The Way I See ItBy cj pollickLabor Day Weekend - Officially the "last" weekend of summer, enjoy! While perusing a local warehouse store I spied Christmas items already being promoted! Good grief! Clearwater Election - Paul Gibson has announced he is running for re-election as Clearwater city council member while Carlen Petersen is term-limited and cannot run for re-election. Thinking of running for office - now is the time to announce your candidacy. Largo Mayoral Election - Can anyone explain how a candidate for city office could go to City Hall, have an experienced city employee notarize candidate forms (including candidate signature), have the same city employee say that everything was fine, and then find out the candidate's signature, that was notarized, was missing? The story gets worse. The city candidate is then informed by the county elections office that a required signature was missing and voided the right to be on the city election ballot. Thus, and even though a licensed notary public attested to the candidate form, the election office ruled that the signature was necessary (even though legally attested to by a city notary.) Bottom line? The candidate's name will not appear on the City of Largo election ballot. In fact, there will not be a mayor's race in Largo due to this infraction since no other candidate opted to run. Is the notary at fault? The election's office ruling? The candidate who relied on the notary attestation? Surely, this matter will not rest by merely having the election's office rule that regardless of a notary seal and attestation a candidate's signature is required. If that is the case, then why have a legal requirement of a notary seal, when it is clearly not necessary? Candidate Bob Jackson? A popular, but unhappy citizen who thought he was a candidate for mayor. Gov. Charlie Crist Makes Appointment - In a shocking decision, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed good friend and fellow lawyer George Le Mieux to fill the vacant US Senate seat held by Sen. Mel Martinez. Regardless of the many experienced names recommended for the appointment such as retired Rep. Mike Bilirakis, etc., Gov. Crist selected someone who would not become a contender for the Senate seat. Call it a safe political appointment until the governor himself wins the Senate seat. Perceived as a self-serving move by Crist, the appointment reflects how far Charlie has come when it relates to national politics. For those of us who knew the "old" Charlie Crist, it makes you wonder what caused Charlie to be more … political. ABC Bans Ad From League Of American Voters - ABC News Corporation rejected airing a television ad presented by League of American Voters. The ad, which had been aired in over 12 states by other news organizations, showcases a respected neurosurgeon (Dr. Cuffe) who explains why Obamacare would not be in the best interests of the elderly. According to Dr. Cuffe, Obamacare would ultimately result in medical rationing for the elderly to save expensive medical costs. Why did ABC reject this ad and accept other healthcare ads? Politics. Attorney General Eric Holder To Resurrect Civil Rights Issues -- According to Attorney General Holder, he will add many more attorneys to the government payroll to increase legal enforcement of civil rights. Holder believes civil rights enforcement was not actively enforced under the Bush administration. Thus, more government spending will be redirected towards possible workplace employment discrimination and other possible civil rights violations throughout America. Holder went on to explain that even though there has been improvement in racial equality in the American workplace, there was more work to accomplish. Further, Holder believes that there are still racial issues between the races in America. In fact, he stated that America was a nation of "cowards" by avoiding, in his opinion, more discussions about racial equality. President Obama's Ratings Drop To New Lows - President Obama's national support rating has dropped below 45% in the past few months (from a high of over 65% when elected.) However, and regardless of lower popularity ratings, President Obama has not given up his quest to pass national healthcare legislation before year end. A decision that could result in many Democrat losses in 2010 mid-term elections. So-called "Blue-Dog Democrats" who were elected from Republican strongholds in 2008, are worried about re-election chances due to continued government spending and Congressional plans to pass "Obamacare." How bad is it in Washington? Citizen groups across America are protesting against all politicians in Washington and are voicing their objections at city hall meetings. Michigan Football Under Investigation - Anonymous football players who once played at the University of Michigan have stated that the football program at Michigan violates NCAA rules by causing players to dedicate more hours to football than is allowed by the NCAA. An allegation that Coach Rodriguez denies. How bad is the allegation? The school, the BIG 10, and other NCAA people will investigate these player allegations to see if NCAA rules had been broken. If yes, then it is likely that the tenure of Coach Rodriguez (previously coach at West Virginia) would be terminated. Of course, this bit of bad news could not have come at a worse time for Michigan University. The normally competitive football program has suffered the past few years and has perhaps gone the way of Northwestern, Stanford and Notre Dame-- all great academic schools with slipping football programs. For some of us football fans who remember the rivalry of "Bo versus Woody" for the Big Ten Football Championship, the annual game between Ohio State and Michigan usually was for the BIG 10 Championships. Now it seems that the "big game" for Ohio State is Penn State. Big game for Michigan? Notre Dame? Can you imagine Michigan playing Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Mississippi, Auburn or Tennessee? Probably not; but, there was a time when Michigan would have been favored in those games. FSU Vs. Miami - Nothing could be worse than starting your Division I college football season with one of the toughest games of the year! Welcome to the upcoming game between FSU and Miami at Tallahassee. Both the Noles and Hurricanes need the win. Two respected college football teams that reportedly are trying to rebuild their national reputations and re-establish alumni support. On the other hand, there is the Saturday home game between USF and Woffard. Woffard will offer an easy win, but is that what USF needs to improve its football program? USF fans deserve a better game -- why not add someone like Maine or Vermont (who would love to visit Florida.) Woffard? Joy. One can endure sorrow alone, but it takes two to be glad. - E.H. |