The Way I See ItBy cj pollickCabana Club and Belleview Biltmore Are Now Closed – Many good people are now looking for new jobs. Loyal customers to both businesses were sad to see the teams have to go their own ways. Martin Smith tells us he will be staying in the area. Martin’s company will be working with the Fenway Hotel in Dunedin. He will also be working at improving his golf game. Good for you Martin!! Belleair Beach Bridge – It is open! The Belleair Beach Bridge project is nearly completed and the highrise bridge portion of the project is open for vehicular traffic. The view is amazing. Congratulations To All Of The Graduates – We congratulate all of the many graduates of Class 2009. If you think the cost of education is expensive, try ignorance. GM Files For Bankruptcy Protection - It is difficult to imagine the CEO of a major corporation stating on television that bankruptcy is good for their corporation, its product, and its employees. Yet, the CEO of GM did just that on Monday. The truth of the matter is that many GM auto dealerships are being closed due to the bankruptcy, many thousands of employees are losing their jobs, stockholders lost their entire investments in GM, many sub-contractors are closing and the Obama government will own majority control of the corporation. The CEO and President Obama say all is well. GM is a disaster and reluctant bondholders have been forced to accept less of a potential payout than the GM unions for similar amounts of debt. (This GM/government act should send a frightening message to people thinking of owning corporate bonds.) Of course, Chrysler Corp. has even larger problems than GM. The good news? We will have hybrid “midget cars” that get over 30 miles to a gallon and they may be made in China. The bad news? The US auto industry will follow the decline of the US steel industry. It will not be long before America will be reliant on the importation of cars, steel products and manufacturing technology. Politics And Car Dealership Terminations - When the Obama-led federal government decided to take-over the car industry in America, it sent a message to companies like GM to close unprofitable car dealerships. To the average American, this sounded like good business. However, when the list of GM dealerships to be closed was officially announced, there was a problem. Dealerships that gave to Republicans made the "hit" list while dealerships that gave to Democrats were not affected. Politics seemed to sway the way dealerships were closed. The list of terminated auto dealers is public and some of those dealers have made the announcement that they believe the manner in which dealerships made the termination list was pure politics and not simply good business. America Moves Towards Socialism - Most economists agree that America is in deep financial trouble and that the acts taken by Obama during his first four months as president will change the course of America for many generations. America is becoming more socialistic with each financial move of Obama. And, since America is in a deep recession, many large businesses must cater to big government since it is the only source of loans/bail-out funds. Once funds are taken from the government, big government officials, not business owners/investors will hold the hammer over how business will be run, aka GM, Chrysler, Citigroup, BoA, regional banks, AIG, other life insurers, GMAC, American Express, etc., etc. The healthcare system in America will soon feel the pressure of big government by changing the manner in which taxes on healthcare will be instituted. Cradle to grave big government. America will tax people who earn more than others and tax people when they are dead. Appointing another liberal judge to the US Supreme Court is yet another way Obama will change the future of America for many years. Yes, this is the same Obama who had a philosophical problem, not a qualification problem, with Judge Roberts when he was appointed for a Supreme Court position. Yes, the same Obama who now asks for us to only look at his Supreme Court appointee as qualified, but not look at her philosophical beliefs and historic public liberal opinions. We should not care if an appointee believes a Latina is more wise than... a white male. This is the Obama agenda and he is moving at record speed to change America. Bob Hope Honored – The US Postal Service honored Bob Hope with a 44-cent commemorative stamp. Known as “GI Bob” he entertained service men and women during his nearly sixty-year commitment to performing for the military. One hundred million stamps have been released by the Postal Service. Orlando VS LA - The Orlando Magic basketball team soundly beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last weekend, this means Orlando will play the LA Lakers in the NBA finals. Instead of Kobe vs James, it will be Kobe vs Howard. Of course, this is not what the media giants had desired. The promoters in Hollywood and Las Vegas wanted to see LA's Kobe Bryant playing against Labron James of Cleveland. On the other hand, there are many basketball experts that believe Orlando has the manpower to beat LA. In other words, don't crown LA as the champs before the finals have been played. The game is won and lost on the court and not by public opinion (as Cleveland learned.) America – A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election. - Bill Vaughan |