The freshmen take over the mansion
You can't tell the players without a scorecard and the governor's staffers had 'em, even though these guests all wore name tags. (The scorecard is a pocket guide called "2008-2010 Freshman House Members," to help distinguish Eric Eisnaugle from Erik Fresen). Gov. Charlie Crist rolled out the welcome mat at the Mansion Tuesday for the 43 freshman legislators -- not the last time they'll get the royal treatment.
In the Mansion library, Crist debriefed Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville, on her recent campaign, and asked her to call on him anytime. In brief remarks, he gave shout-outs to Jones; Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale; Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee; Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale and Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naples. "There's a lot of you," Crist told the large group. "You've got a lot of power, whether you know it or not."
From the writers of the St. Petersburg Times, The Buzz offers the latest news in Florida politics. This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the St. Petersburg Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper. You are not engaging in private communication with candidates or Times staffers.
Rehwinkel Vasilinda is in line to become House Speaker. Mark my words! Rehwinkels, like cream, always rise to the top...
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 08:24 PM
He actually mentioned a republican in his "shout-outs"
Is it started freeze a couple miles down?
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 08:53 PM
The only thing Rehwinkel Vasilinda is in line for is a 2010 beat down by Peter Boulware. In a heavily Democratic district Boulware came within 440 votes of beating her in the Dems best year in decades. She is gone in two years.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 08:56 PM
Why Charlies interest in so many of the new Democrats? Is he going to sign a switch card soon???
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Thurston isn't a freshman.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Fresnen for speaker.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 09:10 PM
Rehwinkel Vasilinda is one to watch, she's a quiet leader - a freshman democrat in office less than two months that was able to get state employees a couple of extra days off! Boulware wouldn't have done it.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 09:20 PM
Mike should get off the blogs.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 09:23 PM
He's just being a protective husband
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 09:50 PM
Grady is always hanging with the Dems.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Thurston might as well be a freshman. He has't accomplished anything during his time in the House- except expand his waistline.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 10:13 PM
A couple more days off... That's exactly what Florida needed. You want to help the state AND state employees? Cut the chaff and give raises to the real workers.
Posted by: | January 06, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Vasilinda Speaker?!?!?, remember people just because she won with Obama's coattails doesn't mean anything. Besides 400 votes isn't a stellar performance, especially in a yellow dog district with a Change presidential candidate.
Wait in two years when Obama isn't running. Leadership my ...
Posted by: Florida Is Still Red. | January 07, 2009 at 01:05 AM
Perry probaby snuck in as I hear THURSTON wants to be Minority Leader- man he couldn't even get his Uncle Elected in Nov how would he ever get the D's to pick up even a couple of seats. Saunders is the only one I know that can get the job done.
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 07:23 AM
Rehwinkel is a bitter hag. The only thing she is good at is being nasty. Nothing she does will pass.
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 08:21 AM
It seems that NASA's James Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), is at it again. He just can't let the data speak for itself. In yet another egregious display of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) arrogance, he changed the temperature data from 1910-2008 to reflect what is clearly a cooling trend to reflect a warming trend. (Y-axis = Annual Mean Temperatures in centigrade; X-axis = Year)
These are the USHCN (United States Historical Climatology Network) "raw" and "homogenized" data plots from the GISTEMP (GISS Surface Temperature) website synthesized into one chart with polynomial fit trend lines. As seen in this comparison chart, the Blue Lines represent raw data -- clearly indicating a cooling trend. Whereas the Red Lines are the adjusted trends after subjected to Hansen's own curiously compensating algorithm. Junk in = Junk out.
Indeed this past year (2008) is set to be the coolest since 2000, according to a preliminary estimate of global average temperature that is due to be released this month by the Met Office's Hadley Centre in Great Britain. The global average for 2008 should come in close to 14.3C, which is 0.14C below the average temperature for 2001-07.
Nevertheless, global warming partisans at the Met and elsewhere have taken to assuring everyone that cool temperatures are "absolutely not" evidence that global warming is on the wane. Yet those warning and cautionary adamancies are always absent when it comes to linking heat waves to global warming. "Curiouser and curiouser," said Lewis Carroll.
However, One major glitch in the reporting of temperatures has been quietly forgotten by the Met and others of AGW persuasion as documented here.... When the Soviet Union fell in 1990 the number of reporting weather stations around the world declined from a high of 15,000 in 1970 to 5,000 in 2000, no appropriate compensatory weighting mechanism was thereafter applied. Such an absence critically skews everything thereafter to the warmer side of things, since it takes some of the coldest places on the planet (like Siberia) out of the equation. With that absence, it's likely getting colder than we now know. How convenient!
Said Geophysicist Dr. David Deming, associate professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma who has published numerous peer-reviewed research articles:
"Environmental extremists and global warming alarmists are in denial and running for cover.... To the extent global warming was ever valid, it is now officially over. It is time to file this theory in the dustbin of history, next to Aristotelean physics, Neptunism, the geocentric universe, phlogiston, and a plethora of other incorrect scientific theories, all of which had vocal and dogmatic supporters who cited incontrovertible evidence. Weather and climate change are natural processes beyond human control. To argue otherwise is to deny the factual evidence."
Amen and Amen!
Posted by: alert to Kise and LeMieux-----global warming wont get you votes. | January 07, 2009 at 09:22 AM
They may as well behaving dinner at the Manse since they all have nothing at all to do or say this week on the budget...
Posted by: Harsh Reality | January 07, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Fresen? Speaker? Serious?
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 09:46 AM
Sansom's friend - Jay Odom's contributions to some of the freshmen, some that didn't win, some other Republicans. The State of Florida - the best money can buy. http://spacecoastpolitics.com/2009/01/04/odom-sansom/
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Vasalinda barely beat a candidate that wasn't prepared to run...
She has an attitude that was glaring in each and every debate...
Her husband is a bitter has-been...
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Speaker Vasilinda. LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Speaker Fresen. Laughing almost as much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 11:25 AM
It's about time we got a Rehwinkel in the speakership. Go Michelle, go!
Posted by: | January 07, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Just when I think our country is winning the war on drugs I read posts and realize that half the state must be stoned. These posts are sad and ridiculous.
Posted by: Just Say No | January 07, 2009 at 09:03 PM
I campaigned heavily for Peter Boulware. I am proud of the campaign he ran.
That said, I have met Rep. Vasilinda on several occasions while campaigning and most recently at party held by the Governor.
And even though she knew I was obviously for Peter she was very cordial to me.
Her biggest pro right now is her Southern charm. Voters like that.
Her biggest con: her husband. I literally heard hundreds of people say they were not voting for her because of him.
Posted by: | January 08, 2009 at 01:11 PM
Michelle and Mike - get off the blogs and get back to work. It is getting old.
Posted by: | January 08, 2009 at 09:36 PM