The Way I See ItBy cj pollickBaseball Game In Philadelphia Mentioned As A Pork-Barrel Perk - In Clearwater it is common for city elected folks and a few top city staff members to visit Philadelphia and see a baseball game at the Phillies Stadium while talking with baseball officials about Philadelphia Phillies "Spring Ball" games played at Clearwater's new baseball stadium. Call it a business trip paid for by Clearwater taxpayers. However, when a recent issue developed where Clearwater officials were planning to cut police services (and related city expenses) at local high schools in Clearwater, the superintendent of Pinellas County schools was not pleased. It seems as though Clearwater had at one time wanted to provide security services at Clearwater schools instead of the Pinellas County Sheriff (county expenses.) Times have changed, and Clearwater, much like all local governments, is planning to cut city expenses due to state legislation that might cut property tax revenues to local governments. Budget planning. However, a letter was sent to Clearwater City Manager Bill Horne from School Superintendent Clayton Wilcox inferring that perhaps Clearwater should not waste city taxes by flying each year to Philadelphia to watch a baseball game. This might save some Clearwater budget funds to help pay for Clearwater school security services. Unfair criticism? At first blush, some people might say the letter to Bill Horne was, what some people refer to as, a "tough love" letter. Waste of taxpayer funds? Baseball game in Philly? You never know how much is gained by Clearwater in maintaining good relations with Clearwater's Philadelphia Baseball team management. Bush Has No Clout With GOP - Perhaps the only way one could describe the Bush Presidency at this time is use of the words "Lame Duck." No clout and out of touch with GOP conservatives. Democrats would not support any Bush idea unless it was part of their political agenda, while Republicans are now distancing themselves from a "Lame Duck" President. Which makes one wonder why Bush would expect Republicans to support his idea of amnesty for illegals. For Republicans it would be political suicide . . . in fact, not all Democrats favor the idea of amnesty for illegals. It is simply a bad idea. In the world of politics one never knows what private deals could be negotiated that would cause someone to change a Congressional vote. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has learned how to use her power to cut private deals However, most every politician in Washington privately hopes to avoid such a vote on amnesty. In some states, the potential loss of voter support might cause incumbents to lose re-election (such as Florida Sen. Mel Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson - - who both favor illegal amnesty.) In fact, recent polls show Sen. Martinez would likely lose re-election. President Bush said, "See you at the signing of the amnesty bill." Time will tell if Bush still holds influence over the GOP and can sway conservative votes in Washington. Then There Is Hillary Clinton - According to recent polling data, Hillary Clinton's campaign base has a high number of females that are generally less educated (less than a high school diploma) than another Democrat candidate (Obama) who tends to attract females with higher academic credentials. The same poll expects Obama to increase in female popularity over the next months as he explains his vision for a better America. Third favorite among female voters in the Democratic Party? Former Senator John Edwards. (Must be his hair!) With Obama making steady gains in popularity with Democrats, it makes you wonder if some of the other Democrat candidates might consider dropping out of the race and allow the three leading Democrat frontrunners to handle the few remaining primary debates. After all, does anyone give Sen. Chris Dodd or Sen. Joe Biden a chance at winning the Democrat Primary? Sen. Joe Lieberman, The Independent - When the Democrat Party opted to dump Sen. Joe Lieberman during his re-election campaign in Connecticut, Lieberman decided that maybe he was more of an "independent" type of politician than party-line Democrat. Lieberman lost the Democrat primary, but won the general election as an "independent." Still a Democrat at heart, Sen. Lieberman has factually become more independent in his political views over the past few years, especially after 9/11. In fact, Lieberman has supported a stronger U.S. military. He supported Bush regarding the capture of Saddam Hussein and war in Iraq and he supports bombing Iran to stop further development of nuclear weapons; which, according to Sen. Lieberman, would be used against America when developed. "Make no mistake about it," says Lieberman, "if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons, we would feel the pain of those nuclear devices in America." Is Sen. Joe Lieberman right, should America bomb the nuclear development plant in Iran? Most Deadly Health Threats To Men - Odds are that American men will die from:
Some of the above threats could be reduced by regular check-ups with your doctor. One in four men will die due to a form of heart disease. Over 50 and have not had a medical check-up? Think again.
The optimist fell ten stories. |