The Way I See ItBy cj pollickBest Logical Choice - Former Congressman Mike Bilirakis is the best choice for the Senate seat to be vacated by Mel Martinez. He has experience in Washington which none of the others on the list of potential picks do. Next Florida US Senator? Mike Bilirakis Job Lacking - According to New Hampshire office of economic stimulus director Bud Fitch, despite Obama's promise that the stimulus would create 16,000 jobs for New Hampshire, the stimulus has actually saved only 796 jobs, 700 of which are government jobs. Of Course Illegal Immigrants Will Be Covered - According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service: "Under H.R. 3200, a 'Health Insurance Exchange' would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option … H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on non-citizens - whether legally or illegally present, or in the U.S. temporarily or permanently - participating in the exchange." We are already paying for ILLEGALS!! (P.S.) Go to the maternity ward of any local hospital and see for yourself how many illegal immigrants are getting FREE Health care! US Commanders Say "We Need More Troops" - The alleged unified NATO offensive in Afghanistan has not been able to halt terrorist activities due to lack of military troop strength, explained US military commanders in Afghanistan to the Obama administration. According to top US military commanders, more troops are needed in order to do their job in Afghanistan. That fact, of course, has been known by the President's staff for many months. However, with many political leaders trying to cut military spending and pushing for more US troop withdrawal in the middle-east, it is not clear how terrorists could be stopped in Afghanistan without adding more troops. More US troops equal more federal spending--which could only add more deficit spending to the already trillions of dollars of federal deficits. Foreign Oil More Important Than Ever - Cap and Trade legislation, currently pending in Congress, is planned to reduce domestic fuel production. Less fuel production in the US means more dependence on foreign fuel production, say opponents of Cap and Trade legislation. Politicians in Washington seem to believe Americans can cut fuel needs and, therefore, rely less on foreign fuel production. Will Americans use less heating fuel, oil and gas just because politicians in Washington pass Cap and Trade legislation? Yes, these are the same politicians that have not read important pending bills in Congress, such as the Obama healthcare bill. One-hundred-fourteen Republicans have signed a pledge to not vote for a health bill they have not read (not one Democrat has signed such a pledge.) Makes you wonder why legislators who vote on important legislation would not read the bill before voting! The way I see it, many politicians did read the healthcare bill and simply refuse to admit they did read it for reasons only they would know. Bigger And Better Government - According to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, while the private sector has shed 6.9 million jobs since the beginning of the recession, state and local governments have expanded their payrolls and added 110,000 jobs! Is this the change America wanted? Should Government Have The Power? - Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is demanding that the nation's private insurance companies provide "extensive documentation of all compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry." It begs the question, what American industry is next to be reviewed by our government? Swiss Banking Will Suffer - In a deal to save UBS Bank from prosecution in the US, about 5,000 names of secret Swiss UBS bank accounts will be provided to the IRS. The Swiss government, normally supportive of secret bank accounts in Switzerland, supported the release of thousands of Swiss banking records when it became clear that UBS Bank of Switzerland could have been forced to close due to pending IRS lawsuits in the US (demanding names of American Swiss account holders.) Fear of the collapse of UBS due to lawsuits in the US forced the Swiss government to change its support of Swiss bank privacy laws. UBS is not the only Swiss bank being asked by the IRS for nameholders of private Swiss bank accounts, Credit Suisse and other Swiss banks are being asked to release private account holders to the IRS. Most offshore account holders properly file US paperwork so that release of their name is a non-issue (except for the breach of privacy.) However, there are thousands of account holders worth billions of US dollars that allegedly have tax reporting problems-- and they will likely sue in Swiss courts to stop the release of their names. Bottom line with all of this news is that Swiss banks will lose business from US citizens and other non-Swiss investors who had private bank accounts. It was reported that those private funds have already been moved from places such as UBS and placed somewhere else in the world that supports banking privacy. Why would the Swiss government allow such encroachment in their sovereignty? Fear that Swiss UBS bank could have been permanently closed. Swiss privacy rules are also being challenged by Germany and France for the same reasons the US challenged UBS. Offshore bank account? Be careful that you have reported such account properly to the US authorities. Laughter - Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. - James M. Barrie |