The Way I See ItBy cj pollickAdditional Policing Unanimously Approved – Although the Clearwater City Council voted to reduce the police department budget by $250,000, two additional police officers will be provided in the city’s East Gateway District. Apparently this is a “high crime” district, particularly in the nighttime. The CRA will allocate the $134,023 for the officers. Budget Meetings Scheduled – Clearwater City Council will hold hearings on the proposed budget for FY 2008/09 on Sept. 4 and Sept. 18. Those wishing to speak should do so at these meetings. Anniversary of September 11 – Next Thursday will be seven years since that terrible attack on our country. President Bush should rightly be credited with keeping us safe from attack every since. Judicial Elections – The Florida Family Policy Council has filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s Judicial Gag Order which prohibits judges from announcing their views on issues. Election Day – November 4 is just 62 days away. McCain’s VP Pick – Sarah Polin, Governor of Alaska, is sure to stir up liberals and feminists. After all this very accomplished woman who could become the next VP is a conservative Republican! LPGA Does What Our Government Avoids - There are places in America where English is not being required as the official language. There are some border towns near the Mexican border where official city meetings are held in Spanish, not English. Our U.S. government has not forced those places to use English as the official language of any government meeting. That is not true with the ladies professional golfing association (LPGA), they now require all LPGA golfers to effectively communicate in English or face suspended membership in the Association. The LPGA has instituted that in 2009 all LPGA members who have been members for two years must pass an oral English evaluation - failure would result in possible suspension. To most LPGA members that requirement is not a big deal, most LPGA members can speak English; however, there is a growing group of Korean female golfers who are members and can't speak English. In fact, some of best young members of the LPGA are non-English speaking members, such as the Koreans. Thus, it would have been easy for the Association leaders to avoid this requirement, but, and according to some LPGA leaders, sponsors expect to have "their" players be able to speak English (for endorsements, etc.) How have people reacted to this new LPGA requirement? In a recent Fox Sports Poll, 82 percent of the people supported the requirement, 18 percent did not.?? The Economy Is Good In Russia, Just Ask Rocky - Now that Russia is beginning to expand its influence and muscle across the world, they retained the services of Rambo to help promote their vodka. Yes, Rocky and Russian vodka. Sylvester Stallone, known for his roles as Rocky and Rambo in the movies, agreed to promote Russian vodka "Russian Ice" under the slogan "There is a little bit of Russian in all of us." Stallone's payment for the advertisement? A cool one million. Rocky/Rambo is still going strong around age 60 and receiving a million dollars for just one vodka ad. Speaking Of Healthcare – A previous advisor to former President Bill Clinton stated that there are about 30 million people without healthcare in America. Here’s the interesting part, he also said over 10 million are qualified for available government healthcare aid but refuse to pay any premium cost – thus, they have decided to go without coverage (even if they could pay the premium.) Then, he says, there are about 15 million illegals in America without healthcare (and, of course, they shouldn’t be here.) The real number of people in American without healthcare is therefore, less than several million people – if illegal immigration was fully enforced. Why should working Americans fund the cost of healthcare for 15 million illegals? This was the question posed by the former Clinton advisor. Sen. Obama wants to cover all 30 million by increasing taxes – makes some folks wonder about the size of the number. In spite of the cost of living, it’s still popular - Kathleen Norris |