The Way I See ItBy cj pollickPolice Costs Reviewed In Clearwater - Recent reports have stated that if Clearwater decided, as many other Pinellas County cities have already decided, to use the Sheriff's Department for policing services, there could be a budget savings of $8 million. Most police officers would retain their jobs in Clearwater, but work under the Sheriff's Department. Is the potential savings to Clearwater taxpayers of $8 million enough to make them move? Time will tell. Taxes Going Up, Reportedly Higher Than Expected - When political candidates campaign for elected office they…tend to lie. Some of those candidates actually believe many of the non-truths they assert on the campaign trail and perhaps better describe those statements as half-truths (partly true, but not fully accurate.) Some media sources have rated campaign promises by use of a barometer. Thus, on a barometric scale of one to ten, ten being the full truth, how would a politician's statements made during a campaign be rated after entering elected office and actually voting. Few politicians would score above 7. Consider, for example, the issue of taxes. Most credible economists and media outlets are now saying that taxes are going to be higher than proclaimed by Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Latest reports state that there will be higher taxes and more people paying taxes after 2010. Although it was always known that candidate Obama supported some higher taxes, he believed only the top 1-2% of American taxpayers would fall into those higher tax brackets. Not true. The need for higher taxes to support more government spending will include more taxpayers than once expected. Higher taxes will be felt by many American workers and investors in 2011. Personal taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes and taxes to be described as "fees," will be higher than expected beginning next year. With a growing number of people living in America, legal and illegal, the amount of money needed by our federal government to support expanded "socialism" could result in over half of America begin supported by the government. America is undeniably being pushed by certain Washington politicians to become more like European nations (France, England, Germany, etc.) and their socialistic governments. The next generation of Americans may not use US dollars as their base currency; rather, the next generation of Americans may trade in European dollars (Euros.) Who is trying to stop this change in American government? "Tea Party" citizens. These concerned people will vote for candidates that support traditional American values, the US Constitution and freedoms enjoyed by our forefathers for many generations. Patriots? Yes, they are patriots…and we need more of them to remove people in elected office trying to change American values. We shall soon know if that grass-roots citizen movement has any voter clout. November elections are just around the corner. National Day Of Prayer Cancelled? - May 6th is the National Day Of Prayer in the US. It has been held each year since Truman was president and made an official "Day" by President Ronald Reagan. Each president of our nation believed there should be a special day when Americans could pray for the nation, our freedoms, and a host of other things. Last year President Obama eliminated this celebration in the White House. He did not cancel the National Day Of Prayer, he merely eliminated the White House celebration of such a day. Floating Junk In The Ocean - Some people think plastic and other non-degradable scraps tossed into the ocean sink to the great ocean's depth and degrade over years without any consequences. Of course, plastic and other objects tossed into the ocean cause damage to ocean life and the sea. Plastics do not quickly degrade into harmless elements that settle to the bottom of the sea. Fish and marine life are hurt due to plastics and such related debris. Interestingly, people have found large masses of floating plastics and debris in the middle of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. That mass of floating junk is due to careless people (and ship captains) that regularly toss debris into the sea. Where Will The Money Come From - A new Manhattan Institute study found that all 59-teacher pension funds in the United States are under-funded by a total of $332 billion. Wasted Taxpayer Dollars - Despite its $50 billion price tag, the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program has only benefited 230,000 households out of 2.8 million that have received a foreclosure notice and the number of homeowners who defaulted on their mortgages even after benefiting from the program nearly doubled in March. Did Someone Question Loud And Public Protests By The Tea Party? - Should we believe anti-Tea Party politicians or our lying eyes? When Bill Clinton was in college, did he not participate in protests? Is it not the same Hillary Clinton who proudly changed her political bias while in college and soon began protesting the war in Vietnam (among other political issues?) Was it not Hillary that screamed we had a right to freedom of expression and loud debate on issues? Did many of our college professors and college students from the 1960's loudly protest the war in Vietnam? Were some of those college campus protests rowdy? Did Harvard stop military recruiting on their campus as a political message to Washington politicians? The history of America is riddled with citizen groups that organized and protested against decisions of our political elite. Ironically, it is some of the same group of previous protestors that are speaking-out against Tea Party protestors. What hypocrisy. Citizens of America are overwhelmingly concerned about the direction of the nation and are protesting throughout the country. The Tea Party movement is growing and will have a large impact in future elections. People like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Bill Nelson and Barbara Boxer of California are fearful they might lose re-election. In fact, Barbara Boxer recently stated she thinks the Democrat Party had better address the Tea Party movement or many Democrats could lose re-election in 2010 and 2012. There is a reason why so many citizens are protesting the leadership in Washington. Ordinary citizens want to remove all career politicians and start over with new, fresh voices that will listen to the will of the people. Our government, they say, has gotten away from the will of the people. Stop loud protests of citizens across America? Not a good idea. They tried to do that in the 1960's and it made things worse. Setting Pricing - Democrats have begun publishing legislation giving government regulators greater authority to set insurance prices. Drop In Earnings - Lockheed Martin Corp said its first-quarter earnings fell 18 percent after it was hit by a big charge due to Obamacare. "Music. The only universal tongue." - Samuel Rogers |