Is Florida The Wackiest State in the Union?

Florida governor Rick Scott

Two generations ago, the prevailing wisdom maintained that California was filled with strange people, odd beliefs, and weird activities. One really doesn't hear that about the Golden State these days. Perhaps that's due to Florida supplanting California for sheer goofiness.

Ah, yes, the Sunshine State. It's a cozy home for drug lords, Medicare cheats, communities filled with the nearly dead, and wacky politicians. I took a glance at the Miami Herald (a relatively sane, South Florida oasis of journalism), and here's a sampler of today's stories:

• Republican governor Rick Scott cancelled a $25,000/head fund raiser, which featured a live alligator hunt. Keep in mind that 'gators are a federally protected species.
• Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested Pastor Terry Jones today. He intended to burn thousands of Qurans as a protest to the events of September 11, 2001.
• The former CEO of a South Florida psychiatric hospital was sentenced to 25 years for milking the Medicare system out of $67 million. The now-convicted felon is 60 years old.

These are not particularly unusual stories to emerge from the Sunshine State. Trust me: California has nothing on Florida when it comes to wackiness.