For those of you who have never visited the Florida Space Coast and watched the spectacular sight of a space shuttle launch you only have two opportunities left. After NASA sends two more shuttles into orbit that’s it. No more. The Washington D.C. politicians are going to hire the Russians to handle the chores normally assigned to the shuttle. Whether you agree with their decision or not the sad thing  is another era of American greatness is coming to an end. That’s sad. A trip to watch the excitement of a shuttle launch is in itself a great experience. But the area offers a lot more than ground shaking rocket launches. There are beautiful beaches, some with the best East Coast surfing to be had. There are miles and miles of deserted white sand beaches. There is great fishing. Surf, offshore, and inland waterways, there’s something to please everyone. Great resorts and hotels abound. There are fantastic restaurants with a wide variety of wonderful cuisine. Whether you decide to stay in  Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Titusville, or Melbourne, you can’t go wrong. This area of Florida  offers great memories your family will share and cherish forever.

BP, Transocean, and Haliburton have begun the legal manueverring to limit their liability in the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. These super rich corporations already have the attorneys lined up at the courthouse to file suits and counter suits to get out of paying for the damage they caused. The environmental damage will take decades to assess. The economic damage has already begun. Hotels and motels are having reservations cancelled. Shops that depend on tourism are closing for lack of business. Fishing fleets are staying in port. A fishing ban is covering a large portion of the Gulf coast. Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida are all affected by this catastrophe.

As bad as this seems to the ones that live either on the coast or close to it the executives of the corporations that caused this damage refuse to believe they should stop drilling in such a precious resource. They are too damned greedy to see anything but the losses they personally take when their stock price drops. Once again the gigantic oil companies take lives, destroy the environment and ruin livelihoods of countless hard working people. It’s not new , oil companies have a long history of damaging the environment. Then they leave the mess for others to clean up  and pay for. Obama and the Washington D.C. politicians who yelled drill baby drill say they’ll make BP pay up. Wake up politicians, it’s not going to happen. They have too many loopholes and more lawyers than the boat captain who makes a living fishing in the gulf. Rather he used to fish in the Gulf, he can’t do that any more, thanks to the reckless attitude of Big Oil. Once again I beg each and everyone of you to call your congressmen  and senators and tell them to stop drilling in the Gulf before the whole thing is nothing but a sheet of dirty oil. Obama is just an empty mouthpiece, the congress and the senate are the ones who can stop the drilling if they will.

Taking money in exchange for influence is taking a bribe. Politicians don’t like to be told this but it’s true. Whether the politician is on the local level, state level or national level this is still true. Lobbyists and corporations make huge donations to politicians in the name of campaign donations. They expect and receive something in return for their money. Call it what you may it’s still a bribe. The first thing they receive is access to the powerful Washington politicians. The second thing they receive is influence. Whether a politician receives money directly from a corporation or  through a PAC they expect the same things. Do they get it? Oh yes they do. If the majority of Americans are against something and the lobbyists for whoever wants it the politician votes for the interest of the lobbyist. The American voter once again gets the shaft. The lobbyist and corporate types wine and dine the politicians and become chummy with them. Soon they become employees of the lobbyist, not the American voters who elected them to office. When a politician retires then he goes to work for one of the corporations. Another form of bribery. Please, it’s more important than ever to register to vote and vote when any election rolls around. Vote for the person of your choice, but keep in mind that fresh ideas come from people who haven’t worked their entire lives for government. Push those types out of office and elect people who don’t have political baggage.

Floridas’ wishy washy governor finally had an opinion worth listening to. He reportedly said that offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of West Florida should be put on the ballot and the voters of Florida should decide whether they want to have more drilling platforms off the coast of  Florida. The answer should be  a resounding no; don’t drill off the coast of Florida. There are over four thousand wells in the Gulf now. They leak thousands of gallons of crude oil into the water each and every day. Yet the price of oil and the products made from crude continue to escalate. More drilling in the Gulf simply means more profit for big oil and more pollution in the Gulf. What the state of Florida needs is more solar and wind projects. We need a governor who advocates this approach every day. We need Florida Power Corp. to build another solar field on the property in Levy County where they plan to build another nuclear plant. There’s thirty five hundred acres in the tract they’ve purchased. Plant solar panels on one thousand acres, they don’t pollute, they don’t take oil or coal . Look into putting wind turbines on the property in Citrus county to augment the nuclear plant. Maybe they would burn less fossil fuel and the citizens of Florida could breathe better. Put off shore drilling on the ballot and all thinking Floridians will vote no. Don’t drill baby drill!

The news media reported yesterday thet the Hillsbourogh Aviation Authority; that’s the group that runs Tampa International Airport spent over $250,000.00 on tickets to the games. The tickets the authority explained were a perk for the employees. The Rays, Lightning , and the Buccaneers all benefited from the purchase of the tickets. The general public did not. This sounds like another abuse of power by bureaucrats and politicians. Just recently the agency that is supposed to help people find jobs was embarrased by the revelation of the astronomical amount of money wasted on food and entertainment.

 These same politicians scream they have no money for services for the public, yet they continue to waste money on sports tickets, lavish entertainment, and fancy dining. We don’t elect these people so they turn into royalty. They’re there to take care of business and do the bidding of the public. Maybe if the politicians understood what they’re supposed to do with the money they’re entrusted with we wouldn’t be facing the largest environmental disaster to ever hit the Gulf Coast States. Pay attention to  the public you over paid under worked politicians. Step away from the public trough and help the people who elected you. If you want to enjoy professional sports buy your own tickets.

Once again the powerful politicians from Washington D.C. don’t understand the tragedy they helped create. An oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is flooding the the water with untold gallons of crude oil. This oil is only hours away from hitting the Louisiana coast. Depending on winds and currrent it could soon be spoiling the beaches and wetlands  of Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. This is a gigantic evironmental disaster that no one knows how to stop quickly. President Obama made the statement over the weekend that BP would pay for the cleanup. That is doubtful. Large oil companies don’t have very good track records when it comes to cleaning up the messes they create.

 But what is most bothersome to me is that the president intends to continue opening new areas for the oil companies to sink oil wells off the coast of Florida and up the eastern coast along Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. That is not the smart thing to do . We need our water clean so it can produce seafood such as shrimp, fish, and crabs. We need our wetland as nursuries for birds, fish, and other sea life. Stop the madness now before it’s too late for our eco system to recover.

Another factor the politicians don’t take into consideration when advocating drill baby drill is how many people who make their livings from the Gulf waters are going to be put out of work for the rest of their lives. These people aren’t like the wealthy politicians in Washington D.C ; they mostly live hand to mouth. They have mortgages, car payments, college tuition for their children. They don’t know anything but fishing. How are you going to retrain them to provide for their  families Mr. President? You don’t have a clue what they do because you are from a large city. They work with their hands and back. Don’t continue to let the big oil companies buy influence. Listen to the plain spoken, hard working people trying to make ends meet. Stop the destruction that occurs when big oil moves in and starts drilling in fragile enviroments such as the Gulf of Mexico. This current spill proves how fragile it is.

Did you ever wonder what the number one vacation attraction is? A couple of  hints; it has a castle that you can walk through and if you’re lucky you and your family can spend the night there. It has something to please and entertain the whole family from the youngest to the senior citizens. It’s Walt Disney World, located very close to Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney World has mutiple theme parks that will entertain and delight you, your children, and grandchilden. There are many resorts on property to suit any budget. There are resorts to fit the budget minded and there are resorts to suit the visitor who wants the finest in lodging, entertainment, and dining. There are multiple championship golf courses that are playable all year. No snow days in Walt Disney World. The parks are all always immaculately clean. The people of Walt Disney World strive for cleanliness and a wonderful experience for all visitors. This starts with top management and runs through each and every cast member. For the most in family friendly value come visit Walt Disney World now, it’s right smack in the middle of the beautiful state of Florida.

It’s about time for that family vacation. the number one destination in the world is central Florida and Walt Disney World. Central Florida offers an abundance of entertainment that the entire family will enjoy in addition to Walt Disney World. Within an easy ride from Walt Disney World are Universal Studios, Sea World, and other smaller attractions that offer great family fun. A little over an hour away you will find Cape Canaveral and a wonderful experience in the world of outer space. You also might get lucky and watch a rocket launch from the Cape. Cocoa and Cocoa Beach offer uncrowded ocean beaches for a day or two of family fun. Another short ride from Walt Disney World is the worlds’ most famous beach;Daytona Beach. Here you’ll find wide white sand beaches and Daytona International Raceway. Not only will you visit the worlds’ most famous race course you can visit Daytona USA an interactive attraction with something for everyone. Now is a great time to visit Florida, come on down and enjoy the weather and many attractions our great state offers.

A new novel authored by Mike Howard is nearing completion. It is titled Border Madness. With the brouha that the state of Arizona created by passing a law making it illegal for illegal aliens to be in the state the new novel is even more timely. For the life of me I don’t understand why people who are in the United States legally want to see more illegals flood our country. When you let any and all cross the border unrestricted we are bound to get more than our share of murderers, rapists, thieves , drug users, and dealers. Why our federal government feels they must meddle in the afffairs of Arizona is beyond me. Arizona has the right to govern itself. The politicians in Washington D.C have proven they do nothing but screw things up when they pass legislation. Don’t mess with Arizona. They could do one thing; tell the President of  Mexico to shut up and mind his own business. Nothing that happens north of the border needs his meddling or comments. He could start looking after his own citizens instead of meddling where he shouldn’t and the problem of illegal immigrants wouldn’t exist.

For a vacation that your entire family will enjoy and cherish the memories forever plan to visit the western states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. All are beautiful states with scenery that runs the gamut from moon scapes in parts of Wyoming to mountains, geysers, beautiful rivers, and lakes. The animals are also amazing. In Yellowstone National Park our first National Park you will see Elk, Buffalo, Pronhorn antelope, Wolves, Coyotes and even the occaisional Grizzly Bear. The Grand Tetons are breathtaking mountains that everyone enjoys gawking at. In Montana you’ll find Glacier National Park. The scenery here is outstanding. There are glaciers, mountain lakes with water so beautiful and cold it will take your breath away. Idaho is the same. Great views, lots of wild animals and plenty of activities for all ages. Jackson  is a great destination with lots of hotels, motels, restaurants, western art galleries, and shopping galore. Visit the west this year for a memory making vacation.