The Way I See ItBy cj pollickBeach Parking Garage Perspective – Let’s see, if you gave birth to a new baby when the Clearwater City Council began this discussion that child would now be in its third year of college, but still no parking garage, only more discussion. Cabana Club Project Approved By CDB – After hours of deliberation, Clearwater Development Board approved several requests by Legg Mason to redevelop the (Sand Key) Cabana Club. The vote in support of the project was unanimous. Disadvantaged Still Disadvantaged - Many of us Floridians from places such as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Newark, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Detroit or Miami know the great influence of unions and traditional support of the Democrat Party. Many of those places also have a high population of disadvantaged people who hope for change in government. Their hopes typically include greater job opportunities, better educational opportunities, a safer community and basic healthcare benefits. They seek nothing more than a chance to share in the American dream. However, and even though those citizens have had those hopes for many years, they traditionally keep voting for the same political party expecting something different. For example, one commentator on CNN reported that Miami has never had a Republican mayor, Milwaukee has not has a Republican mayor for 100 years, Newark 101 years, Buffalo 54 years, Detroit 47 years, etc. The political party making the promises to those disadvantaged voters was, and is, the Democrat Party. Not that the Republican Party would have done any better, because it most likely would not have done better. The simple fact of the matter is that neither political party has done much to help the disadvantaged, except to offer words of encouragement. Why are blue-collar workers flocking to Sarah Palin? They know she was/is one of them and those people are willing to give her a chance to bring change to the way business is done in Washington. Palin is not a part of partisan politics in Washington -- and is gaining support from independent voters because she, like McCain, tends to be more "independent." ? Oprah Winfrey Says No To Sarah Palin - Using her popular television show as one way to support her favorite candidate Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey refuses to offer air-time to include the first female nominee for vice president, Sarah Palin. This blatant move by Oprah Winfrey has offended many conservative female voters across America. Of course, this should have been expected by Winfrey, even though she said she would not use her television program for political purposes, due to her personal support of the Democrat Party. Further, Winfrey had appeared on stage with the Obamas to show her support in this election. However, there are many women voters disillusioned with the recent decision by Winfrey to exclude Sarah Palin from her television show. Exclude Sarah Palin? Bad decision by Oprah. Mud-Slinging And 50 Lawyers Sent To Dig-Up The Dirt - Sen. John McCain has tried to avoid partisan mud-slinging in his presidential campaign. McCain has always deplored low-level antics used by enthusiastic political party junkies, even with his political party. However, and regardless of what the candidates might say in public, both McCain and Obama can't stop what the political machine puts in place to toss mud and neither McCain nor Obama can stop negative campaign ads from special interest groups. Yes, Obama and his wife have some personal things they wish could remain private, same with the McCains. Political junkies and media wannabes won’t let that happen, they dig and twist the truth to show support for their candidates (regardless of the truth.) For example, yes Joe Biden plagiarized in law school, got caught and paid the price; but, he was just a young man who made a mistake. No big deal when considering how much public service he contributed since that time. Sarah Palin is a breathe of fresh air when comparing her personal attributes to the stench and grime of "seasoned" politicians in Washington. Yet, about 50 lawyers were sent to Alaska to dig some dirt about Sarah. Imagine if the same 50 political-hack lawyers would apply their adroit legal skills to help create jobs or help cut taxes? (Like Sarah Palin did in Alaska!) The campaign about the presidency should be about issues and not if a member of the family endorses a certain beer (remember Billy Beer?) High taxes or low taxes, stop illegal immigration or not, fund social security or not, stop terrorists or not, create jobs in America or not, support small business or not, cut healthcare costs or not, big government or small government, continue government waste or not, liberal or conservative judges, the list of real issues to solve by the next president is much more important than personal ad hominum attacks by the media or special interest group ads on television proclaiming to be something like "Americans United For Justice." Voters will hear much the next several weeks about the presidential candidates; unfortunately most of the commentary will be distorted truths by special interest groups from both political parties with a private agenda. ??? Turmoil in the Financial Sector – AIG is in trouble, Merrill Lynch is in trouble, Lehman Brothers is in trouble, the list of large, once-called “blue-chip” financial institutions may not survive our current recession/depression. The solution according to Obama? Raise taxes … Increase corporate taxes and make our large corporations less competitive than foreign corporations. All of this tax increase talk makes you wonder if some folks actually want a major depression in order to re-distribute wealth by creating a super-large federal government who would control many of our everyday activities. On the other hand, there are other people who believe in less government and lower taxes to help create jobs in America. Voters will decide in November the future of America. Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Filing – Lehman Brothers is the largest corporate bankruptcy case in the U.S. - $639 billion. Enron was $63 billion. The difference? Enron executives were prosecuted. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have - Thomas Jefferson |