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In: Spanking

Every two weeks, we get a shipment of food from Nutrisystem. Every two weeks I try to cram new breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks into our freezer. If we had thought it out, we should have eaten more of the freezer inventory before we went on a diet. Since we’ve been having random “cheat” nights, we’ve gotten behind on our dinners. Cramming the new stuff in is getting more difficult. I’ve been throwing away older food, but it was clear tomorrow’s shipment was a problem. There was only one solution we could think of.

No, we didn’t have a buffet for the neighborhood. We went online to see if it was feasible to buy another freezer. It couldn’t be expensive, and we needed it by today. When it was clear no delivery would make it in time, we moved on the the next criteria: it had to fit in the car. Luckily, we found one that checked all the boxes. After work, we picked it up and then I wrestled it into the house. I cleared a spot for it, and, once it had been upright overnight, I plugged it in this morning. It’s quietly chugging away getting ready for the food delivery tomorrow.

Needless to say, I was fairly achy after lifting, unpacking and lugging the freezer. I didn’t feel up to spanking Lion. Today is punishment day, so it all works out anyway. He’ll get his buns whomped tonight. It’s been a while. I guess, technically, I could spank him for leaving the light on in his office twice in the past few days. Or for leaving the kitchen light on. But I know it’s difficult for him to see, so it’s possible he doesn’t know they’re still on. I’ll just give him his five minutes of furious paddling and let it go at that. I don’t think he’ll argue.

By:
In: Lion's Journal

Yesterday, in my post “The Governor And The Mouse,” I went off-topic to talk about Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican vendetta against The Walt Disney Company. I’ve only done this a few times in the past. I thought a lot about making this move before I did it. Other bloggers, notably right-wing sex bloggers, have used their platforms to support their political positions. It’s tempting since their blogs are popular. Well, so is ours.

I understand that you probably came here to read about sex, male chastity, and domestic discipline. Over 99.9% of our posts are on-brand. I also understand if you don’t particularly care about the non-sexual topics I occasionally discuss. I don’t want to be snotty, but too bad. We pay to publish our blog and can make the editorial choices that we want.

The reason I decided to add non-sexual content is that I know most of the people who practice male chastity and domestic discipline are intelligent. We are willing to go our own ways. I’m hoping that also means our community thinks about what’s happening in the world today.

This winter, unprecedented storms have killed thousands of people. Our weather has become harsher. This is because our atmosphere is more energetic thanks to global warming. We are in a difficult time. It’s made worse by the ease of disseminating fake news. I do my best to be accurate in what I discuss. Since I pick and choose what I write, there is a natural bias to my posts. However, I make sure my facts are correct.

When it comes to some subjects, I only know what I read. Other knowledge comes from direct experience. Of course, I have strong feelings about some subjects. That doesn’t mean that I write about all of them. I only write about those that are particularly important to me and seem to be getting weak coverage in the news.

Anyway, I’m sorry if you didn’t get what you wanted yesterday or today. I promise that tomorrow my post will be sexual.

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In: Spanking

There hasn’t been any action around here in a few days. Monday was the day after orgasm, so it’s usually slow then. Last night, I was catching up on laundry. I haven’t been sleeping well again. Some nights I wake up a lot and I haven’t figured out why. I just know I’m struggling to stay awake at my desk.

I was trained on another task yesterday. I’d already decided I wasn’t going to panic if I was hit by weirdness. Things usually don’t go smoothly for the first week or so of a new concept. Then, suddenly, it seems clear. That’s not to say there aren’t still weird situations. By then, I guess, I’m a little more confident about where to look for answers. It also helps that the trainers remember how they felt when they were new. And they still come across weird ones too.

It’s been a while since Lion has broken a rule. This morning, I was thinking maybe it’s time for a refresher course for his buns. I’m sure he can benefit from a five minute meeting of paddle and tush. Notice I didn’t say he’d like it. That’s irrelevant. I believe most things that are good for you are not enjoyable. Eating my veggies? Not a fan. Exercise? No, thank you. Still, I know I should. Lion won’t like those swats while he’s getting them. However, he knows they are good for him.

By:
In: Lion's Journal

I can’t remain silent about the absolutely insane feud Florida governor Ron DeSantis has started with Walt Disney World. If you haven’t been following it, here’s what it’s about. Over fifty years ago Walt Disney decided to create a mega theme park on the East Coast. He quietly bought up 27,000 acres of orange groves and swampland in central Florida. He asked the Florida legislature to create a special tax zone to manage it.

This may seem odd. Certainly, the way the Florida Republicans spin it, you would think it was a trick Disney pulled to avoid taxes and lawful control by the state and local governments. Actually, Walt Disney wanted to avoid the problems he had in Anaheim, California, with Disneyland. Local governments allowed unchecked development right up to the gates of the park. Walt hated the honky tonk.

He wasn’t going to make that mistake in Florida. He bought 43 square miles of land as a way of insulating his resorts from external commercial development. He didn’t want to deal with the local governments of at least two counties that contained the land he bought. The state established the Reedy Creek Development District. This was an independent agency that was granted control over Disney’s land.

Walt wanted control

Why would Disney need this special district? After all, the company owned the land and should be able to do what it wanted as long as the use was safe. Well, no. Local governments have the right to set building codes that govern how structures must be constructed. They can establish zoning areas that dictate what sort of activity can take place in a part of their jurisdictions. Disney feared that local politics would tangle up his plans for the massive resort.

He wasn’t wrong. Local residents were furious when they learned that the various real estate companies that bought land at low prices were owned by Disney. The Orlando newspapers were filled with angry articles condemning the mouse house. Also, rural Florida county governments were unlikely to understand the needs of a project like Disney World.

For fifty years the Reedy Creek Development District board established building codes, zoning, fire and police protection, and roads for the massive resort. The board was elected by Disney and supported its goals. DeSantis describes this as an anti-democratic move by a greedy company. He’s horribly wrong.

First and foremost, Disney World has grown to be Florida’s largest single employer. Over 70,000 Florida residents work there. Orlando has grown from a rural area into one of the country’s premiere vacation destinations. Tax revenues and Florida business profits have benefited from Disney World.

walt was right and Florida won

Reedy Creek has proven to be an excellent steward of its domain. The roads are excellent and well-maintained. It pays local sheriff’s departments to provide police protection and traffic enforcement. Disney’s building standards far exceed any local or national building codes. In short, the entire Disney World enterprise, including Reedy Creek has a half-century record of excellent operations. Beyond that, it has issued over a billion dollars in bonds to cover infrastructure construction. The Walt Disney Company was paying back bondholders.

When former Disney president Bob Chapik condemned the DeSantis anti-LGBTQ legislation that forbade teachers to talk about sex, particularly alternative life styles, DeSantis retaliated by sponsoring legislation to end Reedy Creek. It wasn’t a very well-thought-out move. When cooler heads analyzed this move, they realized that if Reedy Creek goes away, the bond issue and other costs of maintaining Disney World’s infrastructure would fall on local counties.

DeSantis’ latest move was to replace Reedy Creek with a new development board he appointed. He populated it with loyal followers and Christian extremists. He wanted his board to punish Disney. The initial meeting of the board gave clear signs of what they had in mind. One proposal was to forbid masks on the property. Disney has been slower than the state in relaxing mask rules. They also indicated that they would tighten up building codes and zoning.

That is the exact reason Disney wouldn’t build Disney World unless the company could regulate zoning and codes. Walt and his brother Roy knew all too well how local governments could pass unreasonable restrictions on the massive development.

The mouse struck back

Disney isn’t stupid. Before DeSantis could disband Reedy Creek, the board passed several resolutions that can’t expire for decades. These resolutions gave Disney control over building and safety. DeSantis’ new board was stripped of all power except for basic infrastructure and the billion-dollar debt. DeSantis instructed his legal team to break those resolutions.

Most recently, at a stockholders’ meeting, Disney president Bob Iger called the DeSantis government anti-business and anti-Florida. It certainly seems that way to me. Disney and Reedy Creek have been excellent Florida citizens. Walt Disney World has created more jobs in Florida than anyone in history. The entire Orlando economy depends on Disney’s success. What sane governor would try to destroy this?

Maybe Bob Chapik shouldn’t have commented on a Florida law. He didn’t until a large number of Disney World Cast Members complained about his silence. By the way, Disney is a major contributor to most political candidates in Florida. Chapik threatened to turn that money off.

I think that threat, more than the objection to the law, is what upset the governor and legislature. I don’t understand what harm Reedy Creek ever did to the state or local governments. Disney World theme parks and hotels have incredible safety records. Millions of happy guests visit every week. These guests spend billions of dollars in the Orlando area. What governor in his right mind would try to hurt that?

Make it simple for stupid voters

This sort of insanity is the hallmark of the Republican leaders who were swept into office over the last decade. Since dissolving Reedy Creek, DeSantis, and his Republican legislature have passed laws that censure books and forbid teaching black history and multicultural studies. Libraries have been forced to pull books off their shelves because they offend the right-wing Republicans.

I’m not saying that The Walt Disney Company is without fault. I know it is one of the world’s most beloved companies. It’s been guilty of some questionable employment practices. It also does a decent job of fixing things once enough noise is made. Theme park employees have had their base pay increased to a living wage. There is a good representation of all races, creeds, and orientations. The company is still guilty of ageism. Older employees are routinely the first to go in layoffs. That’s unlikely to change soon. If you are over fifty, watch out.

The main tool that the Republicans use is oversimplification. This technique was started by talk radio hosts. Many had a genius for creating slogans and catchphrases that made complex issues seem logical and simple. DeSantis is a good example. He claimed that Reedy Creek was bad because it was controlled by a company for its own benefit. We all know that is evil, right? Companies shouldn’t own local governments.

It’s easy to get behind that. The evil mouse empire is exploiting Florida by making its own rules for its own benefit. Rubber-stamp Republicans got behind that in a second, just as they leaped to the rescue to keep corrupting books out of the libraries. Simplify, simplify, simplify until thought isn’t required at all.

The facts prove that for fifty years, Disney and Reedy Creek have been nothing but good for Florida and its people. It made money, but so did everyone else. Nobody can find a single example of corruption associated with Walt Disney World or Reedy Creek. That’s a fact. Yes, Reedy Creek passed zoning that permitted unfettered construction of the world’s most popular (and safe) resort. It built wonderful roads. It let Disney construct over 200 acres of solar energy cells. It provided fire and police services for millions of guests. What did Ron DeSantis see that I missed?

Speaking for myself, and hopefully not violating my NDA as a former Cast Member, I can say firsthand that the reason Walt Disney World is so successful is that every single Cast Member is trained to put the guests first. Disney sells happiness. Obviously it’s doing a good job. What has Ron DeSantis contributed to anyone?