Year: 2007

Crist Seems Sincere, But Don’t They All?

Buck Banks


The air is thick with politics here at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami. Agendas are everywhere. Programs are being discussed, plans made and laid. And, appropriately, they have recycling bins in the press room.

Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist has been in office exactly six months and 11 days, and he has already set forth an environmental agenda that makes Jeb Bush look like the piker he was. Working with the state legislature, Crist has signed sweeping legislation that is set to fix problems with Lake Okeechobee and major rivers across Florida, as well as supporting the lagging Everglades restoration project.

When asked at the conference why no Bush administration officials were in attendance, Crist quipped, “I don’t know and I’m not sure why not. But we’re here.”

And, as was reported yesterday, he plans to sign executive orders tomorrow that will make Florida’s emissions standards look a lot like California’s. Of course, we thought that word of the executive order was released early to gin up attention for this conference, but, as Crist explained at a press conference this morning, because of Florida’s so-called “Sunshine Law,” it’s virtually impossible to keep a secret in Tallahassee, and word of the orders leaked yesterday.

Crist seemed genuinely disappointed, because he admittedly lost some of the potential media impact of the order due to the premature announcement.

Crist says he expects that a lot of the grass-roots work on the environmental front in Florida will be performed by volunteers — “children, adults and retirees,” he said. “Volunteers are a precious resource of renewable energy and enthusiasm,” he said. Hmmmm, sounds like, well, pie in the ozone layer.

More than 600 people — over 200 of them journalists — are attending the summit. When asked at the conference why no Bush administration officials were in attendance, Crist quipped, “I don’t know and I’m not sure why not. But we’re here.”

Asked whether such global matters as climate change might not be better served by working on a national level, Crist replied, “I’m governor of Florida. My opportunity, given to me by the people of Florida, is to try and make a difference in Florida.”

Crist lauded the state legislature and the Public Service Commission for their support of his environmental initiatives: “Somebody [Florida Power & Light] wanted to put a coal plant next to the Everglades — that’s just incredible. The Public Service Commission stepped in and stopped that.”

Crist seems to be sincere and committed and serious about this stuff. But then again, he is a Republican, so we remain skeptical, and like the man from Missouri, we say, Show me!

Florida Lawmaker Linked to McCain Nabbed for Paying Men to Blow Him

Trish
Republican State Rep. Bob Allen

John McCain just can’t catch a break. And those Republican Florida lawmakers just can’t keep their hands off the boys.

State Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) was arrested yesterday for soliciting prostitutes in the men’s restroom of a public park. Until his inconvenient nabbing, he was set to serve as co-chair for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in the Florida House of Representatives. Bummer.

According to police, the park was under surveillance today by a detail of undercover Titusville Police officers. Officers noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men’s restroom three times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. *

Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest.

Allen, as he was taken out of the Titusville Police Department to be transported to Sharpes, called the situation “a very big misunderstanding,” in comments to WFTV Channel 9.

“This is disgusting,” Allen said.

Well he got that part right anyway. It really is disgusting for someone to be such a hypocrite and to exhibit so much self-hatred and denial.

Allen is a former Little League volunteer who also donated time to the Boys and Girls Club, serving on its board of directors. Allen is married and has a teenage daughter.

The good news is that Allen might not be in all that much trouble. He is only charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which is no biggie in a legislative body. Heck, everyone’s got a few of those.

Allen faces a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail.

* Editor’s Note: My research from all the available sources indicates that although this account makes it sound like Allen was offering to sell a blow job, he was in fact offering to buy one. Maybe that was the misunderstanding he alluded to?

Live From Miami, It’s the Global Climate Change Summit

Buck Banks

Today and tomorrow I will be posting “live” from “Serve to Preserve,” Florida’s summit on global climate change. Although typically, Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist has already announced that he is going to announce far-reaching emissions goals for the state tomorrow, we’re here to see what else is going on on the climate change scene and whether the Republicans can really hijack this issue.

Participants in this summit include Crist, Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Kennedy Jr., Teddy Roosevelt IV and a bunch of other suits. Conspiracy theorists, hold your breath …

Here are links to our complete coverage:

If You Read This, You Probably Have a Mac

Trish

I’m not sure if it’s the Mac person or the marketer in me but I find this likely meaningless bit of trivia fascinating. It seems Mac users have an edge over Dell owners when it comes to “social participation” online, which would include sites like this one. Here’s what they found:

Apple Dell
Creators — Blog, publish web pages, upload videos 21% 12%
Critics — Comment on blogs, post ratings and reviews 25% 19%
Collectors — Use RSS, tag web pages 24% 14%
Joiners — Use social networking sites 26% 19%
Spectators — Read blogs, watch video, listen to podcasts 55% 30%
Inactives — Don’t participate in “social” activities online 34% 54%

Here at Pensito Review, one of us is totally Mac (hey, is that Uncle Tupelo on my Pandora station?), one of us is totally PC (Jon), and one of us goes back and forth, as expected from a registered Independent (Buck).

Video: Serial Adulterer Sen. Vitter Pontificates against Gay Marriage

Jon Ponder

“Marriage is the most fundamental social institution in human history,” Sen. David Vitter says in the video clip above. This statement came as part of the debate last summer over amending the U.S. Constitution to prevent gay people from marrying each other.

At the time, Vitter told CNN,”I don’t believe there’s any issue that’s more important than this one.”

Over the years, of course, Vitter has degraded and defiled his own marriage by hiring prostitutes, including at least one call girl from the D.C. Madam.

Prior to that, Wendy Cortez, a prostitute in New Orleans, claimed in 1999 that Vitter had an ongoing affair with her. Maybe he met her at this brothel:

In New Orleans, meanwhile, the madam of a high-priced brothel that was shut down by federal authorities in 2002 told a local television station, WDSU, that Mr. Vitter was one of her clients in the 1990s. The woman, Jeanette Maier, called him “one of the nicest and most honorable men I’ve ever met.” Mr. Vitter’s office did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday night.

American Family Association Spreading Hindu Hate

Buck Banks

From the folks who brought you homophobia on a national scale comes this latest — Hinduphobia. Unrelenting wingnut Donald “Wildman” Wildmon has got his panties in a twist because a Hindu — you know, the folks with the dots on their forehead — is giving the opening invocation in the Senate tomorrow. So he is enlisting his legions of zombie-like followers in the American Family Association to pester their senators into putting the kibosh on the cow worshipper.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nev., is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. According to Wildmon (which I could not confirm) Zed told the Las Vegas Sun that he will likely include in his prayer references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards [sic], and Bhagavard-Gita [sic]. Wildmon also alleges that unnamed historians say it will be the first Hindu prayer read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.

So Wildmon trots out the president of — get this — Wallbuilders (as opposed to, say, Bridgebuilders) to justify opposing Zed’s prayer:

‘What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?’
– David Barton

WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto “One Nation Under God.”

“In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods,” the Christian historian explains. “And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator — that’s not one that fits here because we don’t know which creator we’re talking about within the Hindu religion.”

Huh? OK, so Barton reasons (if we can call it that) that if ignorance of the Hindu religion is not enough, Zed’s prayer should be prevented because Hindus are such a tiny minority in America:

Barton says given the fact that Hindus are a tiny constituency of the American public, he questions the motivation of Senate leaders. “This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world,” he observes.

And while Barton acknowledges there is not constitutional problem with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, he wonders about the political side of it. “One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it,” he says. “What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?”

Besides Barton’s obvious inability to use English in a consistent, coherent manner, his message of ignorance and jingoism is a dangerous one. He seems to actually believe that the Constitution will be harmed and the Senate chambers will be permanently slimed by some kind of Hindu mojo, which encourages Wildmon’s attempt to gin up grass roots opposition to some foreign guy saying a prayer to anybody but Jesus.

Let’s just hope that the AFA’s foray into Hindu hatred fares as well as its ineffectual boycott of Ford Motor Co., and Rajan Zed gets to pray to Krishna in front of all those rich white people in the Senate.

Serial Adulterer Giuliani Is Disappointed That Sen. Vitter Had Sex with Hooker

Jon Ponder

Presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani’s reaction today to news that one of his supporters, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) admitted he procured at least one prostitute from the so-called D.C. Madam six years ago, has raised the bar in Republican hypocrisy about adultery:

“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”
— Wendy Vitter

On Vitter, Giuliani … emphasized “this is a personal issue” and highlighted that he couldn’t have achieved so much in the campaign and during his years as mayor without the good character of his staffers and supporters. “But,” Giuliani added, “Some people disappoint you.”

While he was mayor of New York, Giuliani had at least two affairs outside his marriage to Donna Hanover. He made headlines when Hanover learned that Rudy planned to divorce her when he announced it at a news conference.

Vitter serves as a regional chairman of Giuliani’s campaign in the South. Recently, Giuliani’s South Carolina finance chair, Tom Ravenel, quit the campaign after it was announced he had been indicted on federal cocaine distribution charges.

Vitter was elected to the House in 1999, filling the seat vacated by Rep. Bob Livingston, the would-be Speaker of the House who was ousted at the eleventh hour when porn purveyor Larry Flynt obtained evidence about Livingston’s kinky extramarital sex life.

(Livingston was taking over the speakership from Newt Gingrich, who was removed from the leadership when it was revealed he was having an affair with a staffer. In the background of all this, Gingrich, Livingston and the House GOP were busy impeaching Pres. Bill Clinton over a sex lie.)

As regards Vitter, it turns out that this is not the first time he has been caught paying for sex:

…Vitter was accused of an extramarital affair in 1999 with a New Orleans prostitute, Wendy Cortez. Wendy Cortez contacted former Governor Treen’s office during the 2002 campaign for governor that year, because she was unhappy he was claiming to be a family values candidate and cheating on his wife with her.

He says it’s all behind him now, which sounds like a good idea, considering this quote from his wife:

“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” Wendy Vitter told Newhouse News. “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”

“I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage,” she added. “Don’t put fear down.”

Lorena Bobbitt, you may recall (and I was fuzzy on the details, which Trish pointed out), cut off her husband’s offending member after he cheated on her and repeatedly assaulted her:

In the years following their 1989 marriage, the relationship between John Wayne Bobbitt, 26, and his Ecuadorian wife, Lorena, 24, grew increasingly strained. Their marital problems allegedly stemmed from a combination of the couple’s financial troubles, John’s extramarital affairs and his intensifying emotional and physical abuse of his wife. Their troubles peaked on June 23, 1993 when John came home to their Manassas, Va., apartment intoxicated after a night of partying and allegedly forced his wife to have sex, Lorena later testified during a 1994 court hearing.

Better watch out, Senator.

Can Peace in the Middle East Be Far Behind?

Buck Banks

One wonders: The Israeli government has issued a press release stating that by autumn its embassies in the United States will switch to hybrid-electric vehicles:

“Reducing oil dependence and protecting the environment are key factors in improving international security,” Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor said. “We are proud to be among the first countries to take this small but symbolic step. Our hope is that many small steps taken together will lead to major policy action around the world that will address one of the most critical strategic and environmental issues facing our common future.”

How about addressing the problem of the environmental impact of rockets and air strikes on Lebanon ….