Desantis and Mental Health and Alimony

Hello People, 
     Unfortunately, this episode was supposed to be uploaded for our last podcast, The Conversation, due to some unforeseen circumstances. This episode is being uploaded to our brand-new show.

•      Topic #1 - 6 Key Tips For Keeping Your Mental Health
•      Topic #2 - Florida is Losing Money, Whose Fault Is It?
•      Topic #3 - Marriage = Alimony Payments 

To all my Melanated People (Black & Brown), it's never a sign of weakness to ask for help when you really need it. Life is not cupcakes and rainbows—struggles are what make us stronger!

Transcript

Stephan: 0:29

Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Conversation. I don't know if you can hear it in my voice, but I'm coming down with a cold, but we're gonna keep pushing through it, you know, do it for everyone else. Today, I have a amazing show lined up for you today. I have note cards to keep me on track because I've watched my other episodes or listen to them for people who are listening to the podcast and I'm like, man, like. I just go off on tangents or I don't even start what I'm supposed to start with. So today I got note cards. We'll see how good that is. So first off, happy Wednesday. It's almost, it's what Wednesday is like halfway through the week, so you're almost to the Friday to get your groove on for the weekend. Yeah. Today I have a couple topics for you. First one's gonna be about mental health. We talked about this at the beginning of the year where I lost my train of thought. Sorry. We talked at the beginning of the year that it was about us, right? And that was our key phrase, was about us to make sure that we took care of ourself. Every other year, we're always focusing on other people. This year specifically, we were focusing on us, making sure that we felt appreciated, right? And that can either come from significant others, that can come from families, or it can start right at you. Right? Because you know, if you can't appreciate yourself, you can't go out there and ask someone else to appreciate you, right? And have different ways of showing your self appreciation. And I'll go into that more when we go into that topic. Second thing that we're gonna talk about is DeSantis. Obviously after we talk about mental health, we have to drive right back into it. Two things. One, if you're married here in the state of Florida, you gotta get divorced quick. No, I'm joking. We're gonna talk about alimony. He literally just got done with the new law, eliminates lifetime alimony. Now, for some of you who are married, You might wanna listen up to this. Now, some of you who aren't married like myself, you might wanna, you might wanna put this in your little arsenal, you know, put it, put it on a books show. We're also gonna talk about how we're losing money. Florida used to be a very. In my mind, we used to be a pretty rich state, right? And our governor is out there campaigning, telling people to look, Hey, look at Florida. Look what I'm doing. But honestly, we're losing money. There are there was an article that was posted last week that said there was some conventions that was coming down here in Florida. Now they're not because of the policies that our governor has put in place. If we have enough time, we're going one of our creators here on Fireside, his name is Anthony Cordova he has a show here on Fireside called Poetic People Fighting Racism. I had to write that down cuz it was a long title. He has a poem, I wanna share it with you, but then at the, what I wanna share I'm gonna share my thoughts on it and then we're gonna talk about something that I have not seen anyone talk about. And it's this new law in Florida that in theory, makes healthcare. More discriminatory toward us brown people toward our L G B T Q community toward pretty much anyone a doctor doesn't feel that morally stands with. That's all coming up right here on the conversation. Stay tuned. I can make this right. So as most of you guys know, mental health is a huge thing that I'm always advocating for. It's something that Has become a huge issue now, right before, ever since Covid hit, now everybody wants to pay attention to mental health, which it should have been something that we paid attention to prior, but we're not gonna get into that. At the beginning of this year, we had a show called a, I think it's called Like About Me or something like that where I said you needed to make this year about you, right? That means making sure that you're putting yourself On the right path. Because every year, you know, we're always doing things for other people, right? We're always overstressing, we're always trying to do everything for everyone else. But then when it comes to us, we don't do anything. And we're just emotionally, physically, financially just drained. So this year I said it was about us. And when I said about us, I was making sure that you put yourself not only on a mental path, but putting yourself on a financial path as well to just feeling that you, you're, you're yourself, right? So there are six tips. That I'm going to give today someone, I think someone chatted or someone came in. Okay. Hello really Charlie. How you doing? There's six tips that I'm gonna share today that's going to help you with your mental health, cuz we're in theory like six months in and then we'll do an another check-in in like December and be like, all right, how do we do. So first one is pri, it says, prioritize your mental health in your workplace. Right? It says, A healthy work-life balance is an integral part of your mental wellness. While work may be an necessary part of life, it's also imperative to allocate time and energy to activities and ho and hobbies. I was about to say holidays that bring you joy throughout 2023. Focus on setting boundaries and creating a work environment that allows you to prioritize your mental health. For example, try to limit work outside of your normal hours and take breaks throughout the day to refresh and regroup. Many employers are starting to recognize the importance of mental health in the workplace and our offering resources to help employees see if your employer has any programs or initiatives you may take in. Take advantage of throughout the year. Moreover, if you struggle to find a balance between work and life, consider seeking counseling. They can give you ideas on how to make your work environment more conductive to your mental wellbeing. One thing I can't stress enough is taking sick days, right? People have always. I don't know. For some reason, some of the jobs that I've had, they kind of, I wouldn't say they look down, but they kind of question it. Right? When I worked for Enterprise, there were some times I would take three days off. I'm not, I, and it's not that I was physically sick. I was mentally sick. I was mentally sick and drained from all the people who I have to interact with. I, as most of you people know or can see, I do not like people. I do not wanna be around people. I'm admitting it right here. You can record this and put it online, and I probably will never get another job again. But I do not like people. People are mentally draining. Especially when you've done the line of works that I've had, your brain just skips certain beats. Right. You know, as I, I, I, I work for Greyhound now, and even those people, those people are mentally draining because I'm like, Why do I believe this is like common sense, but you are thinking this is like rocket science and you're building something when it's really not that complex. So work. So if you have the opportunity, take a sick day. And don't tell anybody. Don't, you know, and I know how like some people are like, oh, well if I take a sick day, then I can't go to the beach. No, we're in 2023. If you take a sick day. Call it a mental health day and go to the beach, get your nails done, get a massage. Do whatever you want to do to mentally get yourself on track because it's mentally draining to deal with the people that we have to deal with on everyday basis, I always advocate for a work balance life. I always advocate more for a life than work balance, right? Work will always be there, but your life. We'll, be there as well, but you want to enjoy the life that you have. You don't wanna have regrets. You don't wanna feel like you are mentally beating yourself up every single day. You know, one thing that I learned throughout my 28 years of life on this Earth is that once I get to a job and I stay there for a certain amount of time, if I start waking up and I'm like, Ugh, I have to go to this place. I start looking for another job. The reason why I have problems finding other jobs is because they look at my resume and they're like, man, you don't stay there more than a year or two years. And my current boss right now in the interview, she was like, You don't stay at jobs very long, like, how can you convince me that you're going to be a reliable employee? And I said, you know, why I don't stay at those jobs very long is because if my brain gets tired, right? If my brain mentally gets tired, I will not be there. I am not a very effective employee if my brain is tired. If I do not feel that my brain is mentally challenging, like, and when I say challenging, like certain people live off challenges. I love it. I worked at, I opened Volcano Bay for Universal, and I loved every single day of it because we were brand new park, so our technology was failing every day. There was some issue, but I loved it. Other people did not love it. I loved it because it made my brain. Work. I was like, oh, well we have this issue and we have this issue, and we have that issue. I love it. And that is why I changed jobs. So if my brain mentally checks out, I'm not gonna be a very effective employee. And that's just how it is. Let's move on to number two, because I can go on all day people about that. Number two, it says build a strong support system. Unfortunately, many of us hesitate to reach out for help when dealing with mental health issues. We are often too embarrass or ashamed to talk about our feelings, but it's important to remember that you are not alone. Let's break the stigma in 2023 and make it a point to create a system or a support system of family, friends, and professionals who can be there in times of need. Mental health is just as important as physical health, so don't be afraid to ask for help. I think that one really resonate towards the Towards the black community, right? In the black community, it's very, there's this huge stigma. Stigma, as I should say, that we don't talk about mental health. It's a stigma. For some reason in our community, it is seen as weak. It's changing as I would say, but at the same time, I would say that it's not we're not talking about it enough. We're still, there's this still stigma of men who share their feelings are weak, right? Men who ha you know, you're, you're just crazy or whatever like that. And that's the issue that we have now. I don't know, maybe in other communities, maybe the Hispanic communities or maybe other communities might have the same issue, but in. Our community and the black community, that is a huge issue. Building a support system is not as easy as it sounds because in a sense you don't wanna tell your personal business to everyone. I get it. There's only limited people who know my life as what it is, right? And I trust them. And those are the people who I will go to if I'm feeling, you know, mentally drained or if I want to make fun of someone or whatever the case may be. But you have to build that with someone, right? Getting professional help. I know there's a lot of employers out in that out there. Who offer therapy and it goes under your health insurance, right? Or finding that one friend. We all have that one best friend that you can be like, Hey, I'm gonna tell you everything. Right? So building that support system, I can totally agree with you if you do not wanna tell family because my family is very gossipy and I tell one of them one thing. By the end of the day at my family reunion, they're gonna be like, Stefan is batshit crazy, right? And it's like, no I'm not crazy. I just have things I'm going through. So I definitely suggest if you now, if you have trustworthy family, all means go ahead. But. For me, I prefer my, my best friends over my family just because of how they are. Let's move on to number three. Number three says, create a sustainable and realistic budget. So with inflation affecting all of us, it can be hard to keep up with the rising prices to help manage your finances and stay on track financially. Create a budget for 2023. Determine how much your income will. You will allocate toward different expenses and stick to the plan. Setting realistic financial goals and having a budget in place may reduce stress and give you a peace of mind. Don't be afraid to set aside some of that, some of your budget for leisure activities and self-care. So working at Greyhound It pays well. Okay. I'm just gonna leave it at that. So financially I'm okay. I'm not as poor as I was when we first started this podcast. So when I say that is. Actually, you guys don't even know this, but I had moved. That's why the settings a little bit different. Not too much, but I, I tried to mimic as it as much as possible. But I moved, I was in a one bedroom and now I moved to a two bedroom. The reason why is because I am on a realistic budget. Realistically, I could afford my one bedroom, but realistically I wanted to save as much money as possible. So here in Florida, Orlando, it's very expensive to live here. I was talking to a security officer in Miami and she was like, oh, I wanna move to Orlando. I was like, God, don't do that. It's expensive to live in, just, just to live in this God forsaken state. It's expensive. And the only way to survive is with roommates or to have multiple incomes if you if you have a family. So I do have a roommate now. But making that decision, I had to be like, okay, well I'm downgrading. I don't have my own apartment, I had to take my room and downgrade it into one. I had to take my front room and downgrade it into this, but financially, I am saving money, right? I'm saving more money than than ever because I decided to have a roommate. But creating a budget has always been difficult for me. Like, I'm, I'm, I'm one of those people where I didn't have it when I was, when I was growing up. Like I, I grew up poor. And so now as an adult, like I always try and make sure I have money or whatever like that, but as an adult, I always try and have the goal of if you want it, buy it. Right. That, that is my mentality. If I see it in the store, I'm like, I want it. And I'll buy it right then and there. I do have a budget now after Whew. But setting up a budget realistically may help you. Now sometimes some people are just financially fine and they don't have to, but I can't understand how some of us who are still out there struggling because I, I'm not. I'm still struggling at in a certain sense can be like, oh, can't spend that. Oh, can't spend that. So send up a budget might help you with stress. Might, it might not be for everyone. Some of you are just like, well, I'm fine. Or you're living paycheck. The paycheck, which it's kind of hard because, you know, depending on what your circumstances are, it's kind of hard to get out of that type of rut. If you're living paycheck to paycheck just because you might have to get a second job. And then with that, it's really taxing on your mental health. Side note, me and my mom used to have con, well we still have conversations but she was like, oh, well you only get another job. And I was like, hell no. Mm-hmm. Nope. I'd rather struggle with one than have two because I will not put my mental health through that type of dilemma or drama or fight or whatever word you wanna use. So, That could help. Number four, I'm trying to move through these cuz you know number four, spend time socializing in less stress environments. Mental health is just as much about relationships as it is about self-care. So remember to make socialize in a priority. With many of us having to stay at home in recent years due the pandemic it can be easy to become isolated. While online communication can certainly help us stay connected. There's no substitute for face-to-face interaction with friends and family for the new year. Try to make an effort to get out of the house and spend time with those you care about. Participate in activities you, joy may take your mind off of stressors. And give you a much needed boost of positivity. Most of my very close-knit friends, we have very opposite schedules, so it's very hard to like get these guys together. But we'll get together online. Like on my Xbox, we'll get online and we'll play games and we'll play Fortnite and we'll do all that. And that for me helps with my mental health. I don't. Everyone has something different. Some people go to parties, some people don't. Like one of my friends, she invited she's going out to a a singles event here in Orlando. I hung out with her at Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom Lodge. We went to to brunch there. So I mean, everyone has their, every, everyone has their own method of socializing, whether it's online, whether it's in person. So you find out what works for you, whether it's going to a bar and just sitting there and talking to some random person on the side or going to the movies or whatever. But I just say, get out of the house. If you get outta the house, conversation's going to follow, right? Depending on where you go to. Number five says, practice mindfulness and self-care. It says, between work, taking care of family members, managing finances. It can be difficult to take a break to ensure your mental wellbeing remains in check. Throughout 2023, set aside time for yourself. Whether it's reading a book, watching your favorite sport, or taking a yoga class. Make sure to carve out time for me, time each week. In addition, try to incorporate mindfulness. Into your daily life, taking deep breaths, meditating, maintaining a gratitude maintaining a gratitude diary are simple activities that can help you stay focused and grounded throughout the year. Oh, this is, this is me all day. Like I a few weeks ago I went shopping. I went to the outlets over here in Orlando, and I went shopping for myself. And it was the best feeling in the world because it was something. For me me getting my hair done, which it's not done right now. Hence hat when I get my hair done, that's a me thing, right? If I go get a massage, that's a me thing. It's, it's just doing the activities that you love. Setting those, setting that aside because as it said, you can overwork yourself, whether you're a family or maybe you're married or whatever the case may be. Always set time to yourself. Every day when I go get coffee, that's time to myself. There's no one else who goes on that walk with me. I don't invite anyone else with me. In the morning I'll usually hop online with my Xbox friends and I'll be like, all right guys, I'll be right back. And they're like, What do you mean you'll be right back? We're in the middle of a game. I'm like, guys, I'm sorry. Like I have to go get my coffee. Like that is, that's my daily thing to get my mindset of, okay, we have, oh, sorry, we have A, B, C, D, E, F to do, but that walk to go to get coffee and that walk back is my mental break. So, Find your mental break, whether it's gonna go eat coffee. It also helps with exercising as well. Walking is one of the key things that a lot of people miss out on, and it's one of the easiest things to do. So it's a reward. So I walk to go eat my coffee, which is about like half a mile, and I walk back home, which is another half. So I do a mile every day. So I get my exercise, I get my little treat, which is my coffee, and I work on my mental health. Look at that. I am multi-talented. And then to finish it up, it says, give your mental health the attention it deserves. Maintaining your mental health wellbeing in 2023 requires effort, consistency. Fortunately, you don't have to do it alone. There are places out there. It says, mile High Psychiatry offers a variety of services ranging from therapy to medication management. All desired to help you live a healthier and happier life. Contact Miles psychiatry today. I guess I just did some free advertisement. Didn't even know. Let's move on to our next topic. We're going to talk about alimony. Some of you are married out there. Don't come to Florida! Hello everyone. My name is Stefan, and you're currently listening to the conversation. Here is what's coming up next. If you're married in a state of Florida, you, it might be divorce time for you. No, I, I, I, I kid, I kid, I kid don't, don't, don't. Don't, don't hurt me. Ron DeSantis has decided, I wouldn't say, decided, he made a law that now you don't get permanent alimony down here in Florida. Like, I'm not, I'm, I'm not shitting you. It says this is the death sentence for me, Floridian. Republican woman says that they will switch parties after DeSantis approves the alimony law, so on Friday, this was a couple Fridays ago, sign a measure that will overhaul the state's alimony laws after three vetoes of the similar bill. He finally got it approved. So the lady said, or, hold on, gimme a second. Permanent. The approval drew an outcry for members of the first wives, adver Adversary Group, a coalition of mostly older women who received permanent alimony and who assert their lives will be uphand without payment. Here's what the women had to say on behalf of the thousands of women. Who our group represents. We are very disappointed in the governor's decision to sign the alimony reform bill. We believe by signing it, he has put older women in situations which will cause financial devastation. The so-called party family values is just contribute to the erosion of the institution of marriage in Florida. Jane 63. Boca Ration Raton woman who founded the group a decade ago told the news the news service of Florida in a text message. The years long effort to do away with permanent alimony has been a highly contentious issue. It elicits tearful testimonies from members of the first wives group, but it also spad impassioned pleas from ex-spouses who said, They had been forced to work long past the age they wanted to retire because there were, they were on the hook for Alamo payments. Michael, chairman of the Florida Family Fairness Group has pushed for doing away with permanent alimony and praise the approval of the bills. He goes on to say that Florida Family Fairness is pleased that the Florida legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis has passed the bill. That and that permanent alimony and codifies in the statute, the right to retire for existing alimony payers. Michael said in a statement, anything that adds clarity and adds permanent alimony is a win for Florida families. So, Even though they've, they, he tried to pass this bill earlier in 2022 and they vetoed it. Former Rick Scott twice vetoed similar bills. The issued spad a near outrage of the office this year, however, the proposal received relatively little public pushback and got the blessing of the Florida Family Fairness and the Florida bars. Family law section, which fearfully clashes over the issue of the past. Here's what it does, along with eliminating permanent alimony, the measure will set up a process for ex-spouses who make alimony payments to seek modification to alimony agreements when they retire. Or when they want to retire, it will allow judges to reduce or terminate alimony support or maintenance pain payments after considering a number of factors such as the age and health of the person who makes payments. The customary retirement age of that person's occupation, the economic impact a reduction alimony would have on the reciprocate of the payments and the motivation for retirement and likelihood of retiring or returning to work of the person making the payments. Supporters have said it will codify into law the decision in a 1992 divorce case that judges use as a guide a guidepost to make decisions based on retirement. So essentially they can go back to court and be like, I'm done. I want this done. And when I get to the end of this, I'll share my opinion on how I feel about this because some of you may not like it whatsoever. Ron Des Sanchez has just impoverished all the older women of Florida, and I know at least 3000 women across the state of Florida who are switching the Democrat and will campaign against him all the way forever is what Camilla, a Milton Republican who receives permanent alimony said in the phone interview. So, The bill, which will take effect Saturday. So July 1st will also. Set a five year limit on what is known as the rehabilitative alimony. Under the plan, people married less than three years will not be eligible for alimony, and those who have been married for 20 years or longer will be eligible to receive payments for up to 75% of the term of marriage. The new law will also allow Alamo e payers to seek modifications if a supportive relationship exists or has existed. Let's talk about that before, before I even continue. First off, you have three years to figure out if this is the person you want to marry. Boom. I said it. I said it. Yes. That means people. If I get married, I am doing the countdown to three years before I have to pay you any alimony. 3, 3, 3 is the lucky number. So at two years and six months, I'm like, is this marriage really worth it? Like, I'm, I'm sick. Don't, don't I, but come on, like permanent alimony, permanent alimony. I don't agree with that all, but I think this is hilarious. I think it's definitely gonna give younger people more what's the word I'm looking for? It's definitely gonna give younger people a more perspective of someone because here's the thing. I don't wanna pay alimony forever. And you're making me lose my train of thought at this point. Where was I going with that? Three years. People. I think now younger people will start realizing if they wanna get married or not. I. Because I mean, and granted you can go to another state and get married, but at least here in Florida three years, you have three years to figure out if you truly wanna marry this person before you have to get Alamo payment, right? And then if you've been married for over 20 years you'll only get 75% of the term of marriage. So you'll, if you've been married for 20 years, they're only gonna take 75% of that. You guys do the math and that's how long your alimony is gonna last. Now moving on. To, it would make payers seek modifications if a supportive relationship exists or has existed. Now, some experts have argued that that term, that that little sentence I wrote is very vague. What do they mean by a supportive relationship exist or existed? So, If you've been divorced, right, and you're making alimony payments, and you're like, Ooh, I can't wait to not pay you alimony anymore, and you find out that she has a boyfriend who's been supporting her, you're taking her ass back to court so you can not pay alimony anymore. That's essentially what that could mean, or hear me out. It could also mean a roommate. Because remember, it's very vague. It's very vague about supportive relationship or that has existed or exists. Supportive relationship roommate. It says, critics have argued the provision is too, is too vague and could apply to temporary roommates who help alimony recipient cover living expenses for short periods of time. Short periods, but it's a supportive relationship. Like I said, it could be a boyfriend. It could be if she got remarried again, alimony stops from there. The last bit of this article, it says that a lady 63 years old with medical conditions says, my fears are that they can take me back to court and she doesn't have the money for an attorney. I literally live off the little bit of alimony. I work part-time because I have all kind of ailments, and now I'm going to be left without anything. Absolutely. Anything. Life insurance, I will probably be the first thing to go if her payments are reduced or eliminated. So my thoughts as I've already expressed, a, I don't believe in permanent alimony. I definitely, I don't think that's a thing. I think that that is a little outrageous that people would want permanent alimony because it's not fair right? We're not married permanently. Now I do understand. And I was talking to some friends online about this, is that I understand about giving you alimony for a certain limit of time. When I say limit, let's say that you've been married for 20 years, right? Let's say that the judge says, alright, you're gonna pay alimony for 10 years. That's it. And she's like, well, that's not good enough. No one cares. I think 10 years is well enough. To get you back on track, right? Especially if you were a stay-at-home mom. 10 years is enough time for you to go back to school. 10 years is enough time for you to find a job. You have to be able to survive on your own. You can't keep using him, her, whoever you were married to as a crutch. As I said, I think that there should definitely be A limit on Alamo of how mu of how long you're going to pay for it. Right. And something that me and my friends were talking about was prenups. And I think, I think back then prenups was not a thing that people thought of. But now, nowadays a lot of people are signed up for prenups. And they're adding different clauses to that prenup because they want to protect their finances, they want to protect themselves. But back to this. Yeah, he, he lost, he lost a lot of women, but I, I don't, I don't see a problem with it. I think, you know, permanent liability is not, shouldn't be a thing. It, it honestly shouldn't. Like, it's just, it's not fair. Oh. Anthony wants to come up. Are you there? I think I am here. Hello sir. Welcome. Hey, Stefan. It's so good to see you. Thank you. It's so good to hear from you. Yeah. Doing your show again. We, we missed you. I know. Your schedule is sporadic. Yeah. Right now, but it just gives me a warm feeling inside just to see you again. So but on the topic, I'm like, maybe there is some hope for Florida not, you know, but changing you know, some of these alimony rules. I, I think for people that are younger mm-hmm. It's, it's, it's a good thing. Because when a person gets hooked into alimony, it, it kind of ends their financial life and unless they, you know, quadruple their income or something. Mm-hmm. But just for the regular person, just, you know, middle class, just working their jobs, they, they, they're not left with enough money to live for themselves. So. And, and these rules were written like way back in the fifties and, and before. Mm-hmm. Where many at, at the time it was women that stayed home and, you know, didn't work outside of the home. And, you know, they, they did great things, you know, raising family, taking care of home, that that's a hard job. Okay. But that was the. Only way they had back then to generate a in, you know, they didn't even generate an income from, from working at home. Oh. Are you still there, Stefan? Yeah, we lost it. There you go. Yeah. You back like, oh, what happened? So but nowadays women are, are the breadwinners. Mm-hmm. You know, they, they can take care of themselves and, and, and, you know, make the money and do everything. They're like, everything women. And it's, it's amazing. But then if you take someone that is. Retired and has been living that type of life for some time. It's hard for them to just get back out and work, you know? So I, I think maybe it should be modified a little bit to, I don't know, maybe up to age 50 or, you know, if you know what I mean. It is just, I, I'm glad that Florida is doing that, but for, for senior citizens, you know, to automatically be left out in the cold with no way of supporting themselves is probably not a good thing. But some change is change. So I guess we gotta take it while we can get it. Yeah, I, I agree with you. It's a, it's a win-lose situation is what I would call it. So it's a win for younger people because it's like, okay, hey, this is your time limit. You got three years before, you know, alimony, payments are even in discussion, but it's a lose situation for all the older women who are on permanent. Li or I was about to say liability alimony. And they depend on that. Like that's their livelihood. That's what they go out to buy groceries with. That's what they go to pay their bills with and whatever like that. But at the same time, you know, maybe, maybe they can work some type of deal out with their, with their ex-spouse or whatever the case may be. But I feel that there is going to be a lot of cases now that, or alimony cases that are gonna go back to the court and be like, look, it's been. 20 something plus a year. She has a boyfriend or she has a roommate, or she has a new husband, like, I shouldn't be paying this. Or they're just looking to be like, no, it wasn't fair when it came out, but now with this new law, yeah, we can, we can reduce the payments or whatever like that. Right. Okay. Yeah. Good, good opinion. I, I like it. I'm gonna jump off the stage. I gotta get ready for our show and Oh yes. Is Jill joining you? No, spoiler alert it, it's just me. Jill is under the weather today. So, all right, I'll come with you, so don't, don't turn on me. Okay? What if you do, okay, I'll take it in stride. All right. I'm off your stage. All right, all, see you see. All right. And that brings us to our last topic cuz as we're running out of time, I want to get you guys to the next show. That's my note card so I don't lose track. Florida has been losing money and it's because of our jackass of a governor and I'll tell you that coming up next. Hello everyone. My name is Stefan and you're currently listening to the conversation. Here is what's coming up next. So Sun Central came out with a article that said that Florida's losing money that it shouldn't be losing, and it's mainly because of our governor. So they environment. That is the reason why a lot of conventions are canceling and they're blaming. The governor for that decision. So it says, Brevard County has lost more than half a dozen conventions as their organizers cite the diverse political climate as a reasons for staying out of Florida. A list was compiled by visit Lauderdale, formerly known as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. Vivar Tourism aims. Arm said that the lost convention could have brought hotel stays for Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding cities, which also meant money spent on restaurants and attractions. They sent out a statement that said we lost the program due to political climate. The, the. Oh, and though they lost about 855 rooms in August of 2024, that's what they would've brought in. That's a lot of money. And that's a lot of like, and you know, these hotels are expensive. We were so close on this one reads the notes of the entry. For the 2024 National Family and Community Engagement and Community school conference, which needed more than 2000 rooms and has bailed. But the group decided to pull out the floor to do the concerns about the, what the governor is doing and the education in schools, and that he will likely run for 20 and he's running for 2024. They do not wanna lose the attendees due to this. Under the explanation of the nationally funded Mississippi based organization that deals with healthcare workers, they said Ron DeSantis was the main reason of why they are losing the business. Now from an economic standpoint, this is a very harmful we saw in 2020 what happens when, when visitors stay away, people lose their jobs. By not coming here, the residents of our community, those value align with the organizations get hurt. Minority women, minorities, women and L G B T Q businesses rely on visitors for their existence. Staying away hurts those people. A Chicago based American specialty Toy Retailer Association had planned a 3000 person conference in Fort Lauderdale in 2026. A spoke woman said Thursday that they are probably headed to Milwaukee instead. The organization has a lot of people that don't like those politics at all. There was one in here that I was actually going to go to, the National Society of Black Engineers Fifth Conference, which would have brought up to 15,000 visitors to Orange County Convention Center in 24, 20 24 will now be held in a different city. Organizers of the National Society of Black Engineers to the Orlando Sentinel. They were troubled by DeSantis effort to target diversity equality and inclusion programs in schools and how it would affect the student members of that group. And the Con of Thrones, which typically draws about 3000 to 4,000 fans of Game of Thrones. Books and television shows also announced that it's pulling a plug on its gathering plan in August, 2020, or August 25th to the 27th at the Hyatt Regal Sea. Orlando, the spokesman for DeSantis on Thursday said the group's nothing more than media driven stunt. He's always, always, every single time has said that it is a media stunt. It's a political stunt. Idiots. If businesses are saying, sorry, if businesses are saying you are the reason they're not coming down here, then you are the reason. It's not a media stunt. No one gives a flying fuck about your media stunt. Okay, now that was a lot of money. And I hope, I swear, I swear to living next year. MegaCon comes out every year, and I I if they put out a statement that says they're not coming because of Santa's eye, mm. I don't know. I will, I will protest. I will, I will just protest. But as you can see, we're losing money. Because tourists come here. Another reason why we're losing money is because his war with Disney. You know, that that has drawn people not to wanna come here. The NAACP has put out several travel advisories, not only just for black travelers, but the lgbtq plus travelers as well, who are traveling down to the state as well. So there's a lot of travel advisories. There's a lot, you know, with the new gun law, a lot of people don't feel safe walking in. Walking on the streets of their everyday community. Right. We have the new immigration law that just passed that now. Hospitals are asking if you are an immigrant, are you legal here? Florida now is using e verifies. So any employer that has over 25 employees must submit to the e-verify, which verifies if your employee are actually legal in the state. So. That's a lot that we're going through. He also has proposed a bill that if you are illegal and you have a child here, your child is not automatically a citizen. That is something that he has proposed. I'll share that article probably next week depending on how our schedule is, but that has also been proposed as well. Before we go, there's one article that I truly do want to talk about, and the reason why I wanna talk about it is because, It hasn't been talked about and I want to talk about it. So for all of you guys who are watching here on Fireside or watching on. TikTok, listen up. Florida has just passed. Its new healthcare bill. I believe the bill is called Protected Protections of the Medical Consensus. It was signed into law and it went into effect July 1st. The reason why I am stressing this so much is because Florida healthcare can now be denied based on moral, ethical, or religious belief. Now your probate. Will Stefan, explain that a little more? I'm glad that you asked Stefan. It allows Florida healthcare to refuse services based on moral or ethical religious belief. Now that's not just for doctors, right? This goes for your health insurance as well. Listen to that very carefully. Your health insurance as well can deny you. So let's say that you are going in for. An I v test right now, most of those are free. So let me choose a prep. Let's, let's go with prep. If you are going into your healthcare services, right, and you know, with your healthcare, whatever you believe, it's free, your healthcare provider, you're in the state of Florida, can be like, no, we're not paying for that. And you will have to pay for it yourself if you are. A lesbian for, for, for what we're going to say. Your gynecologist cannot, can be like, well, religiously, I don't believe lesbians exist, or, I don't believe that lesbians deserve medical treatment. That is something that can happen now. Now, let's go into here. It says consensus based, objection based on a. Held religious, moral, or ethical belief. At several points over the legislation session, the Adjourned last week, the Republican lawmakers invoked their Christian belief to question the existence of transgender people in supportive bills that will restrict access to transition related medical care. That also means that our, for our transgender community, Florida, they don't have to treat you because, and I, they're not gonna say morally, they're gonna say religiously, this is the reason why they're not going to treat you right. So the bill is all is a broad license for healthcare providers and insurance companies to refuse services to people. No one should be denied access to medical care if it gives health healthcare providers and insurance companies an unprecedented religious or moral right to refuse provided services. This puts patients in harm's way. It is in. Unethical to the job of healthcare providers and put the most vulnerable floridans in danger. They go on to say that our state should be in the business of increasing access to medical care, not giving providers and companies a sweeping curve out of the non-discrimination laws. So that is, I'm trying to find in here, cuz it says, it says all the people that can actually. Use this. One of the articles one of the articles that I did read prior to this that we did on our other show which said, doctor, nurses, the ambulance driver, all of them can deny you access because of this, they can't get in trouble by the hospital. So if you're like, oh, well I'm gonna complain to the hospital, it doesn't exist. Does not. The reason why I am bringing this up is because no one has talked about it, and I want to make sure that everyone understands this. It's not just the L G B T Q community people. I don't want all of you guys to be like, well, Stefan's probably only them. No, it's also black people. It's also brown skin people as well. There are white doctors out there who morally do not feel that black people should be able to have medical access. Religiously. They could be. We are inferior. There are people out there, a lot of people who still believe that us blacks are still inferior and we don't deserve healthcare at all. They believe that our skin, our blood is, we can, we have a high pain tolerance. Women, right? Are black women who have this high mortality rate when they're having children. This is the issue that we're facing morally. They don't have to treat them. They can find morally, ethically, religious, whatever the hell it may be, but pay attention to this people. This law went into effect as of July 1st. Now, I have not seen any articles or cases just yet about someone being denied. But trust me, they will come rather either at the end of this year or toward the beginning of next year or when something dramatic happens, pay attention. Okay. Pay attention. Anyways, we are out of here. It is 7 59. I wanna thank every single one of you guys for coming out to the show. I know my schedule has been terrible but I do love all of you. Please be safe, be kind, be different. Please be safe out there, especially for all my people who are out here in Florida. Well, now it is the wild, wild West because you absolutely do not know who's carrying a firearm, and most of these idiots are not trained and they have no idea how to use a firearm. They barely know how to walk at this point or drive for that instance. So I will see you guys possibly next week, and I'll work on getting this show out for all my people who are watching the podcast. For all of you guys who are watching Snapchat or TikTok. That small little healthcare section will be out there for you as well. Until then, I love you all. Be safe. Our next show that's coming up right here on Fireside is I'm right. I'm right. And guess what? I think I'm going to go over and bug Anthony. Bye everyone. Wait box. Let's come back on up. I also wanna thank Tony for coming to the show. Charlie, always good to see you.