Monday, June 2, 2008

Conspiracy Theories and other things that make you go "Huh"

Let the rumors start here:

The fire at Universal Studios yesterday was allowed to burn out of control because:

1. The studio is in need of the insurance money.

2. Much like Nero, they needed the space for a new palace (movie set).

3. They wanted to distract the public from the fact that another stupid, lame, utterly unintelligent episode of the MTV Movie Awards was taping on their property.



The Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee met this weekend amidst a sometime racous crowd to decide the fate of the Florida and Michigan primary votes. This whole thing is so crazy, so stupid, so seemingly designed to insure a republican win in the general election later this year. How could Howard Dean be so stupid as to not see this coming? What was he thinking to be so heavy handed toward those two states to begin with? And why is it so important to protect Iowa and New Hampshire's status as "first in the nation" caucus and primary states? They don't speak for me. Why should they get to decide the nominees every election year? Why should they get all the news coverage and the influx of media attention and money every election year? Spread the wealth, eh? Highlight two different states every time, why don't they? Why can't my state of Georgia get some of that interest, some of that scrutiny. If we did, perhaps we would actually make some progress in this state as far as the politics, race relations, infrastructure... are concerned. Anyway... ya'll have all heard my rant about this before. I hope something gets done about it this time but I don't really think it will. After the election is decided everyone will forget all about this issue. We seriously need election reform in this country, tho. The DNC rules are so convoluted, confusing and downright contradictory, no one can understand them. Even the party big-wigs don't fully understand them. I'm not sure about the RNC rules, but they are probably about as confusing as the DNC rules. Anyhow... enough of that subject.



Stupid ol Kyle Busch won the NASCAR race at Dover this weekend. The powers that be in NASCAR are so concerned with having another "black hat" driver and they have decided that Kyle Busch is the guy. He's just not got the age, the gravitas, to pull it off. He just comes across as a punk, a whiner, an arrogant little pin-head. I just don't like him. Actually, it would be fair to say that I can't stand him. I root for him to hit the wall every race. Not that I want him to get hurt or anything. Despite the fact that I detest the boy and can't stand to look at him or hear his voice, and despite the fact that I always want him to hit the wall hard enough to get taken out of the race, I still wouldn't want him to get hurt. Figure that one out, why don't you? Nevertheless, the France family have decided that Kyle Busch is their "guy" this year, just like Jimmie "freekin'" Johnson was the last two years. I'll be glad when it's Tony Stewarts turn again. Or even say... a Richard Childress driver, like Jeff Burton or Kevin Harvick, or Clint Bowyer.



Why is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints considered a church and not a cult?



The statewide average for Regular unleaded gas in my state of Georgia is $3.949. The average in my local area of Augusta, GA is $3.889. My question is this: if we can no longer afford to drive to our jobs and we don't have adequate mass transit in our area and if no one is working and we all loose our jobs and can't pay our bills and can't buy groceries or video games or toilet paper or soap or any of life's little luxuries, or pay for electricity or water or home heating oil or cable TV or phone service and it all gets shut off (except for the rich folks) and then we all get thrown out of our houses and we're all living on the streets and in the woods and parks and on the sidewalks in front of our foreclosed homes... who is our government going to tax? Where are they going to get their money to pay for their healthcare and their limos and their big fine mansions and their caviar? And who are they going to tax to get the money they are sending overseas hand over fist? How are they going to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? How are they going to pay for the huge aid packages to Africa to fight AIDS and poverty and illness and starvation? And by the way... who's gonna bury us all after we've fell over dead in OUR streets from starvation, illness, lack of shelter, food, clean water? Who's gonna pay for the police to protect all of us homeless people from the thugs and gangs that want to kill us just because we might have a small scrap of food or an intact coat? Apocoliptic imaginings, you say? Maybe so... maybe no. The point is... we DON'T know. And our government is doing NOTHING about any of it!!! And NOBODY seems to care!!! You can't tell me that our dear president and his cronies didn't see this coming for the past few years. You can't tell me that someone from any of the preceeding administrations, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon... didn't know that this was in the pipeline. They just didn't care cause they didn't think it would happen in THEIR time in the White House. Well, its happening now. Time's up. Is it too late now to do anything about it? We can hope not cause one things for true: George W. Bush isn't gonna do ANYTHING about solving the problem. He's too dumb to cope with it or even to understand that there is a problem.



And Ted Kennedy is having surgery today on that recently discovered brain tumor. God keep him. Bad guy? Good guy? I think he is some of each. But no one has worked so tirelessly for his constituents than Ted Kennedy. Wish we had a Congressman to represent us here in Georgia as ardently as he represents his. I wish him well.

15 comments:

Arsenette said...

Wow I had a lot to choose from today Holly :)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a cult.. but of course they want to hide behind the "Christian" name even though they do not hold the same biblical tenses. :p Heck.. they can't even get the diety right, invented a nation (actually 2), invented a bible that is in gold (but doesn't exist), redirected Jesus' trip back to heaven by doing a drive by in the America's when the Indians and Mayans have no recollection of such journey, made him the brother of Satan and not God, and have no historical shred of evidence other than their gut feeling that any of this is true. Riiight..

Gas prices.. /sigh.. I think the general public (not just US) needs to understand WHO places the prices on gas. FIRST, China and India just came on to the market 2-3 years ago respectively. The 2 largest populations in the WORLD just came out of the dark ages and are now entering the free market and their people demand energy (like the rest of us do). OPEC controls the barrel of oil prices.. US control is all about taxes. More than 50% of the price of gas is Taxes (local, state and federal + whatever change the dispensers of gas decided to take.. they get peanuts compared to teh government).. so when the BASE rises.. so does everything else.. Ever wonder why the cost of gas changes via state lines and even townships? Taxes baby. Good ole' George can't do squat unless he gets the U.N. to put China and India back in the world's craplist and embargo them again. Now China has taken over our Florida pipeline with the help of Cuba because we are not using it... Yeah.. because we can't take care of ourselves.. we have to buy our oil from Venezuela.. oy.. my head is going to explode.

Then we have the price of corn.. the environmentalists went nuts with oil (since the can't get profits from it) so everyone is going green. Okay.. that's all good in theory.. did you notice the lack of produce in your market the past couple years? Farmers are replacing their normal crop with the current cashcow that is corn... and not regular corn.. corn for ethenol (we dont' eat that corn.. it's basically chicken feed). So.. we have that going on. We've had 2 drouts already.. Farmers are also being paid by the Federal government to NOT farm to keep "open land" for the environmentalists who are lobbying to not congest our world with farming and development and voila we have the disaster that has just started.

Oh.. and the real kicker.. people are talking about coal energy and nuclear energy. Coal was deemed dirty and hazerdous in the 1960's by the environmentalists but they want to bring it back because it suits them... and Nuclear which is the cleanest of all energy sources have also been deemed unsafe because of environmentalists going nuts about something they don't understand.. and voila.. we are back to square one.

Personally I'd like to ship all the lobyists to Siberia and let them learn to live in their own Utopia.. oh wait! The 1960's failed in creating that Utopia because it's physically impossible given the competitive nature of the Human being.. right.. that's right.. people don't learn from history.. they have to repeat it.. /sigh.. I hate the educational system in this country.. kids these days are doomed to recreate teh same mistakes of their forefathers for centuries to come..

Some Kinda Wonderful said...

Wow Elsie, you were sure on a roll, too. HA! You are so right about the produce. And what we do get here is just wilted and crappy looking, second hand leavings, it looks like. I been trying to buy more from the local produce stands where the old timers go to sell the extra out of their gardens. Usually cheaper, too. Been thinking more and more about putting in a garden myself. I hate getting my hands dirty, and working outside in the sun and the heat, but... I loves fresh fruits and veggies.

Arsenette said...

I hope that in the end of all of this the local farmers get a fair shake and get to KEEP their land and grow more food for us. I grew up eating fresh produce from our local farmers until the government bought their land for "open air" and stopped their farming. The ones that hung on are finally getting their just due since they are too small to qualify for ethenol raising corn.

Jeannie said...

Hi friend!! I've got a few comments:

Universal Studios Fire

They lost the Courthouse Square!! The square where Doc had a bolt of lightning go through him so that Marty could go home. Aww, the memories...

Florida and Michigan

Do they really matter? Do any of us? It's up to the Superdelegates now. It feels like these last several months have just been a waste of time.

Kyle Busch at Dover

I don't watch Nascar, but because my cousin does, I know who the Busch brothers are. I just learned about them over the Memorial Day weekend. :D

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

I really have no comment on this topic.

Fuel Prices

Can you ship me some of that Georgia oil? The "generic" gas station on the corner is selling regular grade for $4.39.

Ted Kennedy

May his treatment be successful and that he has a complete recovery.

Arsenette said...

Hey Jeannie :)

Forgot about the Universal Fires.. I just read about it (whole weekend I bypassed the TV so didn't know about it)... That SUCKS.. as for conspiracy theories.. who knows.. Sucks they lost the sets!

As much as I can't stand the drunk I don't wish anyone ill will. Hope his treatment is successful and he continues to live to piss me off :)

Some Kinda Wonderful said...

Hello Jeannie! I'd like to say that the gas prices are all relative, but the average income for the state of California is only about $6,500 more per year than than the state of Georgia, so that doesn't account for the difference in gas price. It's the tax thing again...

Whether you like him or not, Kennedy is a hard worker. Perhaps if EVERY congressman/woman worked as hard as he does, something might get done in Washington. Whether that something would be good or bad, I don't know, but it would be different. ha!

Arsenette said...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gas-price1.htm

Found a link that simplifies where the prices of oil come from :)

The single largest entity impacting the world's oil supplies is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a consortium of 13 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

When OPEC wants to raise the price of crude oil, it simply reduces production.

I'll reserve my comments on Ted Kennedy's "effectiveness" for another time.. I can't get myself to bash the poor guy when he's sick :p

Jeannie said...

Hey, good info. Thanks, Layla!

In a way, I am grateful for the increase in oil. I think that until we as Americans collectively decide that oil is not so important, the fuel prices will continue to soar.

With advances in solar, electric, wind, and many other types of power, there are a lot better alternatives out there than crude oil. Have you heard of running diesel cars off of vegetable oil?

Greasecar Vegetable Fuel System

Let's grow the food we need for this oil in our heartland and put one of these fuel systems on every big rig that delivers the food we eat to the stores. Let's help our famers and ourselves by becoming self-dependent!

Anyhow, that's my rant for the day. Thank you, SKW, for providing me a place to let off a little steam. Hey, maybe I can use that steam to power something besides my fast-typing fingers. :D

Some Kinda Wonderful said...

There are many alternatives out there to what we've been doing. I guess the thing that pisses me off (pardon the crude speech) is that I distinctly remember my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Marshall, teaching my class about ecology and using less and re-using more, and being energy independant and all that stuff. That was a long, long time ago. 1975-76, I think. And the people in power knew all this stuff. They knew that we were headed for trouble and they did nothing. Oh, pardon me, they did do something. They ridiculed all the scientists and professors and people of good common sense who tried to get the word out about what was coming. And now they are trying to ignore the problem, or at best, give politically expedient speeches about it, but they are still not doing anything about it. Makes me so mad. If even my hubby can see the sense in conserving water and turning off un-used, un-needed lights, then surely our exalted, elected officials can see sense? But maybe that's asking for too much.

Arsenette said...

Ya'll need to start watching Mythbusters and the Discovery channel more often :) Cooking oil (various varieties.. heck... even WHYSKEY) has been tried in the past as a way to change from diesel. First off.. it doesn't work and has been tested many times over.. Trust me.. they are trying to find another way so they don't have to pay Exxon for gasoline. Cooking oil has a very low smoke point and burns easily in diesel engines.. it's meant for cooking.. not powering your car. Even variations of it still have the same problem that ethanol has.. overdependence on grown products that can be altered radically by weather, drought and other natural disasters. Also shifting production for FOOD (you know.. that thing that keeps us alive?) for energy which can be obtained through other means.

I think also the hate for petroleum is so misguided for several reasons. Look around your home.. more than 1/2 of your house is made with petroleum byproducts.. all plastic, rubber shoes (they don't use tree sap for that...), Vynil, etc. I think at this point the blind hatred for all things gasoline because of OPEC is shifting the blame elsewhere. We are literally the only country that does more with that one barrel of oil than any other. We actually use the byproducts and make uses out of it (and is a good source of income for our country to boot since we export our petroleum byproducts).

If that's not a way to reuse something and recycle I don't know what is. I still think we should be independant of OPEC and go back to what we used to be - self reliant. But of course that won't happen with this congress since they will not have a cash cow to milk. Just follow the money. Oh! One more thing about ANWAR.. environmentalists in the 1960's bitched about the caribou becoming extinct in Alaska because of the pipeline.. turned out that the residual heat (not much but enough) from the pipeline near the caribou rich areas actually EXTENDED their mating season (because it wasn't so cold..) creating a sharp rise in caribou to the point that it took them permanently off the endangered species and created an overpopulation problem. Now that they can't bitch about the caribou they as switching to loss of open land..

Jeannie said...

"Cooking oil...has been tried in the past as a way to change from diesel. First off.. it doesn't work and has been tested many times over..."

Cooking oil has been used in this part of the country for a while now. I live very near two biodiesel stations. And although they're not around in record numbers, I have seen cars that run solely off of recycled and/or new cooking oil.

The problem that exists is that although crude oil is rising at an alarming rate, it is sill cheaper to purchase that than say a gallon of Wesson. Some people are willing to pay the cost for a cleaner burning fuel. I applaud them for doing so.

Biodiesel and straight vegetable oil does work, but it is not the cure-all to our country's problem. I do think it's an important step in the right direction though.

You may be interested in the following articles:

SF Gate- First Retail Outlet For Vegetable Fuel Opens
MSN Money- Fill Your Tank With Vegetable Oil

Arsenette said...

Actually what the article does not mention (I could not open teh second one) is that it destroys the engine faster. It's running something it was not designed to do. It has a lower smoke point so it burns faster, creates different fumes which have not been tested (could be better could be worse.. there is no conclusive study) and causes more engine failure in the long run. Costwise it's higher for the reasons I mentioned before.. and not because it's new, it's because it's renewable and that part is the thing that fluctuates.

That said it's good that they are trying to come up with solutions - they have been for a century. But the thoughtprocess and reasons for it are flawed and have a greater impact on our life as a reprocussion (wow how do I spell that?)

Jeannie said...

Let's just agree to disagree. :D

P.S. It's repercussion. Don't feel bad- I looked it up!

Arsenette said...

Oh didn't see your comment until now :) Oh yeah! Agree to dissagree! I do like reading new things though. So appreciate the article just wish it had all the pros and cons. I think I prefer scientific websites for that reason.

Arsenette said...

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4888

Now THIS looks interesting.