The Way I See ItBy cj pollickMaggie Maes Coming To Belleair Bluffs – Larry Edger’s popular breakfast and lunch restaurant on Sand Key will soon be opening a second location in Belleair Bluffs. It will be a welcome addition to the area. IRB Budget Revisited - On Tuesday Indian Rocks Beach city commissioners voted on the city budget for 2008-2009. The result was a millage rate increase and cuts in city spending. However, perhaps the main topic of interest by some IRB citizens was the discussion to cut some police hours from the city budget, which had support of the city commission. With the new city budget at a 2.0 millage rate, citizens of IRB will notice a tax hike in their next tax bills. Further, it was also mentioned that the ongoing lawsuit of the city versus a previous city manager for funds allegedly incorrectly reimbursed, may, at the end of the day, not be worth the costs to litigate. One IRB citizen said, "We will likely pay more in legal costs to chase the city funds in question." The Market Crash Of 2008 – If you were like many Americans on Monday, you probably pulled money out of your bank and bought U.S. Treasury Bonds (guaranteed by the government up to the full value.) Over the past two years of Democrat Party leadership in the U.S. Congress nothing was done to protect citizens from this economic depression. And, yes, Republicans did little to help solve our financial problems when they ran the U.S. Congress. Both political parties have miserably failed the American people. Yes, it was in 2004 when Republicans questioned the management of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Democrats, on the other hand, supported Freddie Mac and the liberal media criticized the Republicans. My, how times have changed. If there is a one or two trillion government bailout, then most people would like to see leaders like Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Alan Greenspan, Robert Gates and Mitt Romney have fiscal oversight of government loan repayments and investments. Current Congressional leaders like Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid simply can’t solve this dilemma – we need the best of the best to get us out of this mess. Do not put the foxes in charge of the hen house. Agreed? Wachovia Paid The Price Of A Deal Gone Sour - For many years Wachovia Bank was recognized as a quality bank with good management. However, when Wachovia opted to support an expansion program (with full board of director support) they purchased a financial institution in California called Golden West that was a leader in lending money during the housing boom. Wachovia bought Golden West and the housing market started to slide. Wachovia inherited $122 billion of suspect "variable" loans that brought Wachovia to its knees last Friday. Thus, the story of Wachovia Bank came to an end Monday morning. On Monday, Wachovia shares dropped 91% in pre-market trading to .91 cents. With U.S. government support, Citigroup Bank purchased Wachovia on Monday and will absorb up to $42 billion in losses. Citigroup Bank will soon become the new name for Wachovia Bank and the banking services of such bank branches will continue uninterrupted. Who could have imagined Wachovia Bank could have been placed in this position a few years ago? Then again, how many problem banks might fail in the next few months? One ex-government official under Bill Clinton said dozens of more larger banks will fail during the next year. Small banks? The number grows with potential small community bank failures. Bad loans, bad economy, and bad management all add up to more bank failures. If you are concerned about your bank, check the FDIC Web site for more information. Senator Joe Biden Said It, And Few People Are Surprised - Senator Joe Biden is often compared to former VP Dan Quayle. Why? Dan Quayle was quoted as responding to a silly issue about the spelling of the word "potato," which Quayle misspelled. Big deal? Not really, but the media poked fun at the vice president for this non-important matter. Of course, the agenda of the media was to discredit Quayle using this small error as a reason to not trust this VP on any national issue. Sen. Joe Biden, however, made a much larger gaff and it has not received the same notoriety as Quayle. What did Biden say? Biden said he remembered when President Roosevelt in 1929 talked to the American people on television. Yes, television. You probably know that there was no television in those days and Biden probably meant to say radio, but, he did not -- he said television. Thus, which statement was more silly, Biden or Quayle's? Joe Biden just an older Dan Quayle? How Many Washington Lawyers Does It Take To Wrestle With One Woman - The answer is 50. That is how many partisan lawyers the liberals supported sending to Alaska to dig-up dirt on Gov. Sarah Palin the last three weeks. Those lawyers have sought to find dirt about anything Sarah Palin had done since elementary school. When did she first wear glasses, was she an athlete, how did she comb her hair, could she hunt moose, was she a good Mom, could she ice skate, did she cut taxes in Alaska, did she help refund unused taxes to citizens of Alaska, was she liked by all women in Alaska, how did her political opponents like her, was she friendly to people, were her children good children, was her husband a good man, etc., etc. Imagine any respected lawyer lowering himself/herself to perform such low level duties. Yet, there were many who volunteered from some of our most illustrious law schools. The Way I See It, Gov. Sarah Palin is the type of person we need in elected office in Washington - a "Give them hell Harry" type of independent elected official. The rest? Kick the rest out of office and start over with more people like Palin. And, to the media daily attacking Palin to try and discredit her abilities? Voters know better. Perhaps that is why most people do not believe what they read in the newspaper, it is getting to be nothing more than biased "New York Style" reporting with a "San Francisco" flare.??? Why Did Obama Lie During The Debate Regarding Kissinger - Sen. Obama lied to the American people during the recent debate with Sen. McCain regarding former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's position about pre-conditions when negotiating with terrorist leaders. Obama stated during the debate that even former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a friend of McCain, supported Obama's views regarding no pre-conditions necessary when talking to rouge leaders in Iran, etc. A statement Sen. McCain questioned as being invalid, 'I do not think Kissinger would support that view," said McCain during the debate. McCain did not dramatize the issue, unlike his opponent who tried to discredit McCain. Interestingly, Kissinger recently sent a public statement that he would never support meeting with the leader of Iran or any such leader without pre-conditions in place. Thus, the question remains; why did Sen. Obama lie during the debate about Henry Kissinger and, more importantly, what other lies were stated during the debate? Folks who do not follow politics may be surprised at how the Obama campaign is vigorously fighting against groups such as the NRA (National Rifle Association) who supports our Second Amendment rights to bear arms - which Sen. Obama does not fully support. In fact, in Pennsylvania, the Obama campaign recently threatened media networks that run NRA ads with possible lawsuits (just to stop voters from observing the NRA ads talking about Second Amendment rights.) Behind the smiles, backslapping and expensive suits, the political campaign is full of mudslinging and distorted truths. As one foreign leader once said, "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river."??? Injured In The Hospital – If you are injured in the hospital, don’t expect Medicare to pay for those injuries. Medicare will no longer pay for patient injuries that occurred while in hospital care. |