“DeSantis Made Me!” Cries Disney

DIS didn’t abandon their plan to move 2,000 Cali workers over DeSantis [The Rude Awakening] May 22, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( “DeSantis Made Me!” Cries Disney - Leftist Social Media and MSM believe DIS halted the move of 2,000 Cali workers and a $1 billion investment because of the DeSantis feud. - DIS stock fell 44% last year, and the Disney Plus streaming service lost 4 million subscribers last quarter. - As usual, the wrong people at a bloated, struggling company kept their jobs and produced failure after failure. Now they’ve got to cut costs. [[CHART] Could Inflation Hit 20%+ In 2023?]( [Click here to learn more]( Take a close look at this scary chart pictured here… What you see is the money supply in America… And as you can see, the number of dollars in circulation has exploded in the last few years. In fact, more than 80% of all dollars to ever exist have been printed since just 2020 alone! Which is why some say inflation could soon explode even higher than it is now, to 20% or more. And if you’re at or near retirement age you must take action now to protect yourself… otherwise you risk losing everything. [Simply click here now to see how to survive America’s deadly inflation crisis](. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Dear Reader, Good morning from a soggy but sunny Asti. We’ve had crazy amounts of rain in Italy. You may have read about the floods in Emilia-Romagna. Luckily, we haven’t been hit here in Asti. But the ground needs a respite to soak up all the water before more rain comes. I landed in Italy on Friday. I’ve never been so grateful. Delta switched out our plane at the last minute for a vintage model. I wasn’t sure if we’d make it all the way across the Atlantic. I think I heard Princess Leia ask, “Would you like me to get out and push?” But we made it without incident, thankfully. Pam picked me up at Milan Malpensa airport, and then we drove 90 minutes to our apartment. My days and nights are still upside down, but I’ll get over it. And I’m still missing my Paradigm peeps and looking forward to our next offsite! Of course, when I checked my Twitter feed, various bits of nonsense were scrolling before my eyes. But the biggest load of horsefeathers came from leftist Twitter, supposedly celebrating how Disney halted a $1 billion investment in Orlando and a 2,000-person move from California. Liars. Yes, they are liars. How do I know this? One, DIS’s financials aren’t what they used to be. And two, the YouTubers have been killing DIS for ages now. YouTubers Know All Pam and I often watch YouTube to escape when we’re not traveling. We’ll watch videos of all the places we want to go to… and the places we’ve been if we feel nostalgic. The other big thing I watch YouTube for are the movie trailers and reviews. And there are no better reviewers than [Nerdrotic]( [The Critical Drinker]( and [Ryan Kinel](. They have pilloried DIS for their awful live-action remakes, ignored lore, and politicized screenwriting. Much of what I write about today comes from their research. I thank them wholeheartedly for their hard work. But first, let’s recap the “feud.” DeSantis Pulls Disney’s Special District… and Then Gives It Back. I’ll do this in bullet points to make the chronology easier. - In March 2022, the governor signed into law the Parental Rights in Education Act, often referred to by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This perfectly sensible legislation prohibited classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in lower elementary school grades. - Disney said nothing, which pissed off its employees. Next, then-CEO Bob Chapek made a cringe, groveling apology to his employees and promised to be a better ally. He was later fired anyway. - DIS’s special district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, allowed the theme park to make its own decisions on the planning and permitting process for construction on its property, to levy taxes to pay for its own fire and medical response services, and even to generate some of its electricity. This saved the company untold millions. - DeSantis pulled the special district from Disney… until he realized taxpayers in Orange and Osceola Counties would have to pay for Disney World services like fire protection, policing, and road maintenance. The district also carried roughly $1 billion in bond debt, which would have been transferred to the counties. - So… DIS still has its district, renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. But Governor DeSantis appoints the members of the tax district’s five-member oversight board. - DIS rewrote some covenants into the new agreement that circumvented the new board’s power. - The State of Florida nullified the agreement. Then, on May 17th, DIS canceled a long-planned office complex and a move of 2,000 California-based employees to Florida. Of course, the left media blamed this on DeSantis. But DeSantis spokesman, Jerry Redfern, kicked Disney right in the goolies. He said, “Given the company's financial straits, falling market cap, and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.” Ouchy! Is Redfern correct? Yes, I think he is. [The U.S. is Turning RED!]( This map shows a disturbing global trend you NEED to know about… [Click here to learn more]( [CLICK HERE To See When the U.S. Will Turn Red]( As you can see… Right now the U.S. is still “yellow”… But thanks to a sinister move Biden just made… The U.S. could soon “turn RED”! And if that happens… Every dollar you own could be made worthless – or even confiscated. [Click here NOW to learn how to protect yourself before the U.S. turns red](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Iger, Feige, and Kennedy Are Still in Their Seats Last November, I wrote, “[Disney Should’ve Fired Feige and Kennedy, Too!]( I stand by that post and would double down. Bob Iger was reinstated as CEO when Chapek was fired. Iger had been the Executive Chairman after vacating the CEO’s seat in 2020, leaving Chapek to hold the COVID bag. Kevin Feige is a spent force. [Marvel Phase 4 sucked](. And Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t know her ass from a hole in the ground. It proves that just because you were Spielberg’s secretary doesn’t mean you’ll become Spielberg one day. She’s just awful. The Force is not, in fact, female. The Force is something Kennedy doesn’t feel at all. Her next plan is for yet another Rey Palpatine/Skywalker movie no one wants, needs, or asked for. And we haven’t even gotten to Pixar, 20th Century Fox, or the rest of DIS’s holdings. But let’s get financial. Look at this chart. [chart] You don’t need to be a technical analyst to see that the chart goes from the upper left to the lower right. DIS stock lost 44% in 2022. It’s up about $4 year-to-date. Disney Plus lost 4 million subscribers in the last three months. [Willow and many other titles are gone.]( Hulu and ESPN+ are unprofitable. Allegedly, Disney Plus lost the rights to the Indian Premier League (Cricket) in 2022. Somehow, that loss is only hitting them now. Outside of India, the subscriber count grew by 600,000. Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm should be written down. These pieces of intellectual property aren’t worth what they used to be. But to write them down would be an enormous admission of failure. It’s scary, but have a look at these stinkers: Pixar and Disney Animation Pixar’s Lightyear was just one big flop. The movie, about the Toy Story character, just wasn’t what Toy Story fans wanted. It lost $106 million. Worse was Walt Disney Animation’s Strange Worlds. That lost $197.4 million. I know. I haven’t heard of it, either. M-She-U [All girls and no boys]( make the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) a dull world. It seems no one watched Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, or Hawkeye (which was more about Clint Barton’s replacement than his character). The Marvels movie will surely flop, as did Black Widow, Shang Chi, and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 was supposed to be the “big win” Disney needed to get the MCU back on track. It has grossed about $657 million worldwide. But with Fast X in the theaters now, it’ll have a tough time getting to $800 million. Star Wars I won’t write about the woeful sequel trilogy. It sucked, and the world knows it. As do most of the Disney Plus Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But Disney has now decided to nix the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel at Disney World. From [The New York Post]( Fans reacted to Disney’s decision to shutter its ultra-expensive Star Wars-themed luxury hotel, which boasted rooms that ranged from $6,000 for a two-night stay for a family of four to an eye-popping $20,000 for a “tricked-out suite.” The “Star Wars” Galactic Starcruiser hotel, which opened in March 2022 at Disney World, said Thursday it will close its doors on Sept. 28 — less than two years after opening — amid struggles to fill the 100-room facility. One user on Reddit said: “Hmmmm…so you mean to tell me that Disney opened a crappy, cinder-block hotel filled with bad cosplay, cheap sets, silly acting theatre, basic arcade games, cell-like beds, and bland space windows, charged $5,000+ for a two-night stay…and somehow, this did not attract the average person into purchasing said experience enough to keep it afloat?” Kathleen Kennedy destroyed this intellectual property. Indiana Jones Speaking of Kennedy destroying IP, Indiana Jones is next. Harrison Ford got an emotional standing ovation before the movie began. The ovation for the film itself was tepid at best. Bored viewers were whispering in French throughout the showing. That’s what happens when you start the movie with a drunk Indiana Jones looking over his divorce papers. An 80-year-old getting divorced in 1969? Piss off… The live-action remakes are awful. From The Little Mermaid to Peter Pan and Wendy to Aladdin, the live-action remakes are primarily flops. They’re made for modern audiences, except no one wants to watch them today, especially when overconfident writers change the plot completely. Wrap Up Disney is producing crap content, and it’s paying for it. Put simply, not as many people watch Disney shows and films as they once did. Blaming DeSantis for canceling a move is cunning, designed to take the heat off. But ultimately, it’s untrue. DIS just has bigger fish to fry, and it’s got to conserve as much cash as possible. Office moves are luxuries, not necessities. Have a great week ahead! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Rickards and DDB Unreserved About the Fed [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning! I’ll be in Asti by the time you read this. But I’m writing from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the Delta Sky Lounge. I have another 3 hours to wait until I take off, so I thought I’d write now. Yesterday’s Rude was about how a few of us at Paradigm Press are starting to think the Fed will hike again this June meeting. That conversation took place right before Jim and Danielle’s livestream. But what’s interesting to me is what Jim and Danielle said about that very topic during the livestream. Jim Rickards’ Managing Editor, Frank DeVechio, straordinario paesano, gave me a copy of the transcript before we departed from Jekyll Island. Thank goodness for Frank! If you attended the livestream, this will help refresh your memory. If you didn’t, no worries! It’s tough getting time off at 1 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. We know that and totally understand. So you don’t miss what Jim and Danielle said, it’s on the livestream below. The Conversation Danielle DiMartino Booth: Because remember, at this juncture, any of Powell's three predecessors would've buckled under the pressure by now. And right now, there's what? There's a 23% chance that there's going to be another rate hike on June 14th. So it is business as usual. However, we're in a tightening regime, in recession. We had revisions to January and February retail control that feed into the GDP calculus. That was an annual revision. We don't... Every time... We're chasing ourselves right now. We've had three months of revisions in a row to non-farm payrolls. That is a recession indicator, not lagging, but it tells you that we're currently in recession, and the Fed's tightening into it. So we're in uncharted territory right now. And I would venture to say the closest corollary that you could draw right now, and I don't know, Jim, if you would agree with me or not, would be the double dip recession of the early 1980s. Jim Rickards: That has a lot of the characteristics, and it may be more true when going-forward basis. Not to get too far in the weeds, but Powell, right now, and the board, are facing one of the most critical decisions. Are they going to raise rates in June or not? They have a meeting on June 14th. Now Wall Street consensus is, they're done. The pause is in. Paul Tudor Jones was on TV the other day. Ray Dalio, like now this is it. Wall Street's putting out the message. The pause is in, they're not going to raise rates, so buy stocks. And so Wall Street's punchline is buy stocks. I'm not so sure. I think they might raise rates in June. Now I'm not ready to put a stake in the ground and say that's definitely going to happen. By the way, we'll know before the meeting what they're going to do. This is the no-drama Fed. Powell will leak it out. But we might not know until a few days before. The correct answer is the Fed doesn't know. It's not like they know, and they've got locked in a vault. We got to crack the safe. They don't know themselves. There is no consensus. When they say data dependent, they mean data dependent. So between now and then, we're going to get some data. We're going to get a May employment report on June 2nd or June 3rd. We're going to have at least one more CPI, at least one more PCE, maybe two, before June 14th. And we'll have a pretty good read on second-quarter GDP. We won't have the final numbers until the end of July, but we'll have a good sense. And then a lot of other indicators, Danielle's referred to some of them. So they're going to look at all that data. But are there warning signs? Absolutely. And Danielle's right about that. But, at the more superficial levels, like, hey, unemployment's the lowest since the 1960s. Atlanta Fed right now has got second-quarter GDP at 2.7%. So some of these things are depending on what indicators you're looking at. And by the way, inflation's still around 5%. Now, they got it from nine to five. Nice job. But five's a far cry from two, and it gets progressively more difficult. Considering everything they've done. Volker was famous for raising interest rates to 20%, but he didn't do 5% in one year, which is what we've just seen. So this curve, this rate hike curve, it's kind of a step, what was it? Greenspan. This thing goes parabolic. So enormous monetary tightening, reducing the balance sheet, not rolling over maturing securities. We see what's... Well, I mean banks, there are about a trillion dollars of losses not marked to market, but on all bank portfolios in the entire system, they're underwater by about a trillion dollars. Now, they're not marked to market, it's not on the income statement, but that's a big loss that they've had to absorb as a result of... So with all that in place, inflation's still 5%, what do you got for an encore? Right? And, to Danielle's point, it kind of looks like '80, '81, here's what happened then. Volker got in in, I think, in August 1979. He started raising interest rates almost immediately because that's why he was appointed, to do something about inflation. We had G. William Miller, who was possibly the worst Fed chairman ever. And before that, you had Arthur Burns who was well regarded, but just put the pedal to the medal for Nixon's reelection and a lot else. So inflation was out of control, and Volker was there to stop it. But in the middle of that, there was a very sharp recession in 1980, about a year after Volker came in that had nothing to do with monetary policy. The card administration put a cap on interest that banks could charge on credit cards. So there's no better way to shut down the economy than say you can't use your credit. Well, the banks could stop issuing credit. It's not like individuals didn't want to use the cards, but the banks said, "We're not issuing you credit if we have to adhere to that cap," sort of like slamming on the brakes. So the economy crashed in 1980. So this is when farmers were surrounding the Fed with heavy equipment and driving tractors and steps and all that. So Volker cut… [Have you opted-out of the radical democrats “green new scam”?]( If you live in any of the following 43 states… [Click here to learn more]( You need to [click here and prepare for Biden’s next attack on American patriots.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Danielle DiMartino Booth: That was very, very short. It was six months. Jim Rickards: Six months. Danielle DiMartino Booth: So until 2020, that was the shortest recession in US history. Jim Rickards: That's correct. But that's because Congress realized a mistake, the White House realized a mistake and they reversed course. So that recession had nothing to do with monetary policy. It was a regulatory blunder by the Carter White House. But Volker sitting there, chairman of the Fed, he's being like burned in effigy. He cut interest rates, seven points, not percent, not seven-tenths, but seven points to deal with the recession. He thought that was his job. To this day, that's known as the Volker mistake. In other words, it wasn't mission accomplished. Inflation was not under control. The recession was there, yeah. But when he cut rates that much, the inflation came roaring back, and then his job was twice as difficult. So that's why it was in 1981, that interest rates hit 20%, and we went into the second recession that Danielle referred to. This economist debate, where is that back to back, or was it one big recession? Probably back to back is the correct interpretation. But that '82 recession that resulted from that, at the time, was the worst since the Great Depression. Wrap Up Jim and Danielle’s livestream was excellent. I hope you enjoyed this snippet. I certainly did. I always worry if I disagree with Jim and Danielle. Have a great weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. 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