Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s approval ratings are high at home, but in the Holy Land he is absolutely deified, the Palm Beach Post discloses. Making a trade visit to Israel this week, the freshman Republican was greeted by a headline in the English-language Jerusalem Post that read: “Christ visits Jerusalem.” The accompanying photo of a silver-haired, clean-shaven Crist probably dispelled any confusion, though.
Governor’s gaffes
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons must be envious of that kind of flattery. The New York Times recounts the Republican’s many woes since winning office the same day as Crist, leaving the freshman with a meager 28-percent approval rating in a recent poll. Among the gaffes, Gibbons has called his Turkish energy adviser “Indian” and advocated a plan to exploit Nevada’s (nonexistent) coal reserves. This news came after a troubled gubernatorial campaign in which Gibbons suggested using “liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals” as human shields in Iraq.
Ku Klux Klan plates?
A one-man crusade against specialty license plates for survivors of those killed in war has come to an end in Nebraska, the Omaha World-Herald reports. State Sen. Ernie Chambers, who opposes all specialty vehicle plates, had single-handedly dragged out debate for 7.5 hours over three days, the paper previously noted. His final stall tactic — a proposal of specialty plates for the Ku Klux Klan — failed, allowing the bill to cruise through the unicameral Legislature, 45-1. Thinking ahead, lawmakers delayed funding for the plates until 2009, after term limits put Chambers safely out of office.
They don’t mind the calorie count
Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife broke out Krispy Kreme doughnuts in an attempt to capture bears and remove them from populated areas after a spate of sightings, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reveals.
Never too late for a teacher-student sex ban
A House committee in Louisiana deemed it wise to ban teacher-student sex, The Advocate of Baton Rouge discovers. While this may seem rather, well, remedial, no laws are on the books in the Bayou State expressly prohibiting consensual sex between adult educators and students older than 16. Bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers, one state representative noted, still wouldn’t be covered under the legislation.
Stateline.org is an independent element of the Pew Research Center and is based in Washington, DC