The Way I See ItBy cj pollickBelleair Beach City Elections – Qualifying period for three council seats and the mayor’s job will begin at 8 a.m., December 12, and end at noon December 19. Governor Crist To Wed – Friday, December 12, is the wedding date of Governor Charlie Crist and Carol Rome. We extend our best wishes to the Governor and his new “First Lady.” Boat Parade – Don’t forget the Island Estates Boat Parade this Saturday. Cabana Club Project Hearing – Five Sand Key residents filed an appeal to the Community Development Board decision granting deviations to Legg Mason for the proposed Cabana Club project. The first hearing on the appeal is Mon., Dec. 15, at 9 a.m. in City Hall before Administrative Law Judge Alexander. Either party can appeal the decision of the Administrative Law Judge to a three judge panel. Obama Says No, His Political Advisor Says Yes – When it comes to being friends with indicted Illinois’ Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Sen. Obama was as friendly as any Illinois politician. Now that the same Governor is under arrest for trying to obtain money for appointing a successor to Sen. Obama, Obama said he had never spoken to the Governor regarding his replacement for the US Senate seat he vacated. Contradicting his statement was Obama’s chief political advisor David Axelrod during a November 23rd TV appearance. Big Three Auto CEO's Grilled By Business Lightweights - The Senate Banking Committee asked questions to the BIG THREE auto executives last week regarding how the auto companies might obtain taxpayer funds in a bailout plan costing billions of dollars. The only problem was that out of the 11 Democrat members of that ranking banking committee only one, a former farmer and butcher, had any business experience. Yes, not many of the Senate Banking Committee members had any business experience, but they tried to represent themselves as knowledgeable business people asking tough questions to the auto executives. Those elected neophytes are expected to help push an auto bailout plan that could cost US taxpayers billions of dollars. Those inexperienced trustees in the US Senate are our de facto loan officers. Can you imagine the return on this investment? The irony of this business mess is that most American workers do not support a bailout of the auto companies or other financial institutions. Most hard-working American taxpayers wonder who is helping to bail them out of their financial troubles! Democrats like Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV) wanted the power to rule, now that they have had that power the past two years -- how have they ruled? Are we in better shape than two years ago? Can the nation's economy get any worse? Will Obama’s federal economic stimulas plan work? A trillion of US tax dollars will soon be used bailing-out large companies that have been mismanaged and fraught with greed and waste. CEO's of those same companies took hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate bonuses while the companies were losing funds and bordering bankruptcy (aka AIG.) Yet, many of those same companies want taxpayer bailout funds without any recourse. Who is helping the “little guy” or small business during this recession? On the other hand, we elect these people to top congressional offices with little or no real business experience. Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the new, “smile while you give the money away" in Washington. Heaven help us, we are circling the drain. Be Charitable – This is a particularly bad holiday season for many people due to the national and worldwide recession. For the fortunate, this is the time to call your favorite charities and ask about their needs. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Volunteers Needed - If you are retired and are thinking of filling some of your free time, perhaps you might be interested in volunteering. Here is a list of potential places to volunteer:
Year-End College Football Bowl Games - There will be many football bowl games from Dec. 18-Jan. 8th for college football fans to “OD” with the chicken. Here are some bowl games that might be worth watching:
Left-Handed? - Researcher Alan Searlman completed a study to determine if left-handed people had an intellectual advantage over right-handed people. The result? Searlman stated that southpaws have higher IQ's, solve problems better, and enjoy a more extensive vocabulary than non-lefties. Who in history was a lefty? Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and probably someone in your family. Phil Michelson the golfer? No, he is a righty that plays golf as a lefty, but there were many excellent golfers that played righty that were true lefties. It doesn’t matter how big a ranch ya’ own, or how many cows ya’ brand, the size of your funeral is still gonna depend on the weather. - Harry Truman |