexB23 said:
Mine was Clinton as well.

So, Clinton, Bush (the lesser), Obama, Trump and Biden are within your living memory.
I remember playing outside with my friend Jimmy when Kennedy (JF) got assassinated, it was a sad time but we kept playing. The first President I actually remember was Johnson, (though I recall family discussions during the 1964 race), and when he decided he wasn’t going to run for re-election in ’68 it was Big News.

His Vice-president ran and got the nod for the Democratic Party, (Hubert Horatio Humphrey), but Nixon was too much for HHH.
I was visiting my brother and his wife when Nixon was sworn in in ‘72 and I got the “politics-bug”.
I voted for Carter in ‘76, Jerry Ford got to have all the fun during the Bicentennial, though, since he was POTUS then.

Carter was the first “outsider” President and tended to be a micromanager which was detrimental to his time in the White House, despite having solid majorities in the House and Senate (at least for the first half of his term), he couldn’t gain the trust of his own party and they left him high & dry when (ex) Saint Ronnie came to town. Carter’s “foreign policy” waxed brilliant until the Iranian revolution and all heck broke out.

Reagan‘s style markedly contrasted with Carter’s and tended to “delegate” a lot of pretty serious items to underlings; it was a wild ride! He also was noted to consult an astrologer and took naps after lunch.
His biggest contribution to the Conservative cause was his championing of “supply-side economics“ and instituted a fair amount of deficit-spending to bolster the military and (financially) broke the USSR when they tried to “keep up with the Reagans“.

Bush (the greater) was a natural politician, good at the job and had a solid and yea, verily, deep bench. But normal fluctuations in the economy coupled with Ross (The Spoiler) Perot sunk him which brings us up to Clinton, (the less).

AlexB23 · May 22, 2024

Pommer said:
So, Clinton, Bush (the lesser), Obama, Trump and Biden are within your living memory.
I remember playing outside with my friend Jimmy when Kennedy (JF) got assassinated, it was a sad time but we kept playing. The first President I actually remember was Johnson, (though I recall family discussions during the 1964 race), and when he decided he wasn’t going to run for re-election in ’68 it was Big News.

His Vice-president ran and got the nod for the Democratic Party, (Hubert Horatio Humphrey), but Nixon was too much for HHH.
I was visiting my brother and his wife when Nixon was sworn in in ‘72 and I got the “politics-bug”.
I voted for Carter in ‘76, Jerry Ford got to have all the fun during the Bicentennial, though, since he was POTUS then.

Carter was the first “outsider” President and tended to be a micromanager which was detrimental to his time in the White House, despite having solid majorities in the House and Senate (at least for the first half of his term), he couldn’t gain the trust of his own party and they left him high & dry when (ex) Saint Ronnie came to town. Carter’s “foreign policy” waxed brilliant until the Iranian revolution and all heck broke out.

Reagan‘s style markedly contrasted with Carter’s and tended to “delegate” a lot of pretty serious items to underlings; it was a wild ride! He also was noted to consult an astrologer and took naps after lunch.
His biggest contribution to the Conservative cause was his championing of “supply-side economics“ and instituted a fair amount of deficit-spending to bolster the military and (financially) broke the USSR when they tried to “keep up with the Reagans“.

Bush (the greater) was a natural politician, good at the job and had a solid and yea, verily, deep bench. But normal fluctuations in the economy coupled with Ross (The Spoiler) Perot sunk him which brings us up to Clinton, (the less).

Interesting story bro.

2PhiloVoid · May 23, 2024

essentialsaltes said:
Can't wait for Freedom Winter!

View attachment 348381

Nithavela · May 23, 2024

Will there be any other virtue signals or, dare I say, actual political action to increase people's freedom?

Handmaid for Jesus · May 23, 2024

Pommer said:
Clinton was your birth-president.
Mine was Ike.

Mine too.

SimplyMe · May 23, 2024

Pommer said:
So, Clinton, Bush (the lesser), Obama, Trump and Biden are within your living memory.
I remember playing outside with my friend Jimmy when Kennedy (JF) got assassinated, it was a sad time but we kept playing. The first President I actually remember was Johnson, (though I recall family discussions during the 1964 race), and when he decided he wasn’t going to run for re-election in ’68 it was Big News.

His Vice-president ran and got the nod for the Democratic Party, (Hubert Horatio Humphrey), but Nixon was too much for HHH.
I was visiting my brother and his wife when Nixon was sworn in in ‘72 and I got the “politics-bug”.
I voted for Carter in ‘76, Jerry Ford got to have all the fun during the Bicentennial, though, since he was POTUS then.

Carter was the first “outsider” President and tended to be a micromanager which was detrimental to his time in the White House, despite having solid majorities in the House and Senate (at least for the first half of his term), he couldn’t gain the trust of his own party and they left him high & dry when (ex) Saint Ronnie came to town. Carter’s “foreign policy” waxed brilliant until the Iranian revolution and all heck broke out.

Reagan‘s style markedly contrasted with Carter’s and tended to “delegate” a lot of pretty serious items to underlings; it was a wild ride! He also was noted to consult an astrologer and took naps after lunch.
His biggest contribution to the Conservative cause was his championing of “supply-side economics“ and instituted a fair amount of deficit-spending to bolster the military and (financially) broke the USSR when they tried to “keep up with the Reagans“.

Bush (the greater) was a natural politician, good at the job and had a solid and yea, verily, deep bench. But normal fluctuations in the economy coupled with Ross (The Spoiler) Perot sunk him which brings us up to Clinton, (the less).

It think the first political joke I recall is from Humphrey. There were jokes about how HHH stood for Ho Ho Ho. The joke I remember is Humphrey calling a press conference to tell people that HHH did not stand for "Ho Ho Ho" but instead was "Ha Ha Ha".

iluvatar5150 · May 23, 2024

AlexB23 said:
It is cool that a bridge has 1,800 LED lights on it. Perfect for a dance party, preferably to some 1980s pop such as Dancing in the Dark, or some more modern 2010s electronica. But yeah, it is sad why DeSantis is not even allowing the Floridians to light the bridge up for Juneteenth. Also, wouldn't it be awesome if people could vote for a color for each pier section on the bridge? For myself, a vote to have the pier in the middle to be colored teal or something would be nice.

It looks good in yellow/orange.

View attachment 348374

And for architecture nerds, here are the project details (names have been omitted), whew $15.6M for lights man? Thought it would be under $500K. Link: 432270-1-52-01 I-275 (Sunshine Skyway Bridge) Lighting
View attachment 348375

$500k for 1800 lights is $277 per fixture. That's the price range of low/mid-level DJ lighting, just to purchase, not to install.

I found the manufacturer of the fixtures that were installed:

Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge - Projects - Lumenpulse

The gateway to Tampa Bay is the four-mile long (6.7km), 430 feet (131m) high, Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This flagship bridge has undergone the installation of...

www.lumenpulse.com

These are IP66 rated (i.e. waterproof against strong jets of water, but not immersion) and several times brighter than a basic dj light.

The contract price of $15.6m comes out to $8,667 per fixture. What little I found of pricing on these lights suggests something in the range of $1-3000 per fixture, depending on options, volume, markup, etc. Then there's the required engineering design and review, custom mounting hardware, electrical and control systems, multiple miles of cabling, and a whole ton of labor.

The construction company that won the bid has a bunch of pictures of the job on their facebook page:

M & J Construction | Tarpon Springs FL

M & J Construction, Tarpon Springs, Florida. 102 dáma. We are a Florida Construction Company based in Tarpon Springs. We specialize in DOT contracting and coatings.

www.facebook.com

It does not surprise me at all that it cost several thousand dollars to install each light on the side of a very busy bridge.

ThatRobGuy · May 23, 2024

Just to play devil's advocate here, I know this is being portrayed as DeSantis "taking a shot" at certain communities by cancelling certain bridge lighting displays.

But is there any chance that it is just a case where he wants them to be red/white/blue as a symbol of American Independence?

I know it's easy to point to the Juneteenth and Pride displays getting cancelled as perceived evidence of some nefarious motive...and perhaps if those were the only two that got cancelled, it may be a theory worth considering.

But, Per the article, there were a few cancer awareness ones and an autism one that got cancelled as well. To my knowledge, there's no "political animus" between republicans and people with cancer or autism as those two conditions are still apolitical at the current juncture. Plus, he's already dropped out the presidential race, and seems to have a commanding grasp on the Governor's chair, so pandering doesn't seem like it would be likely or necessary for him at this current time.

iluvatar5150 · May 23, 2024

ThatRobGuy said:
Just to play devil's advocate here, I know this is being portrayed as DeSantis "taking a shot" at certain communities by cancelling certain bridge lighting displays.

But is there any chance that it is just a case where he wants them to be red/white/blue as a symbol of American Independence?

I know it's easy to point to the Juneteenth and Pride displays getting cancelled as perceived evidence of some nefarious motive...and perhaps if those were the only two that got cancelled, it may be a theory worth considering.

But, Per the article, there were a few cancer awareness ones and an autism one that got cancelled as well. To my knowledge, there's no "political animus" between republicans and people with cancer or autism as those two conditions are still apolitical at the current juncture. Plus, he's already dropped out the presidential race, and seems to have a commanding grasp on the Governor's chair, so pandering doesn't seem like it would be likely or necessary for him at this current time.

This plan can kill multiple birds with one stone:

It nukes displays for specific things he doesn't like (e.g. Pride day).
It nukes the general "woke" vibes of having displays for all manner of awareness days (whether or not he approves of specific instances).
It throws positive signals to the America First crowd.
It eliminates some amount of bureaucracy required to approve the displays.

wing2000 · May 23, 2024

ThatRobGuy said:
But is there any chance that it is just a case where he wants them to be red/white/blue as a symbol of American Independence?

For the entire summer?
I could understand it if 2024 had some signficance in American history....such as the 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026, but what is special about 2024? Oh right, an election.....

durangodawood · May 23, 2024

ThatRobGuy said:
Just to play devil's advocate here, I know this is being portrayed as DeSantis "taking a shot" at certain communities by cancelling certain bridge lighting displays.

But is there any chance that it is just a case where he wants them to be red/white/blue as a symbol of American Independence?

I know it's easy to point to the Juneteenth and Pride displays getting cancelled as perceived evidence of some nefarious motive...and perhaps if those were the only two that got cancelled, it may be a theory worth considering.

But, Per the article, there were a few cancer awareness ones and an autism one that got cancelled as well. To my knowledge, there's no "political animus" between republicans and people with cancer or autism as those two conditions are still apolitical at the current juncture. Plus, he's already dropped out the presidential race, and seems to have a commanding grasp on the Governor's chair, so pandering doesn't seem like it would be likely or necessary for him at this current time.

I think "cancer awareness" etc just has to go under the bus so that awkward reminders of the US as a slaving state - which could cause undue stress and guilt among white people - are turned off.

rambot · May 23, 2024

I'm sure it's at least partly a "Canada thing" but I really REALLY don't understand the jingoism in the US. It's just too much for me.

In my hometown of Edmonton here, we have a nice bridge that also gets lit up....

Local hockey team! (Oiler's playing Dallas Stars in the Western Final tonight!!!)

Local football Team

Support Ukraine:

And of course:

We even have a calendar telling us what colours on which nights:
Light the Bridge | City of Edmonton

I have to wonder why it's so important to make life just a teensy tiniest bit crappier for gay people.

I think it's great that the bridge gets lit up in support of different events and communities. But maybe, again that Canada's multiculturalism...and the idolatry of the American flag is the melting pot of America; maybe that's the difference.

There are SOOOOOO many different events and communities that the only reason why a person would feel left out is if the purposefully never participate in ANY communities. And that's their fault.

AlexB23 · May 23, 2024

iluvatar5150 said:
$500k for 1800 lights is $277 per fixture. That's the price range of low/mid-level DJ lighting, just to purchase, not to install.

I found the manufacturer of the fixtures that were installed:

Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge - Projects - Lumenpulse

The gateway to Tampa Bay is the four-mile long (6.7km), 430 feet (131m) high, Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This flagship bridge has undergone the installation of...

www.lumenpulse.com

These are IP66 rated (i.e. waterproof against strong jets of water, but not immersion) and several times brighter than a basic dj light.

The contract price of $15.6m comes out to $8,667 per fixture. What little I found of pricing on these lights suggests something in the range of $1-3000 per fixture, depending on options, volume, markup, etc. Then there's the required engineering design and review, custom mounting hardware, electrical and control systems, multiple miles of cabling, and a whole ton of labor.

The construction company that won the bid has a bunch of pictures of the job on their facebook page:

M & J Construction | Tarpon Springs FL

M & J Construction, Tarpon Springs, Florida. 102 dáma. We are a Florida Construction Company based in Tarpon Springs. We specialize in DOT contracting and coatings.

www.facebook.com

It does not surprise me at all that it cost several thousand dollars to install each light on the side of a very busy bridge.

Hey, thanks for enLightening me on this matter.

My phone is IP67, so it is a little more water proof compared to these lights. By the way, the bulb manufacturer is Canadian: https://storage.googleapis.com/lume...fullspecsheet-na-en-imperial.pdf?t=1704203342

ThatRobGuy · May 28, 2024

wing2000 said:
For the entire summer?
I could understand it if 2024 had some signficance in American history....such as the 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026, but what is special about 2024? Oh right, an election.....

Right, but as I noted, it's an election that he's not in.

He dropped out of the presidential race, and his Gov seat isn't up again until 2026.

ThatRobGuy · May 28, 2024

iluvatar5150 said:
This plan can kill multiple birds with one stone:

It nukes displays for specific things he doesn't like (e.g. Pride day).

It nukes the general "woke" vibes of having displays for all manner of awareness days (whether or not he approves of specific instances).

It throws positive signals to the America First crowd.

It eliminates some amount of bureaucracy required to approve the displays.

That's very possible...

Although, I guess the "devil's advocate pushback" to that would be (for each of the bullet points)

1) The Latest: Governor lays flowers at Pulse nightclub

He very publicly went to lay flowers at Pulse nightclub 3 years after the shooting that happened there and issued a proclamation stating that Florida wouldn't tolerate hate toward the LGBT communities, and that was in an election lead-up season.

2) Shouldn't awareness days be reserved for things/issues that actually need awareness raised? This part isn't "devil's advocate", this is me... If there's an issue/concern that people, largely, are not aware of, then "awareness-based" displays and events make perfect sense. If it's an issue that everyone's already very well aware of, and that's being discussed ad-nauseum on every mainstream outlet, what exactly does an "awareness" display accomplish? -- which raises the question, is it really about awareness, or is it more about gloating/needling an opposing faction? In practical terms (meaning, what does it accomplish, and what does it make people aware of that they weren't already well-aware), how does an LGBT pride/awareness event differ from the "Draw Muhammed" event? From the surface, both are events that claim to "raise awareness" (in something everyone was already aware of) and "exhibit pride" in exercising a right that people already knew existed.

Let's be honest here...I don't think either of us are so naive as to believe that a lot of things that are done in the name of "raising awareness" are actually done to shock/offend under the guise of "exercising rights and raising awareness".

The thing that open carry demonstrations and certain gay pride rallies both have in common is that "needle the other side" isn't a bug, but rather viewed as a "feature". Part of the point was to "make people from the other side uncomfortable".

3) Shouldn't everyone who's American have at least some measure of an "America First" mentality? After all, it is Americans who are paying taxes to keep the "American Experiment" afloat.

4) I would say the accompanying "tax holiday" that's being run in conjunction with it (and benefits everyone in the state) appeals more to the "anti-taxation" crowd than a narrow bureaucracy carve-out.

iluvatar5150 · May 28, 2024

ThatRobGuy said:
That's very possible...

Although, I guess the "devil's advocate pushback" to that would be (for each of the bullet points)

1) The Latest: Governor lays flowers at Pulse nightclub

He very publicly went to lay flowers at Pulse nightclub 3 years after the shooting that happened there and issued a proclamation stating that Florida wouldn't tolerate hate toward the LGBT communities, and that was in an election lead-up season.

2) Shouldn't awareness days be reserved for things/issues that actually need awareness raised? This part isn't "devil's advocate", this is me... If there's an issue/concern that people, largely, are not aware of, then "awareness-based" displays and events make perfect sense. If it's an issue that everyone's already very well aware of, and that's being discussed ad-nauseum on every mainstream outlet, what exactly does an "awareness" display accomplish? -- which raises the question, is it really about awareness, or is it more about gloating/needling an opposing faction? In practical terms (meaning, what does it accomplish, and what does it make people aware of that they weren't already well-aware), how does an LGBT pride/awareness event differ from the "Draw Muhammed" event? From the surface, both are events that claim to "raise awareness" (in something everyone was already aware of) and "exhibit pride" in exercising a right that people already knew existed.

Let's be honest here...I don't think either of us are so naive as to believe that a lot of things that are done in the name of "raising awareness" are actually done to shock/offend under the guise of "exercising rights and raising awareness".

The thing that open carry demonstrations and certain gay pride rallies both have in common is that "needle the other side" isn't a bug, but rather viewed as a "feature". Part of the point was to "make people from the other side uncomfortable".

3) Shouldn't everyone who's American have at least some measure of an "America First" mentality? After all, it is Americans who are paying taxes to keep the "American Experiment" afloat.

4) I would say the accompanying "tax holiday" that's being run in conjunction with it (and benefits everyone in the state) appeals more to the "anti-taxation" crowd than a narrow bureaucracy carve-out.

It’s hard to overstate how little I care about these light displays. I tend to roll my eyes at most “awareness” displays and I really roll my eyes at anybody going gung ho with “red white and blue” stuff.

If it were up to me, I’d either open it up to local artists to submit display ideas or do something like what google does with their doodles, by picking a bunch of interesting, lesser-known things to highlight.

essentialsaltes · Jun 2, 2024

Anti-Freedom Summer Activists "lined the pedestrian walkway of the Main Street bridge and simultaneously turned on high-powered flashlights that lit the bridge in a ribbon of rainbow colors arching above the St. Johns River" in Jacksonville.

The complicated hues of light sapped liberty from the very bones of the city's shocked residents and a bevy of anxious tourists.

Confusing the concept of "doing something voluntarily" with "freedom", one of the fascists responsible for organizing this affront to the season's approved color scheme said, "If this is about freedom, let's go exercise our freedom, and that's what is so special about what we did tonight."

essentialsaltes · Tuesday at 5:24 PM

Freedom Summer comes with a Freedom Fund.

DeSantis’ ‘Freedom Fund’ will target abortion, pot amendments on Florida ballot

The committee — called the Florida Freedom Fund — was quietly launched late last month and its official chair is James Uthmeier, the governor’s chief of staff who also worked as campaign manager for DeSantis’ run for president.

“As Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to lead our great state, the Florida Freedom Fund will be championing issues and candidates committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom,” said Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for the governor. “From up and down ballot races to critical amendments, we’re steadfast in our mission to keep Florida free.”

The Fox News poll said that 69 percent of registered voters supported the abortion access measure, while 66 percent supported the initiative on marijuana. Florida initiatives need a yes vote of 60 percent or more to pass.

Just as Floridians have the freedom to select any of the three most freedom-packed colors for bridge lighting, the governor hopes to increase other freedoms by eliminating the less freedom-packed options.

Governor DeSantis declares "Freedom Summer" by banning most of the rainbow for bridge lighting displays

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DeSantis’ ‘Freedom Fund’ will target abortion, pot amendments on Florida ballot​

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DeSantis’ ‘Freedom Fund’ will target abortion, pot amendments on Florida ballot