The Way I See ItBy cj pollickOpposition To One-Way Streets On South Clearwater Beach . . . is becoming more of an issue than the City Council had anticipated. Belleair Beach Causeway . . . nearing completion with a target date of mid-December. Money No Problem . . . in Largo, where the Commission voted to borrow $10 million dollars for a new Community Center. The Holidays Will Be Busy . . . and full of many activities for everyone. Check the Gazette for upcoming events for you and your family. Dollar Continues To Drop . . . while gold has reached another record. Even Obama said we need to decrease our deficit which is now over $12 trillion. Credit Card Companies - Low interest rates, rising defaults, high unemployment and reduced consumer spending has resulted in lower earnings for credit card companies. The bad news is that this trend is expected to continue into 2010 and 2011. Negative financial results are expected for Capital One Financial, American Express and Discover Financial Services. One report stated that delinquencies over 60 days had climbed to 4.22% in October and delinquencies are expected to continue climbing in 2010. Unemployment is also "expected to remain high for a long time," stated Janet Yellen president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Thus, the immediate future for credit card companies does not look good. With all of this negative news, it is rather amazing that our government is trying to paint a rosey picture regarding the state of our nation's economy. The plain truth of the matter is that our nation is in deep financial trouble and our leaders in Washington keep printing money and bailing-out large corporations (that cut-back on their employee work force but pay enormous bonuses to top management.) Small Town Elections - If ever there was a time for candidates to have only one election platform it is now. The message? Pledge to cut city spending without cutting city safety necessities. Some citizens might ask: How can cities expect to tax an increasingly unemployed populace without cutting city expenses to the bare bone? New leadership with new cost-cutting ideas? You will decide with your vote (if you vote.) Then There Is Sarah Palin - The liberal media, for whatever reason, did more to discredit former Gov. Sarah Palin than other candidates such as former Sen. John Edwards or Sen. John Kerry. Why? Perhaps it is because she is a conservative, but surely that should not be true with an unbiased press. Then again, why would Newsweek magazine place Sarah Palin's picture on the cover wearing shorts from a photo she had specifically taken for an outdoor magazine (for joggers?) To further discredit Palin? The answer is obvious and something Newsweek would never have done by using, say, a jogging pose by John Kerry. In fact, it is known that Newsweek did not obtain rights to the picture of Palin from the outdoor magazine (they reportedly obtained the picture from the photographer via the backdoor.) Is Sarah Palin such a huge threat to liberalism that other women would condone such underhanded media attacks on a female politician or CEO? Where is the outrage from woman's groups across America? Nevertheless, all of this media attention keeps Palin's name in front of American voters and helps her book sales. In fact, she might sell more books than Newsweek sells magazines. Obama's China Visit - Obama knows how to travel. For example, when traveling in China, Obama had a 71-car motorcade escort him from place to place. (Wonder how many of those vehicles were Smart cars?) You Should Know - Our government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer money at nearly three times the rate of the previous year. It makes you wonder how our government would handle funds in a national healthcare option. The news of government spending gets worse, after $111 billion in bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration is also close to a taxpayer bailout. This could be just another bill for American taxpayers to pay. And then there is the US Postal Service which posted a $3.8 billion loss last year, despite $6 billion in cost-cutting moves. More cost cutting? Taxpayer (bailout and owned) General Motors reportedly lost $1.2 billion in the 83 days after it emerged from bankruptcy. The good news? GM says things will get better. USF vs. Louisville - Coach Levitt is taking heat from USF fans for another last-half of the year failure. It seems as though Coach Levitt can't produce enough wins when playing BIG EAST teams. If USF beats Louisville this Saturday, they might be invited to play in a bowl game (other than in St. Petersburg.) A loss? Season over. FSU, on the other hand, must beat Maryland in order to have a chance to play in a bowl game. Another rough year for the NOLES. GATORS will win big on Saturday setting-up the much anticipated SEC game against Alabama. Go GATORS. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. - Ben Franklin |