An Attempt at irritating conservatives; and liberals too, sort of.

Right wing radio talk, talk, talk, talk, talker Rush Limbaugh cannot steer clear of criticizing John McCain.  I have never understood what exactly does go on in Mr. Limbaugh’s mind, but his incessant whining about McCain puzzles me. Would Limbaugh rather have liberal Obama in the White House, or Republican McCain?

 

Actually, I think this is all about ratings for a certain radio talk show.  Both candidates ignore the host of the show, and the man’s ego can’t let that go. 

 

Before you wonder why I am attacking Mouth Rush-more, I am not a great fan of liberal radio talk shows either.  I am not a fan of radio talk shows period.  Even sport talk shows. These shows seem to be a noisy version of internet forums, and a stream of whacky disinformation is what most internet forums produce.

 

My guess for the Republican #2 slot-Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. McCain is old, Pawlenty is young, plus Minnesota is likely to be a key state in the November balloting.

 

For the Democrats-I think Delaware Senator Joe Biden because of his foreign policy experience.  Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia is an intriguing candidate, and would certainly help Obama in Virginia.

 

With the Olympics nearly over, we can look forward to a double-shot of political conventions.  Believe me, that statement is cut from a slab of irony, and baked in a facetious sauce.  If given the opportunity to watch synchronized swimming or either political hubbub, it wouldn’t even be a contest.  I have kicked myself in the shins, for shunning what should be a civic responsibility, but to many, many Americans, the conventions are “Much Ado About Nothing.”

 

There is one bit of good news as we steadily creep up to fall.  The college football season is about to begin.  Maybe ESPN could air special editions of Game Day during the political conventions.  I’d watch them.  Heck, I would even watch highlights of the Olympic Dressage events.

 

 

Inflation, Housing, Gas, Michael Phelps, McDonalds, and Nebraska’s Sand Hills

Inflation at the wholesale level grew at its fastest annual pace since 1981.  New house permits are at their lowest levels in seventeen years.  Foreclosures remain grimly high.  Americans continue to die in foreign countries, and I don’t feel any safer today than I did in 2001.  Gas prices remain high, and America’s standard of living is NOT the best in the world.  And this is the legacy of President Bush?  Ouch.

 

At least Michael Phelps can afford a new house.  Speculation is that his eight gold medals will increase his endorsements from the $3-4 million now, to at least $30 million, maybe $100 million. Wow.  I watched the NBC interview of Phelps and his mother, and he seems like the kind of young man you would want good things to happen to. 

 

Is there a silver lining in the obscene gas prices big oil has foisted upon us?  Americans are driving billions of miles fewer than in comparable months a year ago, so maybe we are seeing the beginning of a true conservation movement.  And maybe the Cubs will win a pennant this year.  Anything is possible.  I do like the fact that we are also more seriously looking at alternative sources of energy.  Of course we need these sources online right now, not ten years from now which is much more likely.

 

The McDonald’s in my home town has closed.  Not permanently, but it won’t reopen until November, and for some of us that seems like a permanent closing.  Apparently the local restaurant has purchased a building next door to the current site, and is rebuilding and expanding.  My daughter thinks I should sue McDonalds for emotional distress.  My daughter is as funny as her mother. 

 

Lots of Nebraskans can say they are over 25 miles from a McDonalds.  A friend emailed me with the question “isn’t Nebraska mostly vacant, but with a lot of pick-ups?”  Not where I live, but the Nebraska Sand Hills are indeed sparsely populated.  Years ago I can remember traveling a Sand Hills highway and meeting one other vehicle in a little over 30 miles.  And yes, it was a pick-up.  I love the signs that give directions to Sand Hills ranches, “Bar S-8 miles,” in whatever direction the arrow points.  And the road is merely two ruts that seem run parallel beyond the horizon. And there are people who love this isolated live style. 

 

Given my choice between the isolation (and serenity) of the Sand Hills, or the frenzy of a major metropolis, I think I would choose the Sand Hills.  Don’t laugh, there are traffic jams in my little city-population 25,000, they just don’t last for hours like “rush” hour does in the city.

 

Michael Phelps can buy his own chain of McDonald’s restaurants. He could even put one in Sand Hills, Nebraska if he wanted. 

12,000 Calories Worth of Sound Bites and Photos Ops and AK-47’s

The trouble with our leaders-from Mayor to President and everyone in between-is campaigns are now ruled by sound-bites and photo-ops. By the time Election Day finally arrives I am sick of every candidate and wish there was a ballot spot for “none of the above.” Hundreds of million of dollars are spend on what?  To disseminate information?  I think not.  More like to project an image that some pol or worse yet ad man seems to want to foist on the American public as denoting “winner.” 

 

I think our campaign laws need to be rewritten, though I would say “fat chance” to that happening since incumbents normally have such a huge advantage in fund-raising.  Start with the Presidential elections, and don’t let anyone opt out of public financing.  Ban all PAC contributions and individual contributions. 

 

Put a lid on it.  I’ve wanted to say that about political campaigns for years, heck for decades.  Senate campaigns are totally out of control, and Congressional and Gubernatorial races are almost to that point.  In 2006, the LOSING Senatorial candidate in the Nebraska race spent over $10,000,000 of his own money.  There are less than 2,000,000 people in Nebraska, and obviously many of them can’t vote.  Absurd. 

 

My wife is a comedian.  When she heard Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps took in 12,000 calories a day, she said “that’s almost as many as you Ron.”  Very funny.  The New York Post described his “breakfast of champions” as:  three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise; 2 cups of coffee, a five egg omelet, grits, three slices of French toast, and three chocolate chips pancakes.  That shows how wrong Jane was.  I would never eat cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise with my egg sandwiches, and I hate grits.

 

Not so funny is the fact that there have already been 56 homicides this year in Birmingham, Alabama, a city of 230,000 people.  I realize that many people believe our Founding Fathers were prescient, but I am having a hard time believing they really meant to include teenagers having AK-47’s when they were discussing the right to bear arms.  Absurd.  And so very sad. 

 

The trouble with our leaders-from Mayor to President and everyone in between-is campaigns are now ruled by sound-bites and photo-ops. By the time Election Day finally arrives I am sick of every candidate and wish there was a ballot spot for “none of the above.” Hundreds of million of dollars are spend on what?  To disseminate information?  I think not.  More like to project an image that some pol or worse yet ad man seems to want to foist on the American public as denoting “winner.” 

 

I think our campaign laws need to be rewritten, though I would say “fat chance” to that happening since incumbents normally have such a huge advantage in fund-raising.  Start with the Presidential elections, and don’t let anyone opt out of public financing.  Ban all PAC contributions and individual contributions. 

 

Put a lid on it.  I’ve wanted to say that about political campaigns for years, heck for decades.  Senate campaigns are totally out of control, and Congressional and Gubernatorial races are almost to that point.  In 2006, the LOSING Senatorial candidate in the Nebraska race spent over $10,000,000 of his own money.  There are less than 2,000,000 people in Nebraska, and obviously many of them can’t vote.  Absurd. 

 

My wife is a comedian.  When she heard Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps took in 12,000 calories a day, she said “that’s almost as many as you Ron.”  Very funny.  The New York Post described his “breakfast of champions” as:  three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise; 2 cups of coffee, a five egg omelet, grits, three slices of French toast, and three chocolate chips pancakes.  That shows how wrong Jane was.  I would never eat cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise with my egg sandwiches, and I hate grits.

 

Not so funny is the fact that there have already been 56 homicides this year in Birmingham, Alabama, a city of 230,000 people.  I realize that many people believe our Founding Fathers were prescient, but I am having a hard time believing they really meant to include teenagers having AK-47’s when they were discussing the right to bear arms.  Absurd.  And so very sad. 

 

 

 

 

Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, USA basketball, and the Little League World Series

I have watched some of the Olympics this weekend, and actually I am glad I did.  Of course I watched Michael Phelps, but I also enjoyed watching Dara Torres, and the US men’s basketball team. 

 

Michael Phelps is an amazing story.  Yes, he is blessed with an incredible amount of talent, but those eight gold medals did not happen without an unbelievable work ethic.  And a little luck too, but I remember the old saw about good luck being related to hard work.  Americans will love him, laud him, and hopefully will not do what we seem to do with many of our icons-turn against him for winning too much. Someone told me he got a million dollar bonus from his goggle provider for winning just seven gold medals-wow.

 

I enjoyed watching Dara Torres win two silver medals last night, coming oh so close to making those gold medals.  Forty-one is hardly AARP ready, but in swimming it is ancient.  That she was able to accomplish what she did should serve as inspiration to all of us old-timers who still have some athletic hopes and dreams, even though they are far removed from the Olympic stage.

 

I have been amazed by the US men’s basketball team.  I am not a fan of the NBA, and have not been since Michael Jordan retired.  For years I have not enjoyed the NBA style of play, and that style led us to basketball disasters in the 2004 Olympics and 2006 World Championships.  But this team is actually fun to watch. They play defense, they rebound, and they fast break.  I don’t see anyone beating them as they really do go twelve players deep.  Thanks to all who sold the superstars on playing this kind of ball.

 

I also enjoyed watching the women’s marathon last night, and for me, the race did not have to include an American to make it interesting.  I can’t tell you the name of the Romanian who won, nor can I tell you the names of the two Chinese and two Kenyans who battled for 2^nd-5^th in the marathon.  They did a great job in this most brutal of events.  So did the British runner who had such difficulty she nearly stopped.  To me, just finishing the event makes her an Olympic champion too.

 

I didn’t spend all my weekend watching the Olympics.  Actually, I watched some of the Little League World Series too.  This is a mini-version of the College World Series, and it is a lot of fun to watch the players, and their coaches and parents too.  I guess there is one more week of both the Olympics and the Little League World Series, and then college football season will be at hand!

Good New And Bad News

The good news is that American drove 53.2 billion miles fewer from November 2007-June 2008, compared with a year previous.  At 20 miles per gallon that is 2.66 billion gallons fewer used.  At fifty-five gallons per barrel, that is, well, that is a helluva lot of oil.  So less demand is a good thing?

 

Well, sort of.  The trouble with using approximately 5 billion gallons of a year less is that federal and state governments hit us with about .40 per gallon tax.  If my math is correct, that means the feds and state boys take in about $2 billion less in taxes.  And those taxes go to maintain, repair, and build our infrastructure, i.e. roads and bridges.

 

So what?  If we drive less, we’ll wear out the infrastructure at a slower pace.  Unfortunately, the bell has already tolled on that one.  Our infrastructure is worn out, and we need mega bucks investment to get it back in shape.  So, when we can afford to take a road trip we can worry even more about the bridges we drive over.  Great, I was already a gephyrophobic.  And yes, that does mean fear of bridges.

 

More good news, though it is old news.  We won the Cold War with Russia.  The bad news is we may lose the peace.  Guess which country has more undeveloped oil reserves, the U.S. or Russia?  If you said the U.S., congratulations on your patriotism, but you just flunked geography, or at least geopolitics.

 

And with oil reserves comes?  Bingo-power.  Oil rears its ugly head again.  We can’t live with it-it pollutes our atmosphere and wrecks our economy, but we can’t live without it, because we have nothing to replace it with.  Big oil is one gigantic crack dealer, and they aren’t about to let us kick the habit.

 

What was it again that brought about the fall of the Roman Empire?  I think it had something to do with the greed of the ruling class.  Interesting.

Exxon Mobil Chairman Speaks Out, Airline Price Sticker Shock

Last night Charles Gibson of ABC news interviewed the CEO of Exxon Mobil.  I almost felt sorry for him as he talked of the company’s profits dropping because Americans are now driving billions of miles less than in previous years.  So, what will EM’s net drop to this quarter?  Maybe only six or seven billion dollars?  Gee, shut down an executive washroom. 

 

What I really liked though was when he explained how he feels pain at the pump too.  He has to swipe his card and watch the numbers spin higher and higher in a blur.  Well, maybe he actually does pump his own gas.  I am not sure I believe that, but would the CEO of a major company lie to the American public?  But, I am pretty sure that someone making millions of dollars a year does not feel the same pain at the pump that someone making minimum wage does. 

 

His underlings did prepare him well for every question asked, but he still came across as smug and arrogant.  But if the man doesn’t have to care about what McCain or Obama think, he certainly doesn’t care about one blogger’s rant.

 

I received a bit of culture shock yesterday booking a trip for the first time since April.  I am going to the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas next month, and I honestly thought I would still be able to find a good deal on a package to Sin City.  Wrong.

 

Starting prices were nearly double what they were the last time I checked on going to Las Vegas.  And the words “starting prices” are a key.  For just under $500 I could purchase air fare and two nights at the Las Vegas Hilton, which is adjacent to the convention center site of the Blog World Expo.  Of course to obtain this rate I would have to fly at odd times, and better yet, lay-over in an airline hub for more than six hours.  I would have arrived in Las Vegas at 11:00 p.m., or 1:00 a.m. body time.  I have done my time in air terminal purgatory, and I wanted to be at the conference by 8:00 a.m. the next day, so I decided to see what other options were available.

 

Going to every possible airline site, as well as Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia, I found I didn’t really have many options.  My options were a crappy schedule, or pay through the nose.  Switching flights added $300 to the cost of a trip.  Reasonable departure times coupled with no mind numbing airport stays meant $$$$$$$$. 

 

I finally chose to fly American Airlines, even though I was one of the thousands who they treated so kindly last April, and even though connecting through DFW makes my trip into the shape of two sides of a triangle, instead of just a straight line.  I did this because I had a coupon from AA because I complained loudly and strongly about how they treated me last spring.  I got a conference discount for the Hilton, and I will just have to do without a car, which is not really a problem.  And it still cost me a bundle, and I am leaving Omaha at 6:00 a.m. September 19^th, and returning at 10:30 p.m. September 21^st.  Welcome to the new age of flying.  You better forget about how well we used to have it, say a year or so ago.

 

 

Racial Taunts Are Not Jokes

Put me in the column of those offended by the photos of Spanish basketball team members pulling on the skin behind their eyes to make them look Asian.  My adopted Korean daughter has endured this type of racial taunt for years, and it is bad enough when the culprits are low life sleaze taught from birth that such gestures are OK.  When it is done by high profile athletes competing for their country in the highest profile of events, well, go back to the previous sentence, they too are low life sleaze, even the wealthy NBA players among them.

 

I can’t begin to count all the times my daughter has been hurt by what the coach of the Spanish men’s team is trying to pass off as a joke.  It is no joke.  It is a racial slur, and there is no defense for such an action. Whether or not it seems harmless, this is a hate crime.  The ad agency people who requested the players to pose as they did are idiots.  They deserve to be fired.  And the magazine editor needs to make a very public apology for printing this trash.

 

Perhaps you want to pass it off as the wrath of a father with a daughter who has been scarred by such actions.  So be it.  Think if it were your daughter and you were helpless to control the action of mental midgets who are thrilled playing such a “joke.”  If I were offered the opportunity to win 11 gold medals, fame, and fortune like USA swimmer Michael Phelps, or I could take one crack with a baseball bat at the knees of everyone who have hurt my daughter this way, I definitely would not be going for the gold.  Years ago I had a pretty decent swing at knee high fastballs.  Now, I would not need the ball, just the knee.

 

 

G.W. Beach Volleyball Fan, Lopez Lamong, and the Chicago Cubs

One of the photos I saw of the Olympic Games was George Bush “practicing” with our women’s beach volleyball players.  Well, that would probably be my first choice too.

 

A far more touching photo is that of Lopez Lamong carrying the U.S. flag at the opening ceremonies.  His story has been told again and again, but even the likes of the men’s basketball team found it mesmerizing.  Some will probably say his story is a political story like so many others with the Olympics, but to me it is rising above politics and that makes it even more special.

 

I listened to a song today, titled “If I Ruled The World.”  What would I do if I ruled the world?  I would like to think I would make sure the hungry are fed.  That the homeless have someplace to call their own.  That the sick are made healthy.  I read those sentences and it sounds like I would try to play God.  I wonder if any person, any government could do all those things.  I guess I would try to make life better for as many people as I could, and make life far worse for some who deserve to have their life made worse.  Maybe start with the executives of big oil companies.  Let them try to live without their limos and helicopters and sycophants.  I would want them to spend the winter in Maine or Montana, and the summer in Louisiana. 

 

I wouldn’t forget the drug company execs either.  Especially any who need some type of expensive prescription.  But I would give them reasonable choices like they do with some of our elderly citizens.  They could choose whether they wanted to eat, or buy their medicine. 

 

I would not focus totally on the bad guys though.  If I ruled the world the Chicago Cubs would rule the baseball world for the first time since 1908. I’ve always thought that would be tougher than world peace, but they might just do it without me this year. I think one of the ESPN pundits said “the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series when gas hits $4.00 a gallon.”  Yup, this could be their year.

 

 

Jet Blue, US Air, the Olympic Ceremonies, Puppy Games, and Doggie Daycare

Jet Blue is now charging $7.00 for a blanket/pillow set.  US Airways charges $1.00 for a cup of coffee, and $2.00 for bottled water or soft drinks.  I honestly can not understand why no airline has decided to equip their planes with pay toilets.  I mean if you are soaring at 25,000 feet on your way to Chicago or New York and you gotta go, where else can you go? It is one more crappy way for the airlines to make money, but if they charge $5.00 to use the facility, think of how many extra gallons of jet fuel they can buy.

 

I have never been a fan of the opening or closing ceremonies at the Olympic Games. I won’t be watching NBC’s taped coverage of the ceremony-yes, I said taped, as in already happened.  8:00 p.m. Beijing time is 8:00 a.m. EST, I believe, so the opening ceremonies should already be over.  Maybe not, they seem to take forever.  Like I say, I won’t be watching this program

 

I have several alternatives to the Olympics, and haven’t made a firm decision what I might do.  I could mow my lawn, but it is over 90 degrees, and I don’t like mowing.  I could read a book.  Yes, even though I blog, I still read books.  You should too.  Or, I could watch the 2008 Puppy Games on Animal Planet.

 

The Animal Planet website previews the doggie competitors, and I wonder if politics played a part in this show, like it does so much in the Olympics.  There are no Silky or Yorkshire Terriers in the 2008 Games.  C’mon, the cuteness factor alone demands at least one of each breed.  I may be a little biased, given my two grand puppies Kahlua and Sophie are silky terriers, but they would be a riot on this show.

 

Actually, I have to admit that I also watched this year’s Puppy Bowl.  Well parts of it.  I missed out on most of the million dollar Super Bowl commercials, and some of the half-time show too.  If you have ever taken your dog to doggie daycare, the Animal Planet shows are basically a taped version of what a day at daycare must be like.  And it must be a wild and crazy time, because both Kahlua and Sophie want nothing more than to sleep after a day at doggie daycare.

 

Here in Fremont, doggie daycare costs a whopping $5 per day.  Personally that seems like a much better investment than Jet Blue’s blanket/pillow combo or US Air’s $2.00 bottled water.

 

 

 

 

Gorillas, Big Oil Yet Again, and Beets

125,000 western lowland gorillas reside in a northern area of the Congo Republic in Africa.  The species had been considered endangered, so this survey is good news.  Of course now that it has been discovered these animals are doing well, they will probably be hunted back to the endangered label.

 

While oil is down 18% from its high, gas prices have dropped only 6%.  I guess that is fair.

 

An article on the New York Times website discussed the high price of natural gas and heating oil.  Despite recent drops, natural gas remains 11% higher than last year, and heating oil is almost 40% higher. 

 

Part of American’s response to the high price of gas has been driving billions of miles less than in the past.  That may be irritating to many people, but it falls under the heading of inconvenience.  However, on a bitter cold winter night in Northern and Midwestern states, how does a family heat less?  This isn’t irritating or an inconvenience, this is potentially life threatening. 

 

Heating oil is now $4.50 per gallon, compared with $3.30 per gallon a year ago.  The Times article stated that the average consumer is likely to spend $1,500 more than last year during the heating season.  Where is that $1,500 supposed to come from?  Wages have not even kept up with inflation (mine hasn’t, has yours?).  So, Mr. Exxon/Mobil CEO, as you are riding in the company helicopter to your warm and toasty home in the Hamptons, basking in the glow of another day of $129 million in profits for your company, spend a few seconds thinking about a family in Barre, Vermont freezing, because they cannot afford to burn as much of your obscenely priced heating oil as they need to keep warm.

 

I hate writing about big oil. I despise the greed of these companies even more.  However, I don’t want to end this post on a total bummer.   A headline from the NYT website states that “Beets Are The New Spinach.”  Great.  I hated the old spinach, now the health gurus want to replace it with beets.  And I hate beets even more.  I can remember my grandmother canning beets, and the aroma was not all that enticing.  I continue to hold out hope that some study in my lifetime will state “Twinkies are the new spinach.”