Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And, this is "news?"
Man, liberals sure are scared of DeSantis.
I’m scared. Should I not be?
He is also a scared control freak. Only a frightened man forbids saying certain words or reading certain books. Strong people don’t do that.
DP
A control freak who is also building a private military that answers only to him.
https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-100m-private-florida-army-raises-questions-1786877
Oh, FFS. You are suffering from paranoia.
This, from the Brennan Center for Justice in Dec. 2021......
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/reestablishing-floridas-state-guard-wont-give-desantis-private-army
In practice, though, what DeSantis is proposing is unlikely to pose the threat that his opponents fear: that of a powerful, private state army that can operate as a kind of National Guard free from federal control.
For starters, a “state defense force” — also known as a state military, state military force, state militia, state military reserve, or, in Florida’s case, a state guard — is not a new or unusual concept. Both state defense forces and the National Guard are modern versions of the “Militia” contemplated by the Constitution. State defense forces are authorized by Congress under 32 U.S.C. § 109. Twenty-two states, including California, Texas, and New York, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico currently maintain state defense forces, and many more states have laws that allow for their creation.
In practice, state defense forces tend to be small, auxiliary forces trained in specialized areas such as search and rescue operations and used to support their states’ National Guard. The defense force DeSantis has in mind is no exception. He is calling for a force of 200 volunteers and asking for $3.5 million from the state legislature to train and equip them. The Florida National Guard, by contrast, consists of nearly 12,000 military personnel, employs an additional 450 civilians, and receives more than $454 million in federal funds and about $18 million in state funding annually.
There is thus little risk of a state defense force serving as a significant counterweight to the federally-regulated National Guard. Nor could it somehow replace the Guard; under 32 U.S.C § 104(f), states cannot disband their National Guard without the president’s consent or even reduce their Guard’s strength below the minimum set by the president.
And, from your link:
the purpose......
"to help with emergency response measures and to back up the Florida National Guard."
"The Florida Defence Force, later renamed the State Guard, was formed in 1941 shortly before the U.S. entered World War II, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt federalized the existing National Guard. In 1947 the unit was disbanded, after which it would lay dormant for over 70 years.
A number of U.S. states have state defense forces in some form, many of them geared towards assisting with disaster relief—a major issue in hurricane-prone Florida.
Governor DeSantis announced the Florida State Guard would be reformed in December 2021, and the following year the state legislature approved $10 million to raise a force of 400 soldiers.
Speaking in June 2022 DeSantis said: "The Florida State Guard will be comprised of Floridians, and it will be assigned to assist and help only Floridians.
"It will not be subject to be mobilized by the federal government, and the federal government cannot impose policies or penalties on the Florida State Guard."
Appearing before the Florida Senate's Appropriations Committee, Chris Spencer, DeSantis' director of policy and budget, said the enlarged State Guard would support the National Guard."