The Way I See ItBy cj pollickMemorial Day – The freedoms we enjoy are because of the brave men and women who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Never forget we are the “Land of the Free Because of the Brave.” Clearwater Reviews Potential Budget Cuts - There are some city officials that believe there is a way to cut $311,000 from the Clearwater city budget by eliminating a few police officers from what is referred to as "beach patrol." Beach Walk Community Policing Team is a four-member police squad that was created to patrol Beach Walk and the surrounding area on Clearwater Beach. However, the cost of this special police service is what has some city officials wondering if such an expense should be eliminated and handled by other Clearwater police officers. At a cost of about $78,000 an officer, this city police expense has come under review by city budget planners. Gov. Crist In A Tough GOP Primary - If you believe Gallup Polls, then Gov. Charlie Crist is a sure bet to win the general statewide election for the US Senate Seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez. Both liberal and moderate voters favor Gov. Charlie Crist. However, Crist has a big problem, he is not as popular with conservative GOP voters as former State Speaker Marco Rubio who is running against Crist in the GOP primary. In other words, Crist may have a tougher time winning the GOP primary than perhaps the regular election against a Democrat opponent. Imagine, Crist is not as popular with conservatives as liberals. Why is Crist unpopular with Republicans? Crist has sided with Obama's suspect financial stimulus plan and appointed a liberal judge to the State Supreme Court instead of a conservative, all of which has made Crist less popular with the GOP base. Both National and Statewide GOP leaders have stated they are not going to endorse Crist over Rubio in the GOP primary, all of which has also added reasons to doubt Crist's popularity with conservative Republicans. Even if Crist wins the GOP primary, he would need to raise and spend more campaign funds than once thought. In any case, Crist’s views will be exposed in the GOP primary as a moderate or Arlen Specter type of former Republican by Rubio. GOP leaders, such as the former Chairman of the Pinellas County Republican Party, expect a tough GOP primary-- not exactly what Crist had in mind a few months ago. Crist vs Rubio for the GOP nomination, a tougher race for Crist. Notre Dame Less Catholic? - There was a time when being Catholic and following the doctrines of the Catholic Church was important at the University of Notre Dame. Times have changed. Last weekend President Obama was awarded an honorary degree from Notre Dame and spoke to the college graduates about being open-minded to issues such as abortion. Even though there were protestors who decried the act of having a person speak at a Notre Dame commencement ceremony who supported abortion, the general opinion at the commencement ceremony was one of open-mindedness. A few loud protestors at the inside graduation ceremony were quickly drowned with a loud cry of "We are Notre Dame." Thus, pro-life protestors and the small group of college graduates that had caps painted with a cross and two small feet on the sides, were clearly in the minority. Has Notre Dame gone the way of other once religious colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.? Time will tell, but if the recent graduation ceremony at Notre Dame reflects how Notre Dame has become "less Catholic" and more religiously tolerant, then public opinions of the Pope in Rome regarding abortion are now open to debate at Notre Dame. Who would have thought such a thing was possible just a year ago? Credit Card Mess - We are aware of housing problems facing homeowners, lenders, builders, developers, suppliers and businesses affiliated with real estate. However, many experts believe we might have reached the bottom of the real estate "bubble" and may notice improvement in 2010. The next national crisis to hit Americans, according to experts, will be credit card debts. Recent credit card statistics report that Americans, on the average, are carrying over $10,000 a person in credit card debt. Credit card companies, on the other hand, are finding it difficult to collect those large sums, thus, placing themselves in a financial dilemma where US government bail-out money might be used to secure debts. And, if President Obama continues his bail-out plan, some of those credit card companies could end-up being owned by the US government. Forgotten Victims? - Terrible memories of WWII haunt many hundreds of thousands of people who are descendents of holocaust survivors. Interestingly, when the word "holocaust" is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the nearly six million of innocent Jews killed by Nazi sympathizers. Hitler hated Jews, but he also hated Poles and other non-favored ethnic groups. It has been estimated that about 5 million Poles were also killed by Nazi supporters. In fact, the first mass execution of WWII took place in Poland. One-hundred-nine (109) Polish people were killed by the Nazis. Auschwitz "death" camp ironically held more Poles as prisoners than Jews. When Hitler said, "All Poles will disappear from the world," he meant it. About one-fifth of the population of Poland was exterminated by Hitler after the German/Russian invasion of September 1, 1939. Western Poland went to Germany while eastern Poland went to Russia (who shipped many Polish men to Siberia to work.) Yes, neither Germans nor Russians wanted Poland to exist; in fact, when the US recently said it would place defense weapons on the Poland border, it was Russia that vigorously protested such a move. Russia still considers Poland a territory that should be under Russian supervision. Forgotten victims? No, none of us should never forget the holocaust and all of the 10-11 million innocent people killed by a terrorist government, including Russia. Nancy Pelosi And Her Lies – Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, stated the CIA lied about informing her of interrogation techniques used against captured terrorists. She blamed Bush for not informing her of the “techniques.” The problem? Pelosi was informed and is lying to cover her knowledge and consent to what she now calls “water-boarding.” Pelosi’s popularity is at a low and some people are calling for her ouster as Speaker. Food For Thought – The problem with the rat race is even if you win the race, you are still a rat! |