Turd Blossom!

Now that we have your attention!

Believe it or not, “Turd Blossom” is the nickname President Bush and his staff routinely use for Karl Rove. This is creating quite a PC (politically correct) issue for the Whitehouse in its relationship with the media. Several media sources, especially political cartoonists, are having a field day with Rove’s nickname. Reportedly, pressure is now being applied to stop the media from using Rove’s nickname. Some media groups have already relented to the pressure.

This all seems very silly to us. If the President and his staff openly call Rove “Turd Blossom”, then what’s wrong with the media doing the same?

What do you think: Does Rove’s nickname warrant killing its use by the media?

Thought this would be a good way to finish out our discussion topics for the month of July. A little political humor never hurt anyone, except perhaps Karl Rove!

Blog Master

Impact Fees: Will Our School Board Duck This Issue?

Our Marion County School Board is not alone when it comes to the difficult issue of considering an increase in impact fees for new home construction.

The Clay County School Board voted unanimously on July 21 to recommend the County Commission raise impact fees on new home construction. If approved, the fee on a single-family house would jump from $2000 to more than $7000. New multi-family dwellings would be assessed a fee of more then $3200. Mobile homes would also have substantial increases in fees. Clay County wants growth to help pay for itself. Sound familiar?

Clay County's student population is expected to double in the next two decades to 60,000. Schools are already bursting at the seams. Two new schools will open next month and are already full. The School Board estimates it will cost one-billion-dollars to accommodate new students. Sound familiar?

Clay and Marion Counties are in the same boat concerning the trends of growing student populations and the increasingly expensive costs of new-school construction. For example, a recent ramp up in construction costs has placed the Marion School Board in a significant financial predicament. This was detailed in an article by Brad Rogers in the July 24 Star-Banner.

So what should the Marion School Board do? Our concern is that they will do nothing. Those of us who own property will then ultimately bear the burden of financing the various school construction projects via an increase in our property taxes. Alternatively, the Board may have to propose a further increase in the sales tax allocated for new school construction.

Let’s hear from you on this issue: What should our School Board be doing to address this important issue?

Blog Master

Judge John G. Roberts--A Supreme Choice

The selection of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. by President Bush as the replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor is an excellent decision. The President’s choice was based on Roberts' superb judicial qualifications, practical-conservative philosophy, and respect by his peers; not his stance on the single issue of abortion.

Judge Roberts is young, intelligent and seems close to Chief Justice William Rehnquist in judicial philosophy. Unlike Justices Scalia and Thomas, Roberts will likely be more respectful of the Court’s past rulings, and not as willing to overturn judicial precedents. He will interpret the Constitution and not attempt to rewrite it.

Roberts' stand on social issues like abortion, school prayer, display of Ten Commandments, etc. is not well known, and will not likely be known until he takes a seat on the Court and issues an opinion. His stand on Roe vs. Wade, in particular, will remain unclear. It has been demonstrated in the past that judges, like the rest of us, can change their minds over time. Therefore, his current position on these issues is a less relevant consideration.

The abortion rights issue won’t go away even if Roe vs. Wade is overturned. This issue would simply revert to the state legislatures to determine, and we all know each state will legislate differently on the abortion issue.

Roberts' selection will not tilt the balance of opinion on the Court either right or left. If anything, he may well fulfill the centrist position that was often exhibited by Sandra Day O’Connor.

Judge Roberts is a fine pick for the Court and should be confirmed soon, without political wrangling.

Please give us your opinion/comments?

Blog Master

Politically Homeless: Blogsite Off To A Good Start!

Our Politically Homeless blogsite has been up and running for just two weeks. We are already attracting a large number of daily visitors and several interesting postings to our site.

Thanks for visiting our blogsite. Please continue to “sound off” by sharing your point of view with all of us. The free and open exchange of opinions is a key purpose of our blogsite

We do not have money for advertising. Therefore, we must depend on each of you to “spread-the-word” to your friends and associates who might be interested in the plight of the Politically Homeless. Please “advertise” for us by encouraging more people to visit and use our site. Importantly, we want visitors to post their thoughts and opinions.

We also have an e-mail link on the home page (click on “Email Us!”) if you would like to submit any suggestions or comments about our blogsite. We welcome any and all new ideas for discussion topics, improvements in the site, etc.

Additionally, if you would prefer to have the Blog Master post something for you (anonymously or otherwise) via an e-mail, we will do so. Some of you may be more comfortable with e-mail than posting your comments while on line.

We look forward to your continuing participation in the dialogue the Politically Homeless blogsite is generating.

Blog Master

Who Are The Politically Homeless?

Welcome,

This blog is created as a forum for the increasingly large number of voters who consider themselves to be “Politically Homeless”. Specifically it is targeted toward those of us in Marion County, Florida. However, we appreciate participation from people anywhere.

Who are the Politically Homeless? We are individuals who are frustrated with political parties and discouraged by what we are seeing as “politics as usual”. Many of us have no registered party affiliation. Others choose to stay registered with a certain party just to participate in primary elections, but do not really identify with the party’s current political direction.

Herman Cain, in his book “They Think You’re Stupid”, provides an excellent description and discussion concerning our plight as the Politically Homeless. Both major parties are suffering significant defections, and the ranks of Politically Homeless are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with by the Democrats and Republicans. Both parties can no longer afford to ignore us. To do so will be political suicide for them!

Each month we will post some important current-issue questions for you to offer your point of view. Occasionally, the “blog-master” (or a guest writer) will offer a feature, thought-provoking opinion on a critical local issue.

Open-mindedness and free speech are the only guidelines for your participation. Whether you agree or disagree with what your party is doing concerning the issues we discuss, we encourage you to offer your point of view.

We hope that you will be a frequent visitor/participant in the dialogue generated by our group of Politically Homeless voters.

Blog Master

County Commisssioners-How Are They Doing?

Here is our question for July:

What is your opinion of the job being done by the five Marion County Commissioners?

Please give us your comments and evaluation of the performance of the County Commissioners.

Thanks,

Blog Master