Word Nazis

Wow, yours truly was somewhat taken aback by the response to yesterday's post about the British elections.

Ironically, none of the emails received in this little corner of heaven had anything to do with Gordon Brown, David Cameron, or Nick Clegg.

Rather, every single one of them was an indictment of my use of the adjective "reckless."

I was told in so many words to invest in a new spell-checker, that said descriptor should have been preceded with a w. ("wreckless")

That just didn't sound correct to me, so I did some research. "Wreckless" implies the lack of a collision or some other disastrous event. "Reckless," on the other hand, is apparently an abbreviated form of "reckonless," to be used in describing something that can't be reckoned (calculated).

All that being said, I have to stand by my use of RECKLESS.

Oh, and David Cameron will be the next British PM, too!

Politics . . . British style

Ok, I'll admit it.

I am the reason why CSPAN continues to broadcast the British Parliament on those three-digit cable channels around this little corner of heaven.

Frankly, it's the best reality tv one can find.

But, I realize I'm a member of a distinct minority on this side of the pond.

Most folks over here are sick enough from American politics to devote any time following overseas elections.

So, I'm sure most of ye devoted socks couldn't care less about the fact that Britain will most likely have a new Prime Minister tomorrow.

Just don't tell the folks at Bright House about your apathy, or they might engage in some reckless reprogramming!

Craig Miller's new video

Ye socks who live in Florida's 24th Congressional District should give serious consideration to replacing Suzanne Kosmas with this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGyq2nhAi24

And, then there were FOUR?!

The political scuttlebutt around this little corner of heaven is that former State Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster will join the already crowded field of candidates in the Republican primary who are seeking to unseat the shame of Central Florida: Alan Grayson.

Nothing's official, yet. Just heard he's going to be making a statement tomorrow. But, I think we can read the tea leaves on this one . . .

Already in the race are Orlando businessman Bruce O'Donoghue; State Rep. Kurt Kelly of Ocala; and local attorney/radio show host Todd Long.

Hold on to your seats, folks! This could be a game changer!

Crist campaign is toast

Our illustrious governor was twice burned yesterday.

And, that's not a tasteless reference to his famously perennial suntan.

Ye socks who have followed his inexplicable career to date have no doubt noticed his predilection for hitching his wagon to greater stars in the political universe.

Remember in the rosy days following the dawn of the ObamaNation how he gleefully embraced the disaster-in-waiting otherwise known as "the stimulus plan?!"

More recently, he's been pimping whatever conservative credentials he thought he had left by invoking the name of his supposed-mentor Connie Mack.

I can only imagine how he felt when his hug buddy paid a whopping 27 minutes of lip service to the future of Florida's Space Coast. It was painfully clear the real presidential focus was on getting away from Cape Canaveral as quickly as possible to attend a big Democratic fundraiser down in Miami. His announced policy shift essentially left the country's space program in shambles, and thousands more Floridians worrying about their jobs.

And, as for Mack, he walked away from Crist's senate campaign in the wake of his veto of the education bill.

Whispers abound this morning that Mitt Romney will soon be joining Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani in endorsing Crist's primary opponent Marco Rubio.

Methinks in the past 24 hours or so that Charlie may have discovered just how few real allies he has.

So, could he seriously be considering a run as an independent?!

Stranger things have happened, I suppose. I mean, this IS Florida, after all!!

Seriously?! THAT is my congressman?!

Who, indeed?

Congressional candidate Bruce O'Donoghue picked up two key endorsements this fine Monday morning at Four Rivers Smokehouse in Winter Park.

The first came from former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, who has known Mr. O'Donoghue since he was in the sixth grade.

The other was made by former Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings, whose brothers went to the University of Florida with O'Donoghue.

And, yet, the guy he's campaigning to replace is pretending like he will have no real competition. When asked what he thinks of the new candidate, Alan Grayson's supporters dutifully respond, "O'Donogh-who?!"

A regular laugh riot they are, no?

I suspect, however, the joke is going to be on them come November.

That they profess not to know who O'Donoghue is only highlights how very shallow Grayson's roots are in this community.

His potential successor summarized the situation rather well. "I think that Mr. Grayson is passionate about what he believes, and his style is unique," said Mr. O'Donoghue. "But, he is somebody who doesn't represent the values of the people of Central Florida."

True.

Meet the candidate

This morning, our regular breakfast bunch was honored to welcome a special guest to the table: Bruce O'Donoghue.

As noted in a couple of posts earlier this week, Mr. O'Donoghue recently announced his candidacy for Congress.

Reading the paper, googling, and watching campaign ads on TV are the ways most of us have to learn more about the candidates whose names eventually pop-up on our ballots. But, getting to look them in the eye and ask them direct questions are rare opportunities. And, I'm glad I had both this morning.

Mr. O'Donoghue reassured me that my initial impressions of him as a serious candidate were accurate. This guy can beat Alan Grayson in the general election this fall.

Primary field narrows

Further to my post on Monday, it would appear that the crowded field of candidates who are eager to unseat our insane congressman Alan Grayson has gotten a little smaller.

Armando Gutierrez, the youthful developer and recent Harvard grad who moved to this little corner of heaven last year, decided to bow-out yesterday.

This decision came despite his great fundraising successes.

Apparently, he is putting his political ambitions on the backburner--at least temporarily--to focus his efforts on bringing a major league baseball franchise to Orlando.

I wish him luck in that endeavor.

The departure of Gutierrez leaves Bruce O'Donoghue and Kurt Kelly as the two most serious contenders in this primary . . . at least in my not-so-humble opinion.

A crowded field gets more crowded

Is it ever sickening to see Alan Grayson's image pop up on a national broadcast, letting the whole world know that this little corner of heaven is represented in Congress by a complete nut case . . .

Ye out-of-town socks may be unaware of this goofball, though that's increasingly hard to believe given his penchant for outrageous utterances and outlandish behavior.

If you don't believe me, check out a site that chronicles our shame: http://www.mycongressmanisnuts.com/

Anyway, this guy only managed to buy his seat in Congress due to the very poor record of his predecessor and by riding the ObamaNation wave in '08.

Now, folks are chomping at the bit to unseat him in 2010 and bring this embarassment to an end. Indeed, the field of hopefuls has gotten crowded. There's state rep Kurt Kelly of Ocala; talk show host and personal injury lawyer Todd Long; developer Armando Gutierrez; and Winter Park anesthesiologist Ken Miller, just to name a few!

Today, though, that field got even more crowded with this announcement by local businessman Bruce O'Donoghue: "Over the past year, politicians in Washington have managed to jeopardize the futures of both our parents and our children. We cannot afford to allow this trend to continue unchecked."

With statements like that and his long standing in the community, Mr. O'Donoghue immediately finds himself at the top of the proverbial heap of candidates. To stay there he will have to beat Rep. Kelly in racking-up endorsements and Mr. Gutierrez in collecting campaign contributions. Yours truly will be looking forward to seeing if he can do that before the August primary.

Oh, yeah, and "white rabbit" to ye socks who know what that means!

Presidential Identity Crisis

Did any of ye socks catch any of the coverage of the Republican retreat up in Baltimore today?

I know, I know. This is not the sort of event that generally attracts a lot of attention.

But, it was really worth watching this time, because they invited Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., to appear as a guest speaker.

You really have to give the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue some credit for accepting that invitation.

When I heard he had agreed to be there, I'll admit there was a glimmer of "hope" that he was going to undertake some "change" we really could believe in.

But, that glimmer was quickly dashed.

The ObamaNation is not interested either in learning from its many mistakes over the past year or in compromising with the current minority party in Congress.

Instead, the rabble-rouser-in-chief took this opportunity to tell his hosts what he is NOT.

Apparently, he's neither a Bolshevik nor an idealist.

Well, you have to give him that. Bolsheviks at least gave lip service to the working class, while this administration is clearly more interested in keeping people OUT of work than anything else.

And, as far as the idealist thing goes, did anyone else out there think his rejection of the label sounded an awful lot like Nixon's infamous claim, "I am not a crook?!?"

Baltimore was not about dialogue for Mr. Obama, just another opportunity for pontification and grand standing. He's pretty good at that theatrical kind of stuff. It's the legislating and governing stuff he's still struggling with . . .

Pre-empting the State of the Union

Unlike so many of ye socks (tongue planted firmly in cheek), yours truly does not plan to watch this evening's State of the Union address.

Instead, I plan on tuning-out the coverage that is blanketing the airwaves and cable channels more heavily than the recent Haiti earthquake coverage. The alternatives offered by our friends at Netflix are far more palatable.

I did, however, read an advance copy of the speech.

Not only did it reaffirm my viewing choice for this evening, it also made it abundantly clear the White House still doesn't "get it."

The American people want the economy (and JOBS!) at the top of the priority list, not a federal takeover of our healthcare system.

And, even if we did, the manner in which the president's minions in Congress have been conducting business should be repudiated.

At the end of the day, Americans of all political persuasions prefer basic fairness to back door deals like the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisana Purchase, union exemptions, etc., etc.

It's piffle and nonsense like this that is causing people to turn to DVD's in their mailbox instead of their representatives in DC these days.

As American as Apple Pannini . . . er . . . Pie

The lunch hour found yours truly at Citrus Restaurant on North Orange Ave.

A little ritzier than my typical lunchtime haunts, to be sure.

One of the specials was a pannini whose innards included slices of the proverbial forbidden fruit . . . about as close as I was likely to get to apple pie on this Election Day 2009.

Of course, the politics of the day was covered in the lunchtime conversation.

I believe the general consensus is that Virginia and New Jersey will switch back to the GOP column, at least as far as their governors' mansions are concerned.

But, that's about where the consensus ends.

Whether or not one chooses to read anything more into this off-off-year election results is none of my business.

If you really want a tough choice, try to figure out what more peculiar pannini ingredient the folks over at Citrus might try to inject into the lunchtime menu . . .

Q-tip head makes it official

For ye socks who noticed the thunderous lack of enthusiasm in Tallahassee and elsewhere across the Sunshine State this morning, I am pretty sure that was just our collective gut reaction to Charlie Crist's announcement that he will be abandoning his post at the governor's mansion in a pathetic attempt to become our next junior U.S. Senator.

You know what they say, when the going gets tough, Charlie gets going.

Since the oh-so-tan Crist took office, we've seen unemployment skyrocket to nearly 10%; our taxes hiked to the tune of $2 billion; and state services cut across the board.

And, now, he wants to take that level of achievement to DC, huh?

Well, in addition to his lousy performance to date, Crist has apparently forgotten the very large number of Republican voters who were disgusted by the way he embraced the ObamaNation's "stimulus" plan and its huge price tag . . . going so far as to welcome the Idiot-in-Chief in person at an appearance in Fort Myers. You can bet that picture is going to get some serious play over the next 18 months when the only "stimulus" we get out of that little plan is going to be runaway inflation . . .

Personally, I'm hoping former state house leader Marco Rubio is able to thwart Crist's further ambitions.

Otherwise, that goober is likely to go down in flames against the Democratic nominee the way he did back in '98 when he foolishly tried to unseat Bob Graham.

Will the madness never end?!?

Steelers Win!

No, I'm not referring to the football team from Pittsburgh. Their big contest is Sunday, remember?

Instead, I refer to the supporters of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who succeded in ousting the sitting Republican National Committee chairman and replacing him with their guy.

Let's face it. The GOP needs to tend so some serious wounds after the drubbing we've taken in the last two election cycles.

Hopefully, Steele will realize we need to purge the party of McCainism--the appeasement of Democrats and their constituents instead of appealing to and rallying the Republican base. Maverick, schmaverick. We need to get back to the principles that made the party great: lower taxes, smaller government, more personal responsibility, and dogged defense of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Let the ObamaNation stand for hand-outs, bail-outs, and cop-outs. We need to be a strong and clear voice of opposition, not their lapdogs and handmaidens.

Redistribution of wealth

Raising taxes on those who are already paying taxes to write checks to 15 million people who never pay taxes is NOT a tax cut.

It's called socialism.

And, I don't care how many pretty words you can string together in your efforts to sell it, I'm not buying.

A fresh perspective on The New Deal

Well, ye socks, I have to admit that I did NOT stay up to watch the presidential debate last night.

I figured, why bother getting all riled-up when you've already made up your mind who you're going to vote for?!

Instead, I turned to a book for my evening entertainment. Though it was an economic history of the Great Depression, I was surprised to see how many lessons could be applied to current events.

If you want to go out and get a copy at your local bookstore or library, here's the bibliographical info:

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, by Amity Shlaes, ISBN 9780060936426.

Ms. Shlaes is an economist by training and uses her egg-shaped head to pick apart one of the biggest icons of big government: Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Her indictment against FDR contains the following charges:

1. That his socialist economic policies actually prolonged the country's depression.

2. That his expansion of welfare programs created "indebted constituencies" and led to class warfare.

3. That his attacks on the free market led to the rise of special interest groups and their lobbyists.

I sincerely doubt that the junior senator from Illinois, or any of his ilk for that matter, would bother to crack a book that criticizes the godfather of big government taxing and spending.

I just hope the electorate hasn't been dumbed down to the level where pretty words and pompoms can make them overlook the warnings from Shlaes and other economists.

Reagan was right (again). Big government isn't the solution. Big government is the problem.

Orlando gives "Thumbs-up" to McCain

The Republican presidential candidate paid a visit to this little corner of heaven yesterday.

Actually, it's his third visit in as many weeks.

I guess the pundits are correct. The I-4 Corridor will once again play a pivotal role in picking the new White House tenants. Those on the short list have certainly been courting us lately.

This time, Senator McCain was the guest of La Asociacion Borinquena de Florida Central, a Puerto Rican social club east of downtown Orlando.

You can tell from this picture that he was in good company. That's former governor Jeb Bush applauding in the background, far left. The current governor Charlie Christ is back there, too. He's the one sans jacket with shirt sleeves rolled-up. The man in mid-applause second from the right is my dad's old high school classmate and current Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty. Hidden behind McCain in this shot were a pair of Martinezes: Senator Mel and former governor Bob.

Love him or not, McCain was in his element in this small townhall sized event. Now I know why the junior senator from Illinois is afraid to engage him one on one in this sort of arena--despite the standing offer of free airfare.

The speechifying was, thankfully, kept to a minimum. The nominee touched on only 3 main themes:

1. The mess in the financial markets. He blasted those who have "treated Wall Street like a casino." A bit populist, but it resonated.

2. His plan to have 45 nuclear plants up and running by 2030, a goal that will not only move us toward energy independence but also toward a greener environment.

3. The success of the surge in Iraq. He always seems to go there, doesn't he? Well, I guess it's working for him . . .

Latest polls show all this courting of Sunshine State voters is paying off for the GOP. If he'd just send Sarah Palin down this way for a visit or two, he could seal the deal . . .

Tina Fey could have a new career!

I had no Gator game to watch this weekend. So, restless as that left me on this fine Saturday, I was able to stay up late enough to catch the season premiere of SNL.

I must confess that the show has lost its shine for me in recent years.

Of course, that probably has something to do with being out of college and a near elimination of beer consumption.

Most of the show still comes off as sophomoric to me. But, tonight's opening skit really had me laughing.

It featured Tina Fey as VP nominee Sarah Palin, and Amy Poehler as the woman who should have been the Democratic presidential nominee.

Now, Poehler is leaving at the end of the season. Apparently, there won't be much need for her impersonation of the junior senator from New York in the near term.

However, if things go well for the Republican ticket this Fall, I believe Fey will have at least four good years of impersonating Palin.

I'd been saying for weeks that there was a physical resemblance between these two very attractive women.

But, Fey deserves a lot of credit for picking up a pretty good Palin-esque accent along with some of the Alaska governor's podium mannerisms. I can only imagine how good both the comedienne and her muse will get with practice.

That alone should be enough to get you undecided voters off the fence and behind the GOP bandwagon!

Like nails on a chalkboard

After seeing Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and other stellar speakers at the GOP convention earlier this week, last night's presidential nomination acceptance speech by John McCain was something of a letdown.

Fortunately, what he lacks in charisma is more than made up by his integrity and leadership abilities.

Nevertheless, there was one point in his speech that really grated on the nerves of this genealogist:

"We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, from the boy whose DESCENDANTS arrived on the 'Mayflower' to the Latina daughter of migrant workers."

With all the money I'm sure the McCain campaign pays their speech writers, editors, vetters, media consultants, and handlers, I find it hard to believe that no one over there knows the definition of "descendants." For their edification:

descendants - (n) one's posterity, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.

Any boy who had descendants on the Mayflower would have to be tremendously old, even older than John McCain's 96-year-old mother Roberta, and could hardly be described as a boy in the first place.

I'm 99% certain the word they were looking for (or, should have been) is

ancestors - (n) one's forebears, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.

Maybe, the McCain campaign would like to hire a certain genealogical consultant to vet any future speeches.

Know your genealogy, ye socks!