Rick Scott grants clemency...to a fish

Yes, Rick Scott really did grant clemency to a fish.

Last week, the Governor went on a fishing trip to Destin, as part of an effort to raise awareness that the area has recovered from last year's oil spill. Fox News reporter Phil Keating accompanied Scott on the trip and interviewed the Governor.

Scott discussed issues like the legislative session that just ended, his support for keeping Florida's early presidential primary date, and of course support for the tourism and fishing industries in the Panhandle. Recent testing by the Florida Department of Agriculture of over 230 samples shows that Florida seafood is safe to eat, but the number of visitors is still significantly down since the oil spill.

The Governor caught a large amberjack fish, pictured below, decided to grant "clemency" to the fish and toss it back into the Gulf of Mexico.

A happy governor and an even happier fish

Here's the Fox News video from the trip:


Fox News Video | Gov. Rick Scott Goes Fishing

This week's trip to Destin follows a trip last month by the Governor and his Cabinet to Panama City. Scott was joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, CFO Jeff Atwater, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in a friendly fishing competition, also meant to show how Florida's Gulf seafood was safe to eat. The Department of Agriculture has also recently launched a website called FishingCapital.com, with information about planning fishing trips in Florida, how to get a fishing license, helpful fishing tips, etc.

Personally, I'm glad to see our elected officials taking an active role in promoting our state. The reports I've seen show that many businesses that depend on tourism and fishing dollars are still suffering greatly, and the BP claims process is extremely complicated and not able to fully compensate businesses for the ongoing impact of the oil spill. Part of the challenge is educating people that the beaches are safe to visit and the fish is safe to eat, so anything our Governor and Cabinet do to use their positions to draw media attention is a good thing.

Granting clemency to a fish may sound a little silly, but it helped add interest to the story and draw media attention to an issue that should be important to all Floridians.

[Cross-posted at Red County]

Dave Barry's Year in Review: Why 2010 Made Us Sick

Dave Barry is pretty much guaranteed funny, but he really outdoes himself here.

It's a little long, but pure awesomeness from beginning to end. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy:

Dave Barry's Year in Review: Why 2010 Made Us Sick

Great video timeline of Obama's failed leadership regarding the oil spill

Powerful video brought to you by the folks at RightChange.com:

Oil Spill Timeline from RightChange on Vimeo.

Rubio's "By the Numbers" Response to Crist's Special Session

After yesterday's announcement from Charlie Crist that he was calling a special session of the Legislature for the purpose of drafting a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling, Marco Rubio's campaign has responded with a fun and snarky "By the Numbers" analysis of Crist's blatant pandering:

By the Numbers: Charlie Crist's Political Photo-Op Special Session

By the numbers, Charlie Crist’s call for a special session to ban something that is already banned in Florida is nothing more than another Washington-style political gimmick meant to distract from the real issues confronting the Gulf Coast:

0 oil spills will be prevented by Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment.

0 real world impact of Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment banning something already banned in state law.

0 tourists will re-book their travel to Florida because of Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment.

0 skimmers will be freed-up because of Charlie Crist’s political photo-op.

0 fishermen in the Panhandle would be helped because of Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment.

0 claims will be sped up to impacted Florida Gulf Coast residents and businesses because of Charlie Crist’s constitutional amendment.

0 small businesses will be able to keep their doors open because of a constitutional amendment.

2 complete flip-flops Charlie Crist has done on offshore drilling.

2 points down in the polls is where Crist discovered he was in the U.S. Senate race when he decided to call for a special session.

4 hours between the release of a bad poll for Crist and his call for a political sideshow special session.

$120,000 will be spent by taxpayers for Charlie Crist’s political photo-op special session.

The Orlando Sentinel pointed out  on its Political Pulse blog today that the Rubio campaign's calculation that $120,000 of our money would be wasted on the special session was "probably low:"

...The cost of a special session was calculated at $40,000-per-day by a Tallahassee Democrat reporter 20 years ago.  While no one has done the calculations to update the number — based largely on travel costs and per-diem of $133-a-day per legislator — the cost has almost certainly risen. The St. Petersburg Times used a $50,000-per-day number this morning — which for a 4-day session would work out to a total of $200,000 — but even that may be low.

Here's the St. Pete Times article referenced by the Sentinel.

Charlie Crist vs. Taxpayers

Today, Rasmussen came out with new poll results showing Marco Rubio back on top of our Oompa Loompa Governor in the Senate race:

Rubio 36%

Crist 34%

Meek 15%

Undecided 14%

(margin of error +/- 4.5%)

A month ago, Marco and the Orange One were tied at 37%.  

So how does Charlie react to the news that his pandering to the media,  Democrats and their trial lawyer buddies isn't delivering the poll results he wants?

With more pandering, of course!

Crist announced today that he was calling a special session of the Legislature next week for the purpose of putting together a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling, to go on the November ballot.  

In the immediate aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, Crist had made several statements to the press about possibly calling a special session, but I don't recall him saying a peep about it for about a month or so.  The timing of this announcement today right after the release of the Rasmussen poll just stinks of political opportunism at its worst.  

Calling a special session is a big deal.  It's expensive, tens of thousands of dollars a day, and requires thousands of Legislators and their staffs to interrupt their lives and jobs (remember, we pay our legislators the equivalent of less than minimum wages, so unless they have a trust fund, they all have separate private sector jobs).  The late notice only adds to the expense and inconvenience.  Charlie, if you were so dedicated to the idea of a constitutional ban on oil drilling, why did you wait until now, and why did you give so little notice?

Predictably, the only support Charlie is getting for this special session is coming from some Democrats.  Does anyone really honestly think he won't caucus with the Ds if he manages to get elected?  Come on now.  If Charlie gets any more transparent, the SaranWrap people will sue him for patent infringement.

Oh, I almost forgot!   The best part of this whole debacle!  

Oil drilling is already illegal in Florida state waters!  

That's right, we already have a state statute with an absolute ban on the practice (Note that Florida, naturally, can only ban drilling in our state waters.  The Gulf oil spill was beyond that boundary and there was nothing Florida could have done to prevent it.)  

There is absolutely, positively no need for this special session.  It is not necessary and there is NO emergency.  If a constitutional amendment is really a grand idea, there is no reason that the Legislature can't wait to address it in the next regular session.  (But, of course, that won't help Charlie's poll numbers, will it?)

Charlie's words on Studio B with Shepard Smith earlier today were pretty revealing:

You're right, it's already in statute, but any Legislature could come on and subsequent years, maybe be a little bit forgetful about what's happening right now this year out in the Gulf of Mexico, and change their mind.  But if you give the people the opportunity to embed it in the Constitution that they cherish, that can't happen.

Give me a flippin' break.  No one is going to be able to be "a little bit forgetful" about this oil spill, because unfortunately it seems that we are going to be dealing with this environmental catastrophe for years, if not decades, to come.  And regarding any Legislator who might want to overturn the ban, well, I think that the millions of Floridians who live along the coast, have family and friends who live along the coast, who like to vacation on the coast, oh wait, that's pretty much the entire population of Florida now...yeah, anyway, I think Floridians can remember what they think about oil drilling.

I don't have time to get into detail about the whole oil drilling debate, but the ironic thing is that Florida's oil drilling ban has no impact whatsoever on preventing disasters like what's going on in the Gulf right now.  If the BP oil rig explosion had happened right off the coast, it would have been plugged within hours, or a few days at the most.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it's exponentially harder to plug a hole that is in turbulent deep waters like the BP spill.

So, to summarize, Charlie is losing in the polls again, so he is calling a special session with almost no notice, to outlaw something that is already illegal, and actually won't help solve the problem anyway. 

Anyone who is still considering voting for Charlie Crist oughta get smacked in the head.

Barack Obama, Dreamer in Chief - Charles Krauthammer - National Review Online

Charles Krauthammer should be mandatory reading for anyone saying they're a conservative, every single time he writes an article (or tweets!)

Here's his latest article:

Barack Obama, Dreamer in Chief - Charles Krauthammer - National Review Online

Sarah Palin on regulating the oil industry

Remember back in 2008, when the Republicans were arguing that Obama lacked executive experience and was therefore unqualified for the Presidency?  Remember?

I have to admit, it's not that fun saying "I told you so."  Watching the oil spill continue to endanger the beautiful coastlines of my state and our Gulf neighbors is ripping me apart on a daily basis, and one of the most heartbreaking aspects of this ongoing disaster is the lack of leadership coming from the White House.

Sarah Palin posted a great note on her Facebook page recently, delivering a real punch in the teeth to Obama for the White House's role in exacerbating the oil spill disaster. She discusses in detail the importance of constant vigilance, verification of all reports from oil companies, and avoidance of conflicts of interest between regulators and the companies when regulating the oil industry.

I encourage all of you to read Palin's words and share them with your friends. Palin has been getting a lot of criticism lately for her "Drill, Baby, Drill" comments, but in my opinion, her critics are oversimplifying her position and completely ignoring her past work fighting corruption and promoting responsible regulation of the Alaska oil industry.

Facebook | Sarah Palin: Less Talkin’, More Kickin’

(Hat tip to TheHotJoints, who aptly described the article as "It’s more than 1,200 words of Obama a**-kicking.")

"Yes We Can!" Well, Obama can't, but ordinary American citizens can

Here's a follow up from my post last weekend about some people with potential solutions to the oil spill on the Mike Huckabee show.  Smart Girl Politics has posted some additional commentary, along with video from the show.  Watch and get outraged.

Video of Can Do, Get 'er Done Solutions to the Oil Spill on Mike Huckabee vs. our No He Can't President. - Smart Girl Politics

Bill McCollum on the Obama Administration's Response to the Gulf Oil Spill

Bill McCollum on Greta VanSusteren 06.14.10

Mike Huckabee on Obama looking for an a** to kick

On his Huckabee TV show tonight, Mike Huckabee mentioned that he was offended by President Obama saying that he was looking for an a** to kick - not so much because of the profanity (he said he'd heard worse), but instead because of the arrogance and ineptitude that statement revealed:

Ronald Reagan was often maligned because he was an actor who became President, but I believe that's a whole lot better than being a President who has become an actor - playing the role in make believe but not understanding that the real job is not delivering lines from the teleprompter, but delivering a solution.

The more I hear about our government and BP refusing help from other countries and people here with good ideas (anyone who has watched Hannity or Huckabee this week has seen several solutions that are not being used), ignoring the desperate pleas from the governments of the Gulf States (Bobby Jindal especially comes to mind), the angrier I get.  

I'm sitting here right now watching Huckabee chat with several guys from Ft. Walton Beach with the sweetest Southern accents (one guy is even wearing overalls, love it!) showing how very easy it is to absorb oil with hay and recycled carpet fibers.  These guys aren't scientists.  They haven't won any Nobel prizes.  They just know farming, construction, fishing, etc. and they care about our beaches.  

Why is BP continuing to ignore these ideas?  Why is the White House looking for an a** to kick instead of getting boots on the ground to protect our beaches?  Is it because Obama knows he's never going to get electoral votes in Louisiana?  Is it anti-Southern prejudice?  Is it ignorance or ineptitude?  I want answers!

Our economy is still in trouble.  Wasn't the stimulus supposed to create jobs?  I know a lot of the stimulus funds are still unallocated and unspent.  Why can't we use that to hire temporary workers to work on assembling berms, rescuing wildlife, and cleaning the beaches?  

It's one thing to tax our economy off the cliff or enact an unconstitutional health care bill we can't afford, but the horrifying destruction of our beautiful Gulf coast beaches and wetlands and the complete lack of action and leadership from the White House is absolutely unforgivable.   

The Gulf Oil Spill: How YOU can help

As a lifelong Floridian, I have been watching the news coverage of the Gulf oil spill in shock, horror, and despair.  The devastation just seems so immense and I fear that our beautiful corner of the ocean may never be the same again.  

FoxNews has posted a list of well-established charities that are helping with the cleanup efforts.  There are different organizations for each affected Gulf state, and they need both volunteers and monetary donations.

Please check out the list, and consider donating some of your money or time.  Please also share this link on your own Facebook, Twitter, or other networks.  Every little bit helps.  Thank you.

FoxNews | Gulf Oil Spill Aftermath: How to Help

Marco Rubio On "Fox and Friends"

Marco Rubio was on Fox and Friends this morning, talking about the oil spill. Here's the interview:

And the #1 sign they've run out of ideas...

Wow.  Oh, wow.  

Just when I think this oil spill fiasco cannot possibly get any crazier, the Feds have announced today that they are consulting with James Cameron (the guy who directed Titanic and Avatar), because he's "considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies."  Whaaaaat???

RedState had a great comment on this: