The Way I See ItBy cj pollickFree For Sand Key Residents - On Wednesday, April 21, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium will host interested Sand Key residents at no charge from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Charlie Crist To Decide Soon - Florida law requires Charlie Crist to decide whether to seek the Republican nomination or run with no party affiliation by April 30th. Florida law does not allow Crist to run (and perhaps lose) in the GOP primary and then opt to run as a third party candidate in November (as Joe Lieberman did in Connecticut.) Will Charlie Crist leave the Republican party and run as a third party candidate against Republican and Democrat candidates? Time will tell, but current polling data shows Crist losing as either a Republican or third party candidate. GOP support for Crist is dropping as Marco Rubio continues to gain voter support. It is amazing how things have changed for Crist. It's The Economy, Stupid - James Carville is a respected political consultant for Democrat candidates. One of his famous one-liners, used in a political campaign against Republicans was "It's the economy, stupid." Interestingly, it is the same one-liner that is being used against Democrat candidates in 2010. Focus on the economy and create jobs. Politics At The Supreme Court - Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens never had to answer questions about his liberal political views when he was recommended by a Republican president. Justice Stevens became, nevertheless, one of the most liberal justices on the US Supreme Court. While Bush was president, Justice Stevens never talked about retiring his position on the Supreme Court...even though Justice Stevens was well past traditional retirement age. Clearly, his political bias kept him on the Supreme Court while waiting and hoping a liberal president might be elected (and he could then retire with confidence of another liberal appointment such as himself.) The lifetime court position and powerful vote has become an enormous political benefit for a sitting president. As President Obama has proven to be one of America's most liberal presidents (with a majority liberal Congress,) the political decision of Judge Stevens to retire before summer means a rush by liberals to quickly recommend a replacement liberal on America's highest court before the November elections. Why the rush? Democrat candidates believe they might lose control of Congress in November; thus, replacing Judge Stevens with another staunch liberal might be difficult after November. Partisan politics, it never ends in Washington. Perhaps that is why America is in a giant economic mess. What's The Deal With Newsweek Magazine - It seems as though writers at Newsweek Magazine can't avoid opinionated attacks on conservative officials while protecting liberal officials in Washington. Why does the management of Newsweek Magazine allow such biased writing when subscriptions for many liberal newspapers and magazines are at all-time lows? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, conservative voters probably avoid reading Newsweek's liberal spin on politics. Interestingly, the Tea Party, which has the interest and fear of Newsweek editors, is growing and crosses political party lines. Supporters of the Tea Party are everyday citizens that are outspokenly fed-up with the direction of America and will likely become "spoilers" in 2010 November elections. Election results in November 2010 will reflect frustration of Independent voters and Tea Party supporters who do not favor one political party over another. Many incumbents will feel the wrath of these voters. Does the Tea Party favor one political party over another? To the chagrin of both major political parties, Tea Party followers are non-partisan. Those citizens simply want America to go back to its founding roots of fiscal conservatism and constitutionalism. November 2010 election results should be interesting. Harry Reid Claims Only 4 votes Short For Amnesty - "We're going to come back we're going to have comprehensive immigration reform now." Sen. Reid declared over the weekend. A CNN poll released this week showed that 66% of Americans do not want the path to citizenship made easier for illegal aliens. According to the poll, only four in ten Democrats want those changes. Union Paybacks - The Obama administration's new regulation making only unionized firms eligible for federal contracts will cost taxpayers 10% - 20% higher construction costs on all federal projects. Tiger Did Well, Phil Did Better - During the past few years, PGA golf had been dominated by one player, Tiger Woods. Few could deny that the "World's Best Golfer" was (and still is) Tiger Woods. Woods had been predicted by golfing experts to surpass the great Jack Nicklas and Arnold Palmer by a huge margin of victories. Tiger still could own all of the PGA's golfing titles. However, personal problems entered the Tiger's life and his focus on golf became secondary. Tiger regretfully has allowed outside issues to influence his greatness on the golf course. Many of his fans and several advertising supporters cut their allegiance to the Tiger. Nothing perhaps reflected the slip in Tiger's uncanny ability to "close the deal" than his closing round at The Masters. As Phil Michelson focused on winning the tournament, Tiger played top quality golf, but not the type of golf Tiger had previously shown in other final golf tournaments. When Tiger previously got within striking range of the leader board, he made difficult putts and aroused support of die-hard fans. Opponents felt the charge of the Tiger, but not at the recent Master's Tournament. As Tiger charged to within striking distance to become the leader, he missed important shots and faded into non-contention. Even by finishing tied for fourth, Tiger was not the story at the Master's, regardless of all the media hype, rather, the story was about Phil Michelson and his wife (fighting breast cancer.) Phil won another "Green Jacket" and all of the wonder about how Tiger would handle some jeering fans is history. Will Tiger win more PGA tournaments? Absolutely yes. Will Tiger be able to focus on his golfing game as he did in prior years? Probably not. Will history honor Tiger Woods as one of professional golfing's greatest players of all-time? Yes, he still might break all golfing records. "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful" - George Orwell |