The Way I See ItBy cj pollickCall Your Legislators - But not Senator Mel Martinez. If you do, you will get a recording that says his mailbox is FULL - Goodbye. Guess he will be saying he got no negative phone calls regarding the fact he is trying to push the "Amnesty" Bill for ILLEGALS! Hurricane Season In Florida - Some people are saying this could be a busy hurricane season for the State of Florida. Of course, weathermen have been wrong in their predictions about the number of hurricanes expected to hit Florida for years. Weathermen have been wrong in prognosticating the number of hurricanes that might hit the shores of Florida, both on the high side of predictions and on the low side. This hurricane season is expected to be worse than last year. With the number of large insurance companies willing to write property insurance in Florida at an all-time low, it makes you wonder how another bad hurricane season might affect the few remaining large insurers. (One could only imagine the losses that would fall on the taxpayer-owned Citizens Insurance.) Thanks to our legislators who most likely will not solve the Florida property tax issue, another bad hurricane season would likely eliminate any remaining property insurance market. High property insurance rates and high real estate property taxes - talk about a double dose of pain for Florida residents! As the warm summer blossoms in Florida, let's not forget to keep an eye on the weather in Western Africa where the Atlantic hurricanes are bred. No hurricanes in Florida for 2007? Let's hope so. It might help to attract one or two major insurers to the Florida property insurance market. Kill The Little Gators? - Recently there was discussion in Tallahassee to allow people to rid their neighborhood ponds of alligators under four feet. Good idea. However, what about the gators over four feet? Can You Believe It? - Just when you might have thought Florida legislators were going to cut taxes, they increased taxes. Yes, tax increases. Recently, our elected folks increased taxes that fund Florida public schools. Educational tax increase that was unfortunately passed-on to local governments. We will soon pay more in school taxes - thanks to educational tax increases. What about the once proposed property tax cut in favor of an increased sales tax? Out the door. (Government lobbyists took care of that idea.) Elected folks are now discussing ideas to increase homestead exemptions and other less important tax-saving plans. None of which would offer the same tax relief as NO PROPERTY TAX. Florida Democrats have said they would like enough time to take proposed ideas back to the people for input before any vote. Sounds like a great idea; anything less would smack of bad politics in the state's capital. By the way, where is Governor Charlie Crist on this issue? More taxes or less taxes? Mortgage Foreclosures? - According to a writer who follows bank lending patterns, "There is a flood of foreclosures coming... about 1.1 million of them (over the next six years.)" If borrowers have an adjustable rate mortgage obtained during 2004-2006 under 4 percent, then it is likely that they could see new (adjusted) mortgage payments double. If that happens, then the rate of bank foreclosures would increase. Each rise or fall in house prices, stated the writer, would relate to potential increases or decreases in the number of foreclosures by 70,000. Adjustable rate mortgages? Depends upon when people got them and the adjustable rate they obtained. Under 4 percent? Maybe it is time to revisit that adjustable rate mortgage with the bank, before it becomes a problem. The Russian Bear Arises - When you read about the things Vladimer Putin, the head of Russia, says about protecting Russian interests and developing the Russian economy, he sounds like a tough leader. However, who could blame Putin for protecting Russian interests? Certainly can't be us Americans. Where is Russia economically? Debt free. They do not owe money to anyone. Rather, Russia has become a large supplier of natural gas and oil. Many nations around the world depend on Russia for its source of energy. Hence, Russia has developed great influence. On the other hand, America is energy dependent on other oil nations for fuel. American legislators frown upon oil exploration in America. The result? America will continue to be oil dependent - and, that is not a good thing. Europe has undergone a change to create one European Union. A Union of what could be referred to as smaller geographic nations banding together for economic strength and... perhaps military muscle. This so-called European Union looks to the United States for military technology, and wisely so, America has fought in more military battles of late than any other nation on Earth. America has military technology. Back to Russia. When it was released that Poland and possibly the Czech Republic would develop, with U.S. help, military weapons to counter any nuclear bomb attack, Russia said they would develop nuclear weapons that could not be stopped by such a defense. Obviously, Russians believe that small European nations need to be afraid of the overall military strength of Russia and remain in fear of the Russian Bear. Another cold war with Russia? Let's hope not. Russia has developed a strong economy and Russian people are enjoying the fruits of that growing economy. The Russian people would not support an economic" cold" war that would take them backwards. On the other hand, Vladimer Putin can't be trusted-- he is an ex-KGB type of ruler who still resents America and just the idea of American military technology next to Russian borders might cause him to act abnormally. Putin is still a Communist.. Europe? The way I see it, they have a problem. There is no way they could defend themselves against Russia. Strangely enough, It was not long ago that we thought the real threat in Europe was China and North Korea. They Just Don't Get It - Granting any form of amnesty (sugar-coat the word all the politicians want) to illegal immigrants is not popular with the majority of American voters. Illegal immigration is illegal - the shocking fact that our government does not enforce current illegal immigration law has most Americans upset. Legal immigration? No problem. Many Americans remember when someone in their family came to America, legally. Our U.S. Congress is having trouble passing laws that would grant amnesty to illegals in America. Voters are calling legislators to let them know that if they vote for amnesty for illegals they would lose their vote at re-election time. In Florida, both Senators Nelson and Martinez voted for amnesty. Perhaps this is another reason why Senator Mel Martinez (R.) might lose re-election . . . to a more conservative Democrat. Why do elected folks in Washington forget the very people that put them in elected office? You tell me. Dog Fighting And Michael Vick -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick earns millions of dollars a year playing football. He is one of the best athletes playing professional football. Yet, with all the good things life can bestow Michael Vick, he is being investigated for perhaps having a role in dog fighting at one of his properties. Pitbull dog fights. People who have investigated pitbull dog fights paint a gruesome picture of what happens to these unfortunate dogs. Suffice to state that these dogs are raised by some people to do only one thing, fight other dogs. When they lose or are hurt, the dogs are destroyed. Worse. Pictures of these fighting dogs are on the Internet. Prepare yourself, if you look under "dog fighting," for some horrid pictures and stories by people who have written about such dogs. The stories are almost beyond belief as far as how some people treat the dogs. Of course, dog fighting is illegal in most places in America and ... you could be in legal trouble just watching a dog fight. Michael Vick? There are witnesses that place him at the scene of dog fights. Amazing - A man awakened after 19 years in a coma. On several occasions a 65-year-old Polish man was given-up for dead by medical doctors, but his wife did not share such a view. She kept feeding and taking care of her husband for 19 years. Talk about "for better or worse!" The man was originally injured on the job while connecting two trains in Poland. He is now talking and beginning to move some body parts. Doctors expect he will gain the ability to walk in the near future. An amazing story - 19 years in a coma! On the other hand, there is the lucky fellow who was hit by a speeding truck and survived. The same fortunate man was recently hit by a bullet and survived due to the bullet hitting his cell phone. |