Biggest FL LOSER of the Year: MEL MARTINEZ!

The results are in.

Lot's of close calls this year. I'll start at the bottom.

5. Rep. Tom Feeney always makes my list because he is corrupt and a creep, but he did nothing this year (And I really do mean NOTHING--voting against poor kid's health care, voting against changing course in an endless war, etc.) So he's just on the bottom.

4. Rep. Ric Keller, who promised a term-limit of six years which would have ended in January. This means that we would not have had to put up with his pandering and bad judgment this year. The good news--he will be beaten next year. Maybe he can get a job mowing lawns in Iraq.

3. Rep. John Mica, (my own Congressman), who can always be counted on to tow the line for Bush no matter what, justified Bush's support for corrupt militia leaders in Iraq who have tortured and killed to --wait for it--wait for it---Bill Clinton. That's right, Bill Clinton also had scandals, including an "impeachment"; therefore, he is just as bad. Though what really irritated me this year was that he personally told me that Rush Limbaugh was taken out of context, and it was really Harry Reid's fault for making noise about it. I emailed him the full transcript and asked him to tell me exactly how Rush was taken out of context. That was October--still waiting for a response.

2. Fl. State Rep. Bob Allen, our own "Larry Craig", who actually offered a blow job to an undercover officer in a public park men's room. (As is typical, Allen received an almost perfect score from the Christian Coalition of Florida for his family-values opposition to abortion, gays, and pornography.) And as is typical with a GOP politician, why not make a very bad situation a HELL of a lot worse? First, he tried to play the "I'm a legislator" hand, which never works. Then, he decided to add racism to the mix--saying he only offered himself for sex because he was terrified of the big black man. He would be number one, but he really is a minor player, and at least he had the decency to resign when he realized he had dug himself a hole and it was hopeless. (More than I can say for Craig, or the prez for that matter).

1. MEL MARTINEZ. What a bonehead. What a LOSER. He was picked by Bush to head the GOP because of his skin color to win over the coveted Hispanic vote, and perhaps to stop the blood-loss caused by the most incompetent, corrupt administration in history. As point man for the GOP, Martinez felt the need to support EVERYTHING Bush wanted to do. Two problems:

• Not a smart strategic move for a politician to tie yourself to a sinking ship. His formerly high approval ratings are now down with Bush's. Rightfully so.


• It let the people of Florida know that Bush came first, NOT the citizens who put him in office. Not smart.

I knew he had problems when the relatively conservative Orlando Sentinel printed blistering rebukes calling out his lies after he wrote an article repeating Bush's talking points on S-CHIP. But the real problem was when he tried to corral support for Bush's immigration bill. He lost a lot of GOP support on that. And with no support from Dems or Independents--who was left? Mel bolted after just 10 months--the Bush curse sealing his fate for the next election. MEL MARTINEZ, who had a promising career, decided like many before him to sacrifice himself at the altar of BUSH. Bush has ruined a lot of careers, but no one's anchor was more firmly tied to Bush then Martinez. He should be glad that he's not up for re-election this time, but it won't matter. He will be gone.

Mel Martinez, biggest Florida loser of the 2007. Congratulations.

What is "Seminole"?

Taking a short break from politics for this week. I'll return next week. In the meantime, I will tout a store in our own county that is unique, fun, and people from all political stripes should visit. (PS-I'm not getting paid for this. But I do want to give my support to a local Seminole business owner)

I drove past this store many times and finally decided to go in. I wanted an antique map of Florida to hang in my office and figured this would be the place. I dragged my wife to the Map and Globe Store, located in Sanford, FL. Although she didn't want to go, she was glad she did. The owner of the store has visited every continent and virtually every country. She is a cartographer who publishes many official maps for the state; but she collects antique maps and globes as a hobby. Her unique globes are all around the store--some are exquisite; others are funny (such as the one with Disney characters from their native lands); and then there is the 70s globe that becomes a bar. It has other interesting items:

• There is a wooden map of the world, where each nation is made out of wood indigenous to that country (with the exception of Antarctica).
  
  
• There is the United States Map made out of state licesnse plates.
  
  
• There is the map of Florida where each city is a fun drawing of something unique (it even has UCF's new football stadium)
  
  
• There is a collection of different world maps that each attempt to accurately capture the spherical globe. (The most common is the "Good God Greenland map", which shows Greenland on par with Africa. The most accurate is the Peters map, which scrunch up the continents)
  
  
• OLD, VERY OLD Florida maps. Interestingly, the maps of the 1800s are sealed in plastic, but the VERY old ones, such as one from the 1600s, you can touch as much as you want. The reason? The very old maps were printed on parchment, made from animal skin--not paper.

It made me want to learn some more about where I live.

Quick question: How many counties does Florida currently have?

If you said two, you would have been right 150 years ago. Florida was divided into just two counties in 1845: St. John's on the right and Escambia on the left. Today, it has 67.

St. John's County was divided up several more times, which includes a giant county that streched from Central to South Florida called Mosquito County: (in yellow):



When Florida became a state, Mosquito County was renamed Orange County (better for tourists), and was further cut up into Volusia, Brevard, and Osceola County.

Orange was still pretty populated. It was getting too big--so on April 25, 1913, the top portion split into Seminole County. It was named after the tribe of Indians native to Florida. (There is talk today of Orange breaking again into the western portion, but the map today is pretty set.)

By the way, the Seminole County museum is also located in Sanford. It's free admission if you'd like to check it out some time. Sanford is the county seat of government. The historic area is featured on the top right of this blog's title bar; and the newer portion (to include the new courthouse) is seen on the top left.

Well, that's the Seminole portion of the Seminole Democrat (Republican). Hope you learned something. Visit the museum and the store for more info.

Next week, I'll return to focusing on the rest of the title....

Who the Running Mates WILL Be...(and other certainties)

Quick post here. I know who will win the primaries, what the ticket will be on both sides, and who will win...


1. Hillary and Rudy. There. It's official. You can take that to the bank. Look over my analysis, but it's pretty much set.

2. Rudy will pick Huckabee to be his veep. It's pretty much already decided. No other contender comes close to what he needs to make a package palatable for a disenfranchised base. (He actually wants McCain, but he knows that's stupid.) Heart Huckabee. Take that to the bank.

Hillary is tougher, but I am 98% certain she is going to pick Ted Strickland. Popular governor of Ohio who took over from the most corrupt GOP governor in that state's history. That seals the deal--since FL will probably go red again (it will be close), Hillary needs Ohio and Pennsylvania. She has PA sewn up, and this will ensure an Ohio victory. It's already leaning her way, but she won't take chances. She is too smart.

The only way I am hedging is because she WANTS to pick her friend Wes Clark. That would be a good choice since he's likable and gives strong military credentials. But she won't.

WHO IS GOING TO WIN?

Hillary/Strickland will beat Rudy/Huckabee. It will be a lot closer than people realize, but it will happen.